MEETS

J\ Thcology of thc Sabbath and Sccond Advcnt

SakacKubo

Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee

The purpose of the Anvil Series is to push back the frontiers of Adventist
thought, to stimulate constructive reevaluation of traditional thought pat-
tems, and to catalyze fresh ideas. The concepts presented in the Anvil Series
are not necessarily official pronouncements of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church nor reflections of the editorial opinion of Southem Publishing
Association.

Copyright © 1978 by
Southem Publishing Association
This book was
Edited by GeraId Wheeler
Designed by Mark O' Connor
Type set: 11/13 Souvenir
Printed in U.SA

Ubrary o. Congru. Cataloglng In Publlcatlon Data

Kubo, Sakae, 1926-

God meets man : a theology of the Sabbath and the
Second Advent.

Bibliography: p. 157
1. Sabbath. 2. Second Advent. 3. Seventh-Day
Adventist-Doctrinal and controversial works.
1. Title.
BV125.K8 232'.6 78-6616
ISBN 0-8127 -O 171-2
 CONTENTS
PREFACE.................................................. 5
INTRODUCTION 7

PART 1. THE MEANING OF THE SABBATH

A. THE SABBATH ANO CREATION
Chapter
1. THE SIGN OF GOD'S REST .......................... 15
II. HOLINESS IN TIME ................................. 23
III. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SABBATH ................. 27
B. THE SABBATH AS REOEMPTION
IV. CREATION AND REDEMPTION ........................ 35
V. THE SABBATH AND JUSTIFICATION ................... 39
VI. THE SIGN OF REDEMPTION .......................... 45
VII. THE SABBATH AND SANCTIFICATION ................. 51
VIII. A DAY OF DELIGHT ................................ 57
C. THE SABBATH AS FUTURE REST
IX. "THERE REMAINS A SABBATH REST" ................. 65

PART II. THE MEANING OF

THE SECOND ADVENT
A. THE AOVENT ANO THE PRESENT LlFE
X. THE BLESSED HOPE ............................... 75
XI. HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING .......................... 83
XII. THE FUTURE IS PRESENT ........................... 91
XIII. THE PROBLEM OF DELAY ........................... 97
XIV. ESCHATOLOGY AND ETHICS ........................ 105
B. THE AOVENT ANO FUTURE EVENTS
XV. THE RAPTURE AND THE MILLENNIUM ................ 115
XVI. UNNERSALISM? .................................... 125
XVII. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD ................... 129
XVIII. THE FINAL JUDGMENT .............................. 139
XIX. THE NEW EARTH .................................. 153
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................... 157
 Dedicated to
my wife, Hatsumi,
and
my children, Wesley, Charlene, and Calvin
 PREFACE

Much has appeared on the meaning of the Sabbath and the

Second Advent. In regard to the Sabbath, Protestants, Catholics, and
Jews, though worshiping on different days, have sought to
understand its significance. Seventh-day Adventists have also
begun to explore more fully the meaning of the Sabbath. Karl Barth
and Abraham Heschel, the former a Protestant and the latler a Jew,
have dealt extensively on the theme, and the author feels especially
indebted to them.
Apart from Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and
members of a few other small denominations, Protestant writers
assume the Sabbath to be Sunday. Jewish writers naturally lack the
Christian perspective. The Seventh-day Adventist writer, therefore,
has something more to add to understanding the Sabbath than other
writers. The purpose of Part I of this book is to derive the profoundest
meaning of the Sabbath for the experience of the Seventh-day
Adventist.
In regard to the Second Advent, liberal writers reject it or find it
5
6 God Meets Man
as some kind of symbol of final triumph, but they are vague about
how it will actually take place. Conservative writers, usually
pretribulation-premillennium in perspective, have a confusing
picture of what occurs during the millennium. Others are
postmillennial or amillennial, both too optimistic in their view of the
events transpiring before the coming of Christ. T 00 often
conservatives neglect the meaning of the Advent as it relates to the
present life. It is hoped that this book will bring some balance here
while also pointing to the necessity and significance of the Advent
and the events inextricably connected with it.
1want to express my thanks to Mrs. Virgil Bartiett, who smoothed
out the style and typed the manuscript, and also to William
Richardson, who read the manuscript and made some valuable
suggestions.
 INTRODUCTION

The Sabbath and the second coming of Christ comprise the two
basic doctrines that we believe and, therefore, have incorporated into
our name, Seventh-day Adventist. By our name we affirm that the
seventh day is the Sabbath and that the advent of Christ is real and
certain. The purpose of this book is not primarily to prove that the
seventh day is the Sabbath or that we can affirm Christ' s coming from
the Scriptures. We do not need to add to the already large amount of
material on the subjects. Rather, it is our purpose to explore more
fully and comprehensively the significance of the two important
teachings. To get to that, we need to see their connections to the basic
doctrines of the faith and their relationship to our practical Christian
Iife. We must explore more fully and comprehensively the meaning
of the Sabbath and the second coming of Christ.
Ellen White says about the Sabbath, "We are not merely to
observe the Sabbath as a legal matler. We are to understand its
spiritual bearing upon ali the transactions of Iife" (Testimonies, VoI.
6, p. 353). The statement that the seventh day is the Sabbath does
7
8 God Meets Man
not begin to comprehend the fullness and richness of meaning the
Sabbath has for the Seventh-day Adventist. Like a finely cut
diamond, the Sabbath is multifaceted. We can look at it from many
different angles, and its brilliance and sparkle radiate.
The various meanings of the Sabbath fali under three headings:
Creation, Redemption, and Eternity. Thus the significance of the
Sabbath spans the history of the world from beginning to end. In a
sense it takes up the whole plan of salvation, 50 comprehensive is its
scope. In a similar vein, but expressed differently, Karl Barth says that
"the history of the covenant was really established in the event of the
seventh day .... It already commenced secretly on this day" (Church
Dogmatics, VoI. III, part 1 [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1958], p. 217).
We must view the Sabbath in aII its facets as they are centered in
Jesus Christ. He is not only Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer, and
therefore the Initiator of those events connected with the Sabbath;
He is Lord of the Sabbath, and furthermore, He is what the Sabbath
is aII about. Not only is He the object of worship, adoration, and
meditation on that day, and the subject of Creation, rest, fellowship,
redemption, holiness, deliverance, and sanctification, but He
exemplifies that day. For as the Sabbath was the day the Creator was
present with man, 50 Jesus Christ in a special sense carne to be
present with men. Though sin interrupted the face-to-face fellowship,
its restoration began with the Incarnation when He dwelt among us
and became Immanuel, "God with us." While His stay among men
was short, the reconciliation that He achieved by His death assured
the complete fulfillment of the meaning of the Sabbath, the perfect
fellowship of God and man in the new earth.
Thus, according to Karl Barth, "the major Old Testament type of
God' 5 special relationship to Time, of His eternity to the created time
series, is the institution of the Sabbath. The fulfilment of this type in
the New Testament is Jesus Christ, declared Son of God with power
by the Resurrection, who is the living presence of Eternity in Time
and 50 the Lord of Time, the realisation of the Divine Sabbath, the
Rest of man with and before God, inaugurated in the forty days of
Introduction 9
Easter Time and to be perfected in the restoration and
consummation of creation, when ali things enter into the Divine Rest
of an Eternal Sabbath" (James Brown, "Karl Barth' s Doctrine of the
Sabbath," Scottish Joumal ojTheology, VoI. 19 (1966), p. 442). So
we may say not only that the Sabbath points to Jesus Christ but that
thefundamental significance of the Sabbath finds its fulfillment in and
by Him.
Man cannot view the Sabbath apart from the great salvation
events and especially not apart from Jesus Christ. Sabbathkeeping
for the Christian is hollow if not centered in Christ.
The return of Christ and the events related to it, such as the
judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the millennium, and the new
earth, have crucial significance to the Christian. What Paul
maintained about the resurrection of the dead shows its importance:
"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been
raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and
your faith is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:13, 14, RSV*). Without the
Second Coming it would be as if a man should plant and cultivate his
orchard and not harvest the fruits in the fali but let them rot on the
trees. Christianity without the second coming of Christ has fulfilled its
objective as much as a house without an occupant.
One cannot view the return of Christ in isolation from the other
events of the end-time. The final judgment, the resurrection of the
dead, the new earth, are ali part of the same necessary culmination of
God' s plan. The meting out of judgment requires a preliminary
investigation and the resurrection of ali the dead. The Second
Coming signals the end of the preliminary judgment, the close of our
world's sinful history, and the final judgment of the good and the
evil. Thus ali the events intertwine.
The Second Coming is more obviously centered in Christ. It is
dependent on His perfect life on earth, His death, and His

* AII Bible quotations are from the Revised Standard Version unless otherwise
noted.
10 God Meets Man
resurrection. His return reveals to all, saints and sinners alike, the real
and central significance of what Christ did. Thus the Second Coming
is the necessary culmination that brings meaning to our lives. "But in
fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who
have fallen asleep. For as by a man carne death, by arnan has come
also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in
Christ shall all be ma de alive" (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). Only in
Christ do we have such hope.
 PART 1

THE MEANING OF
THE SABBATH
•
 A.
THE SABBATH
AND CREATION
"And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had
done, and he rested on the seventh day fram al1 his work which he
had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hal10wed it, because
on it God rested fram al1 his work which he had done in creation"
(Genesis 2:2, 3).
" 'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; ... for in six days
the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and al1 that is in them, and
rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day
and hal10wed it' " (Exodus 20:8-11).
"In these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he
appointed the heir of al1 things, thraugh whom also he created the
world" (Hebrews 1:2).
"He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of al1
creation" (Colossians 1:15).
THE SIGN OF GOD'S REST

The Sabbath carne at the close of Creation week. God had made
the day and night, the land and the sea, the plants and the trees, the
sun and the moon, the birds and the fish, the mammals and the
reptiles, and last of aII His crowning act, man and woman. "And God
saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good"
(Genesis 1:31). Then the Lord rested on the seventh day from His
work of creation. And because God rested on that day, He blessed
and hallowed it. Thus on the seventh day God made the Sabbath.
The Sabbath, therefore, is not only a memorial of God's creation,
as we often emphasize, but also--if not primarily--of His rest. As
John Kelman ~xpressed it:
"That, then, which was directly commemorated by the Sabbath,
was not the creation of the world, but the great fact that Jehovah
rested, that He contemplated with deep satisfaction His finished work
of creation, and took holy delight in the· creatures which He had
made, and specially in man, the head and monarch of them aII. And
every time the Sabbath carne round, while it would of necessity bring
15
 16 God Meets Man
prominently before the minds of men the glory of God' s wisdom,
power, and goodness, as manifested in His works of creation, it
would bring still more prominently before their minds, and present in
special splendour and attractiveness, the crowning glory of His love,
manifested in His coming so very near to men in friendship, and
resting with complacency and delight in the creatures He had made.
"Thus the observance of the Sabbath would be the erecting of a
monument to the honour of God as the GREAT CREATOR
RESTING-as man' s glorious Friend. And, in observing the weekly
sacred day, man would be bringing to his Maker the tribute of
admiration, gratitude, love, and praise, which was His due, and
would be getting ever larger, loftier, grander views of the Divine
character and glory, and would be advanced in the scale of nobility
and blessedness by this advancing knowledge of God" (The Sabbath
of the Scripture [Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1869], pp. 19, 20).
Thus the Sabbath is first of ali a memorial of God' s friendship to
man, a monument to God's presence with him. "For by sanctifying
the Sabbath, God brought it on man' s behalf into special connection
with Himself as a God of ho/iness, with a view to the progressive
establishing of man's heart in holiness, and to the holy and healthful
development of his spiritual nature. By blessing the day, He brought
it on man's behalf into special connection with Himself as a God of
goodness, with a view to man' s being enriched more and more
abundantly with the gifts of God' s goodness .... And in ali this God' s
intention was, that, after becoming more and more established in
holiness and blessedness in connection with God's rest during the
season of probation on earth, man might be prepared for entering
into the full, unchangeable, and unending enjoyment of that rest in
heaven" (ibid., pp. 43, 44).
r- The sixth day could as easily have been followed by the first day.
God could have finished His act of creation without making a
Sabbath, but He established it so that He could fellowship with man
in a special way. He wanted to be not only our Creator but also our
Friend; not only God over us as Maker but God with us as Friend.
The Sign of God' 5 Rest 17
The Sabbath is God' 5 gift to us of Himself. He sanctifies the Sabbath
by His actual presence among us. On the Sabbath He comes to
tabemacle among us in person. The blessing of the Sabbath results
when man enjoys and finds true rest in God' 5 presence and
fellowship.
Sin disrupted the perfect Sabbath rest of divine-human
fellowship. The face-to-face relationship in the sinless environment of
the Garden of Eden ended. Yet the Sabbath remains as a reminder
and as a pointer to the restoration of that perfect fellowship. The
present Sabbaths are still times when God meets with His people in a
special way to fellowship, though not like the direct relationship of
Edenic times.
Even before man sinned, the Sabbath contained within itself the
promise that should man sin, God would retum to share again that
pristine friendship and fellowship. The Sabbath was a time when
God was with us. He made man, He set apart the time, and He carne
to visit man. The Lord took the initiative all the way. Thus the
Sabbath had contained the promise of the Incamation.
As soon as man sinned, because of the Sabbath' 5 latent promise,
he knew that somehow God would find a way to dwell among men
again. In the coming of Jesus Christ, who lived among us and who
was called Immanuel-"God with us"-we find a re-SabbatizatiorÎ.
God comes to abide with men again, to manifest His presence among
us. And when we realize that He is the One who created the world
and spent the first Sabbath with man, who communed face-to-face
with him, then we see that His coming is the beginning of the
restoration of Eden' 5 perfect fellowship.
The time Christ lived on earth represents a kind of long Sabbath
day. He did not spend just a Sabbath but remained for thirty or 50
years. It was not the same as the Edenic Sabbath, though, since He
dwelt among us as arnan among sinners. Still God took the initiative
again, and while some responded, many did not-to the extent that
those whom He carne to bless crucified Him. Yet, nevertheless, God
was making possible through His visit among us a complete healing
18 God Meets Man
of that broken fellowship to those who desired it. With His coming, it
is an assumed fact for the future.
When Christ departed the earth, He left the Sabbath of perfect
fellowship still incomplete. But the God among us sent His substitute,
who became the God within us. Thus the Christian continues to
enjoy the afterglow of the Incarnation through the Spirit' s inner
presence. With the arrival of the Spirit, we move one step closer to
the full realization of fellowship; for with the Spirit, men everywhere
can share the blessings of Christ' s incarnation in contrast to the
relatively few who could enjoy an association with Christ. And the
Spirit is the down payment for the inheritance that is now assured.
Once sin entered, the Sabbath pointed forward to the first
appearance of Christ and the Spirit and also to the second coming of
Christ. The partial fulfillment, however, does not mean that the
Sabbath passes away. Rather, its meaning heightens. When we rest
on the Sabbath and have fellowship with Him, it is our affirmation
that we believe that sin has received a mortal blow and therefore our
broken fellowship---though imperfect-will see complete restora-
tion. By observing the Sabbath we confess that we believe in its
continuity and thus in the ultimate realization of its latent significance.
(fhe Sabbath stands for the fact that God is with us in a special
way' We need to remember that He is not the guest-we are the
invited onesj The Lord has again taken the initiative. He has invited
us to His presence. Samuel Dresner shows how Rabbi Moshe of
Kobrin makes a distinction between the festivals and the Sabbath
(The Sabbath [New York: Burning Bush Press, 1970], p. 14). The
festivals are like a poor man visited by agreat king. The king, though
king, is the guest. \On the Sabbath the poor man receives an
invitation to the kingl s ·palace: The poor man is the guest, and so is
each one of us. When the Sabbath arrives, we go as guests into the
presence of the Great King. And when we enter God' s house, we do
so as guests. The Sabbath finds fulfillment only when we realize true
fellowship with God and with His people. And it, like all fellowships,
should lead to a deepening friendship and a oneness of mind.
The Sign of God' 5 Rest 19
While the primary reference of the Sabbath is to God' 5 rest,
nevertheless the word rest itself points to the Lord' 5 previous creative
activity. God rested because He finished His work of creationrrhu~.
the Sabbath is, as Philo expressed it, "the birthday of the world" \
(Moses 1, xxxvii; II, xxxix; On the Creation, XXX; The Special Laws,-"
II, xv, xvi).' As a result he sees the Sabbath as a "festival, not of a
single city or country, but of the universe, and it alone strictly
deserves to be called 'public' as belonging to ali people and the
birthday of the world"fl(On the Creation, XXX). Since the Lard
inaugurated the Sabbath before nationalities or races existed, it is
truly universal. God intended it for ali men everywhere.:Whoever we
are and wherever we are, the Lord wants us to be His guests in a
special way on the SabbathJ
Sabbath observance recognizes God as Creator and ourselves as
creatures. It helps us distinctly to maintain the distance between God
and ourselves, prevents us from having any other gods before Him
and reducing His likeness to any creature. Keeping the Sabbath leads
us to truly worship and adore Him, not simply respect Him. On the
Sabbath He comes to us as a friend, but the Friend who is our Maker.
To truly recognize God as Creator has great meaning to our
personal lives. Acknowledging that God made us means first of ali
that our existence is not accidental. We are not here as the result of
fortuitous circumstances, but because God designed it 50. The world
did not just come into being because of some accident.
Because we know where we carne from, we realize that life has
meaning and a goal. As Hans Walter Wolff says, "Whenever man is
unable to see God' 5 creation, his existence inevitably becomes
devoid of meaning" ("The Day of Rest in the Old Testament,"
Lexington Theological Quarter/y [July, 1972], p. 69). To believe in
the Creator assures us that our life and our experience in Christ is not
a happenstance. Whatever our conceptionof predestination may be,
we cannot doubt that God has led us even while we exercised our
own free will.
"A man who is the object of grace, when he looks back upon
20 God Meets Man
himself, feels more and more that he has become what he is by no act
or activity of his own, that grace carne to him without his own will or
power, that it took hold of him, drove him, led him ono Even his most
intimate, his freest acts of decision and assent, become to him,
without losing their quality of freedom, something that he
experienced rather than did. Before any act of his own, he sees
redeeming love seeking and choosing him, and recognizes an etern al
decree of grace on his behalf' (Rudolf Otto, trans. and cited by
C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, The Moffatt NT
Commentary [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1932], p. 141).
The Sabbath is a constant reminder that God is in control.
Helmut Thielicke, a well-known German theologian and preacher,
recounts how at his first Bible study hour he went with the
determination to trust in the promise, "AII power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth [KJV]" Hitler was at the zenith of his power, and
his powerful war machi ne moved at will throughout the countries of
Europe. At the meeting there carne two elderly women and a still
older organist whose palsied fingers were no match for the music.
Such a great promise, but only three old people who didn't count at
ali. Who was in control, God or Hitler? Thielicke knew the answer
when the insane dictator, his forces crushed, killed himself in a
bunker. The Sabbath te lis us that the chaotic forces in the earth
cannot ultimately prevail. God as Creator has final control over ali
things. We can rest secure in His omnipotent power to hold back the
irrational forces that seek to engulf the world.
'-Only as man remembers Creation does he find his true identity.
"As the creature of the sixth day, man stands-to have dominion
over the earth, to relate radically to his own kind, and to be in the
image of God and qualified for relationship with God. The story, as
we have noted, ends with God' s rest on the sabbath within the time of
man, signifying that while the terminus ad quem of the cosmos is
man, the terminus ad quem of man is God. It is only in and from God
that man is man, that he can stand above the earth without a vain and
prideful denial of his feet of clay, and that he can stand on the earth
 The Sign of God' s Rest 21
, without a lazy, indolent surrender of his stance above and his
responsibility for it.
"Man is theocentric. He is not a materialist who finds his meaning
in the world, nor is he an idealist who is himself the sovereign source
of ali meaning and reality. He is a God-man who in God finds his
being and meaning so as to become a man and, as such, the source of
being and meaning for the cosmos" (Robert T. Osborn, "A Christian
View of Creation for a Scientific Age," New Theology, No. 10, eds
Martin Marty and Dean G. Peerman [New York: Macmillan
Company, 1973], p. 8).
Furthermore, Jesus Christ is Creator. The almighty Creator is also
the loving Redeemer. "The hand that sustains the worlds in space,
the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity
ali things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed
to the cross for us" (Ellen White, Education, p. 132).
The Christian therefore can face the world with ali its atlendant
evils and mysteries, even look back on history with its ambiguities,
convinced nevertheless that at the heart of the universe throbs a
power controlled by love. To know a powerful Creator is not enough.
It may be terrifying. But Jesus Christ revealed that love directs the
power of the Creator. The goodness, meaning, goal, and now the
relation of Creation itself, we understand only through the revelation
of God, which we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Evil, then, is an extraneous, intruding force, because God created
ali things good. Since God stands in control, evil must someday end.
If we trust in God, we can rest assured that our ultimate destiny will
turn out for our good. We may suffer some of the results of evil-such
as sickness, or disease, or pain from some accident-but we can bear
them because a life created by a beneficent God has a final and
ultimate purpose.:The recurring weekly Sabbath constantly reminds
us that God is in control, that life has meaning, that that meaning has
as its~!=enter God' slove for us, and that evil and suffering will pass
away]rhus the Sabbath is not an abstract doctrine but one which has
practical and experiential implications. ~
 HOLINESS IN TIME

fWhen God sought a medium in Eden through which He could

visit man and manifest His presence to him, He did not select some
place or building which He then called holy. For one thing, it would
favor only those nearby. All others could not enjoy it. But more
importantly, it would shift atlention from God the Holy One to the
physical site. Now we do not mean that God does not meet His
people in some place or structure. What it does indicate is that the
Lord does not restrict Himself to only one spot. And because He
fellowships with His people in many locations and many buildings, it
tells us that they are not the essential thing. What is vital is God' 5
presence.
Neither did God seled some human being as His medium in
Eden. To have done 50 could well have led to idolatry, transferring
emphasis from the divine to the human. Again we don't say that God
doesn't use human beings as media, but because He uses many, an
individual is not mandatory. Only God's presence itself is.
In appointing the medium, God selected nothing within space.
23
24 God Meets Man
Instead, He chose a segment of time. Time is first of all universal. It is
everywhere. No one stands in a place of advantage. With time, all
men are equal. The Sabbath becomes a worldwide blessing. Second,
time is immaterial. Holil}~s~iD Jime,rather than-in thing or place,
thwarts manis tendency toward idolatry. And because it is
immaterial, it points beyond space or matler to things of the spirit.
Third, time is all-encompassing:--~
When God sanctified the sev~nth day, He left no intervals during
the day that He did not claim. It is not possible to observe the Sabbath
simply by going to church from eleven to twelve o' clock in the
morning. Nor can one simply do certain specified acts on the day.
Sanctified time encompasses the totality of life.jTo keep the Sabbath
involves a complete dedication of the entire self.
Not only does the Sabbath point to spiritual worship without
sanctuary or holy mountain, but it also directs us to spiritual worship
without material representation of God or idols. And because the
Sabbath calls for worship in specific time, it breaks the temporal
succession of man' s involvement with material and spatial things and
continually caUs him forth to the realm of the spirit, to the eternal, and
to the Person who is Spirit. We can become so preoccupied with
space and what we touch and see that we Iose sight of the world of the
spirit. As Paul says, "We look not to the things that are seen but to the
things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but
the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4: 18).
~ Heschel says that "the meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate
tirr1e rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of
things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become atluned to holiness
in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is
eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of
creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world':: (The
Sabbath: lts Meaning for Modem Man [New York: Farrar, Straus and
Company, Inc., 1951], p. 10).
Thus fittingly the Sabbath for Adam and Eve was the first full day
after their creation. It was not because they had labored for a week
Holiness in Time 25
and needed rest that God invited them to celebrate it. God met them
on their first day.Man's history with God thus begins on the Sabbath,
the seventh day o(Creation week, not on the first. We must always
conceive of the Sabbath as the first day in our relationship to Goa.
God must come first in our experience, in our thought, in ou~
planning, in our life. Only as we come to God before we do anything
else, before we begin the workweek, will we have our priorities in the
right order. Only then will we know how to put the rest of the week in
theproper perspective.
Karl Barth asks, "Can man view and tackle his own work under
the command of God without first, as the same command of God
enjoins, pausing, resting and keeping holy-day in the sight of God,
rejoicing in freedom? Can he value and do justice to his work except
in the light of its boundary, its solemn interruption?" (Church
Dogmatics, VoI. III, part 4, p. 51).
: The Sabbath helps us to see that the things of the spirit are more
important than those of space.' As Heschel says, "We are aII
infatuated with the splendor of space, with the grandeur of things of
space. Thing is a category that lies heavy on our minds, tyrannizing aII
our thoughts. Our imagination tends to mold aII concepts in its image.
In our daily lives we atlend primarily to that which the senses are
spelling out for us: to what the eyes perceive, to what the fingers
touch. Reality to us is thinghood, consisting of substances that
occupy space; even God is conceived by most of us as a thing" (The
Sabbath, p. 5). By conceiving of the Sabbath as our first day, we exalt
the things of the spirit above those of space . 1 Meeting with God first,
we break the tyranny of materialism.j
As we fellowship with Jesus Christ on the Sabbath, He c1arifies
our vision, corrects our values, places our priorities in order. Thus
adjusted, we can go out into the workaday week without losing our
balance and perspective.' Because we have met with Jesus, we re fuse
to let matler dominate us and technology dehumanize us. For God,
the Sabbath was rest after six days of creative activity, but for man the
Sabbath comes before the six days-not as rest from labor, but as
26 God Meets Man
time to spend with God and to get betler acquainted with Him.
The Sabbath is different from weekday time, more so today than
in the past. People are more conscious of time today than ever
before. With rapid communication and transportation, one hour can
seem a long period. Events taking place on the other side of the world
reach us within minutes of their occurrence. Also because people
punch time clocks, radio and TV shows broadcast on precise
timetables, and production schedules demand strict adherence,
people feeI harried and pressured by time. To our frantic generation,
life moves too rapidly. ;
On the other hand, because of shorter working hours and
technological advances such as the washer, drier, lawn mower, and
dishwasher, man has a problem with too much time. When life has
no meaning, time drags and life bores such a person. And when at
work, time can either drag or pressure or harry him. Schedules
frustrate and treat him like a machine.
'What modern man needs is time when he can reflect and enjoy
without production schedules and the punching of time clocks.,Free
from the pressures of time, man can begin to enjoy God, and thus life.
Time flies during such enjoyment, but it does not dehumanize or
harry.
When the Sabbath arrives, the work of the secular week ceases
regardless if we still have books to read, articles to write, dresses to
sew, clothes to wash, or projects to complete. Man enters the
Sabbath as God did, aware that in six days he has completed his
work. "A_ man must enter the Sabbath as if ali his work were done"
(Mechilta, Masechta Ba-Chodesh). Sabbath time, instead of a tyrant,
becomes the vehicle of his fulfillment as a child of God.
 THE FELLOWSHIP OF
THE SABBATH

We have already mentioned how the Sabbath stands as a symbol

of God' s presence and fellowship with men. But it is not merely an
individual affair. By nature, fellowship includes alllike-minded men.
Therefore to speak of God' s fellowship with humanity is to speak of
the association of men whose binding force is their relationship with
God.'}V.Je see the fellowship of God's people demonstrated in the
Sabbath worship services. But if it is genuine fellowship, His people
will practice it throughout the week and especially throughout the
whole Sabbath. It must not begin and end in the worship services.
As the church grows in general and especially in the individual
congregations, the tendency for impersonalism sets in. The close
family relationship of the little church vanishes. Not only does the
number of our acquaintances shrink, but many people become
extremely lonely. They may in fact have nofriends at all:We should
make special effort, especially on the Sabbath, to include everyone in
the circle of fellowship. But it must extend beyond the worship
service to the dinner table and the living room.:
27
28 God Meets Man
The Sabbath must become the means of recapturing lost
fellowship.Whiie we have moved away from calling each other
brother and sister, we need not discard the idea that we are brothers
and sisters. The test of our familial love comes when one of our
members needs our help because of some misfortune. There should
be as great concern and care for members of the family of God as for
physical relatives.
One of the church fathers, T ertullian, described the early
Christian spirit: "Every man contributes something once a month, or
whenever he wishes to, and only jf he wishes to, and if he can; for no
one is forced, but everyone gives his share free-willingly .... Rather
they are used to feed and to bury the poor; for boys and girls without
means and without parents to help them; ... for shipwrecked sailors;
and for those doing forced labor in the mines, or banished on islands,
or in prison, provided they suffer for the sake of God' 5 fellowship.
That makes them beneficiaries by virtue of their confession of faith.
But even such acts of great love set a stain on us in the eyes of some
people. 'Look,' they say, 'how they love each other' (for they hate
each other). 'See, how ready they are to die for one another' (for they
would sooner kill each other)" (Apology, p. 39).
Aristides gives a similar picture. "They love one another. They do
not neglect widows. Orphans they rescue from those who are cruel to
them. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the
one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger they bring him
under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they
do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they
are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If one of them sees that one of
their poor must leave this world, he provides for his burial as well as
he can. And jf they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed
by their opponents for the sake of their Christ' 5 name, all of them take
care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among
them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing
to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can
supply any poor man with the food he needs" (ibid., pp. 15, 16).
 The Fellowship of the Sabbath 29
Such fellowship will extend beyond the spiritual family. God is
our example here. He rested to fellowship with men. And in the
person of Jesus Christ He tabernacled among us. No person
remained outside His circle. The outcasts of society flocked to hear
Him. He invited a publican, Matthew, to be one of His disciples. He
dined with Zacchaeus, a hated and despised publican who had
admitledly fleeced his taxpayers. He allowed a woman sinner to pour
ointment, mingled with her tears, on His feet, then to wipe them with
her hair. Humble fishermen made the nucleus of His disciples. He
welcomed children to His arms and accepted invitations to dine with
Pharisees. Christ embodied fellowship. And His example must be
our inspiration.
Karl Barth asks, "Would it not be nearer the mark to practice that
[renouncing] faith and celebrate the day by making closer contact
with others and opening oneself more to them than on other days,
listening to them, speaking with them and giving them the help one
more or less necessarily fails to do on week-days? How many human
relationships need the loosening or strengthening, or at least the
atlention and deepening, for which time is necessary and no other
time is perhaps available!" (Church Dogmatics, VoI. III, part 4, p. 70) .
. Hans Walter Wolff likewise inquires, "Doesn't our leisure tirne also
give us the opportunity to make our homes and backyards a relaxing
place where strangers can refresh themselvesi.lt should provide us
with time to send more than a hastily scribbled postcard to those who
have long awaited a word from us; it should give us time to have more
than a superficial conversation with a person who is ill. The
commandment to rest on the sabbath gives us time for the modem
slave, who lives on the periphery of our society, no matter in what
form he may stand before us\Ludwig Koehler once wrote, 'Before
God' s throne there will hardly· ever be a greater testimony given on
your behalf than the statement, "He had time for me" , " ("The Day
of Rest in the Old Testament,"" Lexington Theological Quarterly
[July, 1972], pp. 71, 72).
Closely related to the idea of fellowship is that of equality. The
30 God Meets Man
Sabbath memorializes God as Creator. When we come on the
Sabbath to worship God, we ali stand before Him as creatures. Our
natures emphasize the distance that separates us from God the
Creator. Looking at ourselves from that point of view, the differences
among us are nonexistent.(The Sabbath points to the equality of ali
t..
men ... _
Philo saw the idea of equality in the Sabbath, since it commands
not only the master but the servants to cease from labor. "But the
result of this occasional submission of the free to do the menial offices
of the slave, together with the immunity allowed to the slave, will be a
step forward in human conduct towards the perfection of virtue,
when both the seemingly distinguished and the meaner sort
remember equality and repay to each other the debt incumbent on
them" (Special Laws, II, XVI).
: For the Jew the Sabbath is agreat leveler. Dresner brings out the
point that "although one Jew may have peddled onions, and another
may have owned great forests of lumber, on the Sabbath ali were
equal, ali were kings: ali welcomed the Sabbath Queen, ali chanted
the Kiddush, ali basked in the glory of the seventh day. The uneven
divisions of society were leveled with the setting of the sun. On the
Sabbath there was neither banker nor clerk, neither farmer nor hired-
hand, neither mistress nor maid, neither rich nor poor. There were
only Jews hallowing the Sabbath. The carriage driver could not be
ordered to wait for his master outside the synagogue to drive him
home after the services; instead, both prayed together, both wore the
talit" (Dresner, The Sabbath, p. 43):
The command forbidding servants to labor on the Sabbath
would make for an equality at least on that day. The master must do
the servant' 5 work as the latter rests. Perhaps, unfortunately, the ideal
has been true more with the Jews than the Christians. T00 often in
Christianity the different classes of society do not worship in the same
church. For example, one might be an Episcopalian and the other a
Pentecostal. At any rate, such differentiation should not exist in
God' 5 church. God as Creator puts us ali on the same level. His
The Fellowship of the Sabbath 31
church recognizes "neither slave nor free,. . male nor female"
(Galatians 3:28).
A junior church or students' church does have a place, but there is
no room for the attitude or spirit that thinks of a group as exclusive
within the church. Whatever one' s occupation, education, racial or
ethnic background, economic status, they should constitute nothing
as far as our oneness as creatures before God the Creator. The
Sabbath should help erase educational snobbery within our midst.
The PhD' s, MD' s, or what have you should not look with comtempt,
disdain, or even condescension on those who have not had the
opportunities of higher education. And those with limited education
should not despise those who have advanced.
Genuine parents feei happiness for their children who can obtain
greater education than they had. They gladly make sacrifices for it
and take pride in their children's accomplishments. And it makes no
difference to them it their children choose some other good route,
whether it is farming, mechanics, brickmaking, baking, or whatever.
The parents realize that what their young people do fulfills an
essential function, that by their faithful work they bless society in the
same way as do others. Each of us should have such an attitude
toward others. It is a fact that most of our members who have
advanced education received it in Adventist schools made possible
through the sacrifices of all of God' s peopleLAt any rate the Sabbath
should remind us that we are all creatures of God' s hands. No matler
what differences we may find among us, we are nothing compared to
God-He is everything.-l
The Adventist Church today consists preponderantly of Third
World Adventists, most of whom speak another language than
English and/or come from different races than the Caucasian. For
Adventists the church has become catholic, i. e., universal. But it must
be more than universal, that is, throughout the whole world. It must
become one in which there is no white or black, brown or yellow, but
one new man in Christ Jesus. Charles Bradford tells of a conference
president speaking in a black church. Completely oblivious to the
32 God Meets Man
implications of his statement, he stated naively and innocently that
when he got to heaven, he would make it a point to go over to the
colored side to visit his colored friends. T00 much unconscious
racism still exists within the church. No matler what our race, we need
a close look at ourselves in the spirit of Christ, recognizing that we are
all creatures of God and one new man in Jesus.
Though Adventist church members are mainly middle class, they
should as gladly welcome into their midst those of the lower class. It is
a contradiction of the implications of the name Seventh-day
Adventists when our churches practice discrimination of any kind.
One of the major tenets of Adventists is the Sabbath, a distinctive part
of their name. But if they fail to practice true fellowship and genuine
equality, they betray a lack of understanding of the Sabbath as a sign
of fellowship and equality. --
'As we come together in worship on the Sabbath day, it should
remind us of our creaturely status before God and the fellowship that
God desires among us. Not only on the Sabbath should we observe
the spirit of oneness but throughout the week as well.
Because Adventists placard their belief in the Sabbath by their
name, they of all people should most fully actualize and concretize
the full meaning of fellowship and equality. They should demonstrate
not only what day is the true Sabbath but also its true meaning. By
their life they should fulfill the meaning of fellowship and equality.
 B.
THE SABBATH AS
REDEMPTION

" 'Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God
commanded you. Six days you shalliabor, and do aII your work; but
the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not
do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your
manservant, or your maidservant, or your ox, or your ass, or any of
your cattle, or the sojoumer who is within your gates, that your
manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. You shall
remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord
your God brought you out thence with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to
keep the sabbath day' " (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).
" 'Moreover 1gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and
them, that they might know that 1 the Lord sanctify them' " (Ezekiel
20:12).
"The women who had come with him from Gali/ee followed, and
saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; then they retumed, and
prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested
according to the commandment" (Luke 23:55, 56).
 CREATION AND
REDEMPTION

The New Testament closely connects Christ' s redeeming activity

with His creative activity. Hebrews 1: 1-3 describes Him as the One
who "created the world" and the One who upholds "the universe by
his word of power." But immediately afterward it portrays Him also
as the One who "made purification for sins." Colossians 1: 16, 20
states, "AII things were created through him and for him," and
through Him God reconciles aII things to himself, "whether on earth
or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." Paul, in 2
Corinthians 5: 17, calls the Christian "a new creation." Redemption
is truly a creative act. Therefore we will inevitably associate the ideas
of Redemption and Creation together. Naturally we shall consider
Christ as Redeemer and Creator, for One who can redeem must
Himself be the Creator.
It Christ can "deliver us from our present evil age" (Galatians
1:3), can forgive sins (Matthew 9:2), can release us "from the law of
sin and death" (Romans 8:2), can make us "qualified ... to share in
the inheritance of the saints" (Colossians 1: 12), can rescue "us from
35
36 God Meets Man
the dominion of darkness" and transfer us to the kingdom of light
(Colossians 1: 13), can destroy the devii "who has the power of
death," can free all those "subject to lifelong bondage" (Hebrews
2: 14, 15), then redemption has cosmic implications.
Langdon Gilkey points out that "the message of God's
forgiveness through grace alone involves the idea of creation. In this
message it is declared that despite man' s continuai failure to follow
the law of God and of his own nature, yes, even despite his defiance
of that law, God through Christ forgives him and accepts him back
into personal fellowship as a 'son and co-heir.' This conception of
forgiving grace, therefore, implies God's transcendence even over
His own law....
'''Now, as we have seen, this law represents the natural order of
creation, the essential structure of man, and of nature. Thus implied
clearly in the concept of God' s forgiveness beyond the law is the
concept of God' s transcendence over the structure of the world." "If,
then, God rightly judges man when he defies this law, God does so as
the Creator who established and upholds the structure of His
creation. Thus even the highly 'personal' judgment of God implies
God' s ontological status as Creator and man' s status as creature"
(Maker of Heaven and Earth [Garden City, New York: Doubleday &
Company, Inc., 1959], p. 232).
We have already seen the intimate relationship between the
Sabbath and the Incarnation. The Sabbath points to the Incarnation.
But for sinners who have lost contact with God, who live without
hope and without God in the world, Redemption directs back to the
Sabbath, to Creation. When the sinner comes to Christ and He
forgives him, he senses that Christ must be transcendent over the
structure of the world. He realizes that Christ is not only Redeemer
but Creator. The redemptive act implies the creative act. In fact the
redemptive act is itself a creative act. And so, inextricably
Redemption points back to Creation.
Thus it was with the children of Israel. With centuries of life under
foreign rulers and many years of oppression, they lost sight of God' s
Creation and Redemption 37
teachings. But as God powerfully delivered them from the Pharaoh
they sensed that God, their Redeemer, was also the Mighty Creator.
No wonder the Egyptians with all the military might could not keep
them in bondage, that even with great odds a Jainst them they
escaped the Egyptian armies. Thus the Exodus led to the Creation.
From an experiential view, the Exodus precedes the Creation. For
the believer, Creation leads to Exodus. And for the redeemed the
Exodus brings them to Creation. We cannot separate the two.
We shall see also that not only is the Sabbath associated with
Creation week but also with Redemption week. In this sense a vital
connection also exists between Creation and Redemption. The
Sabbath serves as a sign of Redemption, however, in an even wider
range. In the chapters that follow we shall expand on these
implications.
 THE SABBATH
AND JUSTIFICATION
L/'-
Man cannot save himself by works. Nothing that he performs or
accomplishes earns him acceptance with God. Sabbath observance,
therefore, can have nothing to do with justification from this point of
view.' On the contrary, the Sabbath itself symbolizes God's grace, the
fact that salvation comes by nothing that man does but by everything
that God does,_
. First, the Sabbath Adam and Eve kept fell on the first day after
their creation. They rested, not because of anything they had done,
but as a result of God' s finishing His work.'"They could not present
anything they had done. All they could do was to view what God had
done for them. Consequently they approached the Sabbath empty-
handed of any human merit. The Sabbath coming always in their
experience as the first day reminds them that they have nothing to
offer to God. It is for them to accept it as God' s gift to them.
Barth wrote, "His [man's] history under the command of God
really begins with the Gospel and not with the Law, with an accorded
celebration and not with a required task, with a prepared rejoicing
39
40 God Meets Man
and not with care and toil, with a freedom given to him and not an
imposed obligation, with a rest and not with an activity.... The first
divine action which man is allowed to witness is that God rested on
the seventh day and blessed and hallowed it. And the first word said
to him, the first obligation brought to his notice, is that without any
works or merits he himself may rest with God and then go to his
wor_~" (Church Dogmatics, VoI. III, part 4, p. 52).
"':Second, on the Sabbath we cease from our own works. God
invites us to glance away from ourselves and our endeavors and to
look to God and His works. On the Sabbath He wants to remind us
that we must put human achievements and human efforts aside in
His presence. He seeks to tell us that we cannot justify ourselves, and
that we must not trust in our own ability .. "What it really forbids ...
[us] is not work, but trust in ... [our] work" (ibid., p. 54): .
Thus "the aim of the Sabbath commandment is that man shall
give and allow the omnipotent grace of God to have the first and last
word at every point; that he shall surrender to it completely, in the
least as well as in the greatest things; that he shall place himself, with
his knowing, willing and doing, unconditionally at its disposal. It aims
at this complete surrender and capitulation by singling out one day,
the seventh, and thus the seventh part of the whole life-time of every
man, from the succession of his work days, by forbidding him to
make this day another work day, and by bidding him place himself on
this day directly as it were in relation to the omnipotence [sic] grace of
God and under its control" (ibid., pp. 54, 55).
When man ceases from his works, he must come to realize that
they are not 50 important and that even though he stops them, the
world still moves on without him or his works. What he does is not
indispensable. Although God' 5 creative work has ceased, His
sustaining activity goes ono It is God and what He does that are vital.
The Sabbath also tells us that God takes the initiative. He creates,
He acts, He gives, He provides, He invites, He blesses, He sanctifies.
Man is the created recipient, the spectator, the guest.· "The
fundamental meaning of the Sabbath is thus that it is a sign that
The Sabbath and Justification 41
salvation is altogether, first and last, of God, in His covenant relation
with His creature, which discounts ali that man can do, of himself for
himself, or think of himself about himself. To grasp the content of the
Sabbath is to come to this self-abnegatioI'l in view of the all-enclosing
initiating, continuing and final perfecting work of God in His
sanctification of man, this self-renouncing faith is the true resting from
man' s labours envisaged in the Fourth Mosaic Commandment which
is also the first and all-inclusive command of God upon His creation,
and in which man rests from himself and rejoices in freedom for
himself, for his fellows, and for God" (James Brown, "The Doctrine
of the Sabbath in Karl Barth' s Church Dogmatics, " Scottish Joumal
of Theology, 20 [1967], pp. 7, 8).
Even what God commands, man can prostitute into a claim for
self-righteousness. He has, for example, used prayer, almsgiving,
and fasting as ways to claim merit before God. And we recognize that
men have warped even the Sabbath. But something about the
Sabbath militates against such a legalistic spirit-its arbitrary
character. The Sabbath commandment does not merely require the
observance of the Sabbath, but it specifies which day. The seventh
day has no connection with any natural phenomena in the heavens
or on the earth such as Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of
Tabernacles, and the new moons. We can understand it only from
the Bible, which declares it as the day that memorializes God's rest
from Creation. In one sense it is somewhat of an arbitrary day.
Ultimately the keeping of the Sabbath on the seventh day is an act of
obedient and self-renouncing faith in the recognition of God's
sovereignty over us.
As one Jewish writer expresses it: "For the sabbath, however,
there is no room in this physicohuman periodicity. Having no bond
with nature other than the change of day and night, the sabbatical
cycle is indifferent to the harmony of the universe. It represents a
neutral structuring of empty time.
"Since the rhythm of the sabbath is the only exception to this -
prevailing natural rhythm, and since the exception in no way derives
42 God Meets Man
from time as such nor is traceable to any aspect of time experienced
in the ancient Near East, it is likely that the dichotomy between the
sabbath on the one hand and nature on the other hand was not
unintentional. The intention was, 1suggest, to fill time with a content
that is uncontaminated by, and distinct from, anything related to
natural time, Le., time as agricultural season or astronomical phase....
''That content, displacing the various ideas and phenomena
associated with natural time, is the idea of the absolute sovereignty of
God, a sovereignty unqualified even by an indirect cognizance of the
rule of other powers. As man takes heed of the sabbath day and
keeps it holy, he not only relinquishes the opportunity of using part of
his time as he pleases but also foregoes the option of tying it to the
secure and beneficial order of nature. The celebration of the sabbath
is an act completely differing from anything comparable in the life of
ancient Israel. The sabbath is an isolated and strange phenomenon,
not only in the world but also in Israel itself' (Matitiahu Tsevat, "The
Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath," Zeitschrijt jur die
alttestamentliche Wissenshajt 84 [1972], pp. 457, 458).
God's sovereignty over man and his time that is manifested by
the command to observe the Sabbath extends to all of man's time
and to all of man:His claim on us on the Sabbath in a special way
does not mean that we can do as we please the rest of the week.
While all time is not holy time as the Sabbath is, it is time that we must
live under the recognition that God is sovereign over us and that we
must always live in relationship to Him and His principles.
The Sabbath command in a Jewish ghetto where the whole
community agrees on it does not present as much a challenge to
man's autonomy as it does in the competing claims of a pluralistic
society. In contemporary twentieth-century society, customs and
practices frequently go contrary to what God requires of us. Not only
must the Sabbath seek to survive among those who espouse a
Sunday-oriented world but also in a society which recognizes no
worship day. The leisure society has taken over the weekend without
thought of any claims of God.'·-'The weekend centers around selfish
The Sabbath and Justification 43
human pleasures. Sabbath as well as Sunday suffers today. In such a
context, God' s claim of the seventh day challenges man' s autonomy.
Many cannot accept such an interruption. Some have thought of
having religious services before the weekend starts so that they can
enjoy ali of it. The majority simply have no time for God. But God's
claim is insistent. If we worship God, we can do it only His way. We
cannot manipulate Him and His Sabbath to our own convenience .
.God knows that we need more than relaxation and leisure time
for pleasure. Man needs God, and true fulfillment comes only as he
makes the kingdom of God first and leams to value the things of the
spirit and of etemity more than those of time and matler:
The Sabbath understood as that which strips us of our works and
our autonomy before God provides no opportunity for self-
justification. Its nature militates against its use in such a way. The
Sabbath is truly the sign of God's grace and sovereignty, and of
man' s reception and dependence.
 THESIGNOF
REDEMPTION

Deuteronomy 5: 15 states, "You shall remember that you were a

servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out
thence with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the
Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day," While no
doubt the passage makes a connection between the servants in
Israel's midst (verse 14) and the Hebrews' status in Egypt, suggesting
that especially on the Sabbath Israel should treat their servants with
consideration--even though they were not treated 50 in Egypt-it
mainly emphasized that God' 5 deliverance of Israel points to the fact
that the Sabbath should also lead to reflection on their great salvation
from bondage, Exodus 20 relates the observance of the Sabbath with
God as Creator, but here in Deuteronomy it associates it with God
the Deliverer or Redeemer. 'From the experiential point of view, we
encounter God as Redeemer before we recognize Him as Creator.
One merges naturally into the other. .
The application of the Sabbath command to the manservant and
maidservant, according to Philo, should encourage them "to
45
46 God Meets Man
entertain still higher hopes" and find "an ember or spark of freedom,
and look forward to their complete Iiberation if they continue to serve
well and loyally" (Special Laws, II, xvi). But the Sabbath command,
while extended to the servants, addresses itself primarily to the
Israelite master. He needs to learn from his experience in Egypt.
"That is, by bringing up the recollection of deliverance, it prods Israel
to recognize that enforced labor and dependence on a master for
basic needs is offensive to human dignity, and that freedom is an
important part of human self-fulfillment" (Niels-Erik Andreasen,
"Festival and Freedom: A Study of an Old Testament Theme,"
IntlillJretation, VoI. 28 [1974], p. 291).
\The Sabbath not only reminds us of our deliverance, but it
commands us to extend the blessing to those under oppression or
servitude·.-:It is not enough to rejoice in and enjoy one' s own salvation.
One must also work with God to bring deliverance "to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at Iiberty those who are
oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4: 18).
Every Sabbath as the Christian rests in remembrance of his
redemption and fregdom, he must also consider those who still
remain in bondage. Sabbath observance has integral social and
humanitarian aspects that we dare not forget. The Sabbath as sign of
redemption points in two directions-to our own redemption and to
that of the oppressed. We must bring rest to those who Iive in
servitude.
The sabbatical year and the year of jubilee emphasize
humanitarian aspects. They are extensions of the Sabbath idea from
the week of days to a week of years and to a week of seven seven-
year periods. On the sabbatical year God ordered the land to Iie
fallow "that the poor of your people may eat" (Exodus 23: 11). Also
the Hebrews must set the slaves free if they chose freedom (Exodus
21). The year of jubilee signified emancipation. The Lord
commanded the people to "proclaim Iiberty throughout the land to
all its inhabitants" (Leviticus 25: 10). The Hebrews would let the soil
Iie fallow, Iiberate their slaves, and allow people to return to their land
The Sign of Redemption 47
and their families. While the land Iying fallow indicates the idea of
rest, the dominant thought centers around concern for the underdog,
the slave, and the poor. While we have no record that they followed
the practices, nevertheless what the injunctions intended is dear. The
Sabbath concept involves the principle of regard for the poor and the
oppressed\ One cannot remain satisfied merely with his own welfare
and redemption if he truly observes the Sabbath.
Isaiah 58 dramatically relates the themes of the Sabbath and
social concern. Verse 3 connects false fasting with doing one's own
pleasure and oppressing all·one' s workers. If the individual carries on
a fast-which the chapter interprets as loosing the bonds of
wickedness, letting the oppressed go free, sharing bread with the
hungry, bringing the homeless poor into the house, and covering the
naked-then blessings follow (verses 6-12). The blessings begin with
"then" as in verses 8, 9, and 10. "If' dauses precede the conditions
for receiving in verse 10. The same structure follows in verses 13 and
14 which deal with the Sabbath. And the identical expression about
doing or seeking "your own pleasure" occurs twice in verses 3 and
13. The whole tightly knit chapter appears to consider the Sabbath as
the means by which Israel should manifest true fasting, Le., social
concern for the oppressed.
The Old Testament, especially Deuteronomy 5: 12-15, dosely
associates the idea of Redemption and Creation. The New
Testament does the same, although not as explicitly. Hans Walter
Wolff makes a connection of the completion of God' s creative activity
with Jesus' words as He died, "It is finished" (''The Day of Rest in the
Old Testament," Lexington Theological Quarterly [1972], p. 70).
With their utlerance, the veil of the Temple tore in two signifying that
Christ' s reconciling act had removed the barrier between God and
man. The work of Redemption was completed, finished. "God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself' (2 Corinthians 5: 19,
KJV). As on the sixth day of Creation when God had finished His
creative work, so it was on the sixth day of Passion Week that Christ
completed His redemptive work. And as at the beginning the Creator
48 God Meets Man
rested on the seventh day, 50 now the Redeemer rested on the
Sabbath.
Oscar Cullmann (Early Christian Worship, Studies in Biblical
Theology. London: S.C.M. Press, 1953, pp. 88-90) has an
interesting discussion of John 5: 17 in the Greek. It records Jesus'
response to the charge that He broke the Sabbath by healing the man
who had been iII for thirty-eight years: "My Father un tiI now works,
and I work." According to Cullmann the words "until now" refer to a
time when God will no longer be at work, at least not in the same way.
He connects the verse with 9:4, 5: " 'We must work the works of him
who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As
long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' " The day is the
time of Christ' 5 incamation on earth. And His work is to fulfill God' 5
will in the salvation of men.
Thus a kind of Sabbath begins with Christ' 5 death. As He cries
out, "It is finished," God's plan for Christ had its fulfillment. Jesus
rests because He has achieved this aspect of His mission. Christ' 5
presence itself, as we mentioned earlier, exemplifies the Sabbath
concept of divine fellowship with men, but God did not grant Him to
us to spend a few years. The Lord intended that through His
presence we might come again to enjoy unbroken fellowship with
God. His death guarantees to us the future unending Sabbath of
divine-human fellowship, but we still wait for its actual realization.
While the Sabbath memorializes the once-for-all redemptive
activity of Christ, Scripture considers the saving of each person as a
"new creation": "Therefore, jf any one is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2
Corinthians 5: 17). Here again Creation and Redemption are c10sely
related. Thus the Sabbath memorializes both Christ's general
redemptive activity in Passion Week and the redemption of ourselves
as individuals. It deals not only with the objective act of Christ but also
with our subjectfve·~e~ponse to it.
In regard to our individual redemption, while the Christian
obviously looks back to what Christ did for him on the cross two
The Sign of Redemption 49
thousand years ago, he views it through the prism of his baptism,
which symbolizes his death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus
Christ. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore
with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life"
(Romans 6:3, 4). The Christian personally appropriates the
redemptive activity of Christ through the symbolism of his baptism.
The Christian memorializes and celebrates his baptism, his entrance
into "newness of life," his becoming a "new creation," on the day
that represents the completion of Christ's redemptive activity.
The Christian as he celebrates the Sabbath rejoices not only in
God;s natural creation but in God's spiritual creation. He recognizes
that "the power that created all things is the power that re-creates the
soul in his own likeness" (Ellen G. White, Testimonies, VoI. 6, p.
350). The Sabbath then recalls to his mind the time when his re-
creation took place, his baptism which memorializes the once-and-
for-all event. lhe Sabbath weekly reminds us of the once-and-for-all
completed Creation event, our redemption by Christ, and our new
creation.
Thus the Sabbath is a sign of God's creative power in us. But it
can be such only if we indeed manifest in our persons the evidence of
divine power. We must in fact be a "new creation." The Sabbath has
no meaning at all unless creative power accomplishes its result in the
life of the one who observes the day. Holiness of being must match
holiness of time. Holiness of time must become holiness in time.
Then Sabbathkeeping can never become a legalistic or nominal act.
Truly the symbol participates in the reality of that for which it stands.
The Sabbath does not become an abstract entity, a mere external
sign for the Christian, for he keeps it with the reality of the "new
creation" that it symbolizes.
Both in the Old Testament and in the New the Sabbath stands for
Redemption. While that in the Old is the deliverance from Egyptian
slavery, Redemption in the New is rescue from the bondage of sin,
50 God Meets Man
the antitype of the Egyptian experience.
The Sabbath frees us from the daily routine of work. like the
Israelites in Egyptian captivity too occupied with labor, we can Iose
our identity as sons of God made in His image. With freedom from
our daily work, we can be what God made us to be. No Ion ger are we
a cog in a machine, a number on a computer card, but a person in
God's sight. We rise up to protest against the dehumanization of a
technological age. Without the Sabbath, it is ali too easy to Iose our
humanity.
Also the Sabbath liberates us from the circumstances that may
weigh down upon us when we do not have the freedom to do as we
please. Many an Adventist soldier locked up in military prison for
remaining faithful to his God knows that when the Sabbath comes,
"stone walls do not a prison make." The Sabbath releases one as he
experiences God' s closeness. Grunfeld described a touching
experience:
"The train dragged on with its human freight. Pressed together
like cattle in the crowded trucks, the unfortunate occupants were
unable even to move. The atmosphere was stifling. As the Friday
aftemoon wore on, the Jews and Jewesses in the Nazi transport sank
deeper and deeper into their misery.
"Suddenly an old Jewish woman managed with agreat effort to
move and open her bundle. Laboriously she drew out-two
candlesticks and two challot. She had just prepared them for Sabbath
when she was dragged from her home that moming. They were the
only things she had thought worth while taking with her. Soon the
Sabbath candles lit up the faces of the tortured Jews and the song of
'Lekhah Dodi' transformed the scene. Sabbath with its atmosphere
of peace had descended upon them ali" (The Sabbath: A Guide to lts
Understanding and Observance [Jerusalem/New York: Feldheim
Publishers, 1972], p. 1). In their misery they had forgotten that it was
the Sabbath. When she lit the candles, they remembered and found
peace and liberation from their misery.
 THE SABBATH
AND SANCTIFICATION

The Sabbath represents God's initiative and man's receptivity.

God does not force His presence upon us. Instead He says, "Behold,
1 stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens
the door, 1 will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me"
(Revelation 3:20). He enters only if we open the door:.Although He
takes the first step, we must respond to it. Thus only when man
responds by accepting God into his life does the full meaning of the
Sabbath emerge.
He becomes a "new creation." And as we have seen, the
Sabbath is the sign of that fact. Man is not simply inert matler like the
earth, but he is a dynamic, personal being with a will. Therefore as a
"new creation," he is not a finished product like inanimate nature.
Day by day he must respond to the Lord and accept His presence in
his life. "There is no such thing as instantaneous sanctification. True
sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last"
(Ellen White, The Sanctified Life [Washington, D.C.: Review and
Herald, 1937], p. 10).
51
52 Gad Meets Man
With Paul the Christian must say, "1 have been crucified with
Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life
I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Gad, who loved me
and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20): The Sabbath signifies
exactly that experience, for Gad declares, "'Moreover I gave them
my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know
that I the Lord sanctify them' " (Ezekiel 20: 12).
The Sabbath indicated that Gad had chosen Israel as His holy
people. It did not stand simply for holiness of time or holy time, but
holiness in time, or holy people. But as Ezekiel explains further, Israel
rebelled against God in the wildemess, did not walk in His statutes,
and profaned His Sabbaths. The violation of the Sabbath naturally
results from rebellion and disobedience.
. The Sabbath implies a holy people, not simply a group arbitrarily
set apart. God can set aside a segment of time and declare it holy. He
can do the same with a building. But not with people. They must
respond with a holy life, with a life of obedience. Faith must work
through love (Galatians 5:6). Therefore when God says that the
Sabbath is a sign of sanctification, He means that it is a symbol that
sets His people apart by their exemplary loyalty and obedience to His
will and commandments.
While it is possible "to keep" the Sabbath while living in a way
that denies any relationship to Jesus Christ, this completely rejects
the meaning of the Sabbath. For the Sabbath points to a new
creation and to a life of sanctification, holiness, and obedience. The
above situation presents a complete contradiction of terms. It is like
saying one can be loyal and at the same time betray his nation. If we
truly understand the significance of the Sabbath, either we will feei
uneasy about the contradiction between our lives and what the
Sabbath stands for, or we shall seek God' s help that our lives may
become daily more in harmony with its meaning.
Seventh-day Adventists affirm without reservation and in the
clearest and most forceful words that the just shall live by faith. Only
through the sacrifice of Christ can anyone hope to be saved. But we
The Sabbath and Sanctification 53
also belleve that faith is dead if it does not produce fruits. Ellen White
said, "He who is trying to become holy by his own works in keeping
the law, is attempting an impossibility. All that man can do without
Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. It is the grace of Christ
alone, through faith, that can make us holy" (Steps to Christ
[Mountain View, Callfornia: Padfic Press, 1892 and 1956], p. 60).
As Paul says, Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6). He also
states, "It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God,
but the doers of the law who will be justified" (Romans 2: 13). It is not
enough to hear; we must also do. The Sabbath on God' spart
signifies His initiative, but on the human side it stands for man's
response, a sign of his obedience and loyalty to God... The Sabbath,
with the other commandments of God, challenges man' s seriousne5s
in obeying God and tests the authentidty of his faith.
Many have charged Seventh-day Adventists as legalists, as those
who observe the 'commandments to merit salvation. Primarily they
make their accusation on the fact that Adventists insist that the
seventh day is the Sabbath and worship on it. Obviously no one
would want to labei another a legalist if he keeps the first
commandment, or the second. The issue basically centers on the
fourth commandment, and yet it is difficult to understand why one is
not a legallst if he follows the other nine commandments but is one if
he keeps the fourth.~The fact of the matter is that no one is a legalist
because he keeps the commandments of God as a response of love
to His great love.
Legallsm has to do with one' s motivation. One can turn any of the
commandments into a way to gain salvation. But Adventists view
them as an expression of His will. Any laws set 'forth by a king reflect
His character. If a king is righteous, he wants his people the same.
Thus we see in the commandments the character of God. But the llfe
of Jesus Christ most fully delineated God' s character. The law
became flesh in Jesus Christ, and thus we no longer seek to llve up to
a code but to a character. That is why we value the com-
mandments-as an outline of His personality. Jesus Christ is the
54 God Meets Man
Iiving law. Through His Spirit we seek to become more Iike Him. And
no one would term it legalism. The Sabbath stands as a symbol of our
response of love.
We witness today all too frequently a spineless Christianity where
agreat gulf separates its Iiving from its profession. Much of this results
from the fact that Christianity has lost sight of the Sabbath as
requiring serious obedience to God. The emphasis has centered on
justification without sanctification, a spurious faith without obedi-
ence, confession without love, and love without cost. In the words of
Bonhoeffer, "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without
requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Com-
munion without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross,
grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate" (The Cost of
Discipleship, revised and unabridged ed [New York: Macmillan,
1959], p. 36, hardback).
In our present world the Sabbath confronts us as God' 5 challenge
to our seriousness in accepting Christ. Since a large part of the world
structures its life and business around Sunday as its rest day,
observance of the seventh-day Sabbath today demands a radical,
conscious, deliberate decision to follow Christ. Some such demand is
always present in Christian conversion. We affirm that "only he who
believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes" (ibid.,
p.54).
The passages in the New Testament dealing with the final
judgment support Bonhoeffer' 5 last statement. For instance, Paul
writes, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 50
that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has
done in the body" (2 Corinthians 5: 10). And again: "He will render
to every man according to his works" (Romans 2:6). But Paul does
not alone hold the idea. We find it elsewhere: "And if you invoke as
Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds,
conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile" (1
Peter 1: 17). " 'Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense,
The Sabbath and Sanctification 55
to repay every one for what he has done'" (Revelation 22: 12; see
also Revelation 2:23 and 20: 13).
These verses, especially those from Paul, don't tell us that our
works will justify us. But what they do imply is what Bonhoeffer stated
above: "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is
obedient believes." The works by which heaven shall judge us are
the means of testing whether we tru1y believed; for genuine faith
leads to obedience and to a response that are the natural
consequence of such faith, and thus they atiest its genuineness. On
the other hand, "works of the law" reveal a complete lack of faith in
Jesus Christ but instead a trust on one' s own strength and
righteousness.
The Sabbath brings together the intimate relationship between
justification and sanctification. "We are saved by grace alone, but we
are saved for works and also through works in the sense that works
that proceed from faith serve the advancement of our sanctification"
(Donald Bloesch, The Christian Life and Salvation [Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967], p. 17). "We must
affirm both God' s decision for us and our decision in God. We must
try to grasp the paradoxical unity of what God has done for us in
Christ and what we can do in, with, and for Christ" (ibid.).
Even in justification itself man has a part, for God does not justify
us against our will. We must accept His offer. It is not enough to daim
that Christ died for us two thousand years ago. Today we must
demonstrate the efficacy of His death by a life lived according to His
will. "It is not only the perfected life of Christ in the past but the
faithful life of the believer in the present that makes salvation
effectual. It is not only Christ' s death on the cross but the bearing of
the cross by the people of the church that prepares the way for
ultimate victory" (ibid., p. 43).
The priority of justification is fundamental. We must ever keep in
mind that man alone and in his own strength cannot do anything for
his salvation. No amount of good works on his part can produce it
Vet it is just as important that we do not think of the Christian simply
56 God Meets Man
as lifeless matter on whom and for whom God does everything.
God' s initiative is basic, but unless man responds in faith, he has no
salvation. And the llfe of loving obedienee must follow the response.
In the words of Wesley cited by Bloesch, "The righteousness of
Christ is doubtless neeessary for any soul that enters into glory. But so
is personal holiness too, for every ehild of a man. But it is highly
needful to be observed that they are neeessary in different respects.
The former is neeessary to entitle us to heaven; the latter to qualify us
for it ,Without the righteousness of Christ, we eould hţ:lve no claim to
glory; without holiness we eould have no jitness for it" (ibid., p. 121).
The Sabbath as a symbol of justification and sandification brings
both truths together and keeps us who are prone to be one-sided
from falling into the errors of justification by works and of
antinomianism-a flippant, superficial disregard of serious obedi-
enee in the Christian life. Because of what it stands for, the Sabbath
itself wams us that we can't merely maintain an outward observanee.
True Sabbath observanee means that the Christian has responded to
God' s daim on his life and through the Spirit daily lives for God. The
truth of the intimate eonneetion of justifieation and sanetifieation
beeomes a living reality. The symbol beeomes realized and the
meaning of the Sabbath is incamated.
 A DAY OF DELIGHT

Isaiah calls the Sabbath "a delight" (Isaiah 58:13).\ The Jews
traditionally considered the Sabbath a day of joy to the extent that
they forbade fasting on it. The story of Judith the widow-heroine
illustrates their belief. A widow for three years and four months, she
had a tent set up for herself on the roof of her house into which she
went "girded [with] sackcloth about her loins and ... [attired with]
the garments of her widowhood. She fasted all the days of her
widowhood, ·except the day before the sabbath and the sabbath
itself, the day before the new moon and the day of the new moon,
and the feasts and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel" (Judith 8:5,
6). Even in mourning she would put away her garments of
widowhood and come down from her tent into her house and
celebrate the Sabbaths and other days of rejoicing. ,_
According to Dresner, "even the seven days of shivah, the
mourning period, are interrupted for the Sabbath. The famous story
from the Talmud of how Beruriah, the wife of Rabbi Meier, delayed
telling her husband the terrible news of the death of their two sons
57
58 God Meets Man
until the Sabbath had pas sed and night had fallen, became a living
example in count1ess Jewish homes through the ages, that one must
take every precaution to preserve the sweet pe ace and joy of the
Sabbath" (The Sabbath, pp. 19, 20).
The Jews try in many ways to make the Sabbath a special day.
They encourage a separate Sabbath wardrobe where possible. The
poor man who has only one suit should make it appear on the
Sabbath a little different from usual. The Jewish wife should prepare
special Sabbath meals. The rich should make the Sabbath meal even
better. If not, at least they could eat the meal at a different time than
usual (Samuel Segal, The Sabbath Book [New York: Behrman's
Jewish Book House, 1942], pp. 11, 15).
Ellen White encouraged Adventists to consider the Sabbath as a
day to look forward to. Each should have special Sabbath clothing
(Testimonies, VoI. 6, p. 355). She admonishes parents to do all in
their power to "make the Sabbath ... the most joyful day of the
week. They can lead their children to regard it as a delight, the day of
days, the holy of the Lord, honorable" (ibid., p. 369).
For the Christian the Sabbath should be a delight because, as a
memorial of Creation, it reminds him that "he has been put into a
world provided with all that he needs, and what is more, a world
richly appointed with many, many beautiful things. The sabbath is
thus an invitation to rejoice in God's creation" (Wolff, The Day of
Rest in the Old Testament, p. 69). In the words of Maltbie D.
Babcock:

"This is my Father's world,

And to my listening ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world;
1 rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought."
A Day of Delight 59
In spite of man's abuse of God's creation, much beauty in nature
still remains for us to enjoy. We have inspiring sunsets, majestic
mountains, verdant forests, azure lakes and seas, and white sand
beaches.
To enjoy God' s creation requires us to be more than passive
spectators. As Seventh-day Adventists, we recognize that we have a
responsibility over nature. When God made man, He gave him
"dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, and over ali the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26):: Sin has destroyed the
harmonious relationship between man and nature.' Fallen man has
,."-..-

abused his dominion and has exploited and ravaged nature rather
than caring for it responsibly. ]
Nevertheless Eric Rust says, "Despite ali that the Bible says
about sin and the need for redemption, man is not so radically lost
that his Creator does not continue to trust him with the stewardship of
this world!" (Nature-Garden or Desert? An Essay in Environmental
Theology! [Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1971], p. 27). Who else is
there to do this job? The Sabbath, pointing as it does to the Creation,
should place Seventh-day Adventists in the forefront of those
concerned for nature.
As the memorial of our new creation, the Sabbath is a day of
delight and joy also because it brings to mind the mighty act of
redemption that Jesus Christ wrought for us. It should recall our
liberation from the bondage of sin, our transfer from the world of
darkness into the kingdom of light. It is well to "remember that ...
[we] were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus ... [those] who once were far off have been brought near in the
blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2: 12, 13).
The Sabbath is the foundation of worship because it stands for
the distinction between the Creator and the creatures, the basis of ali
worship. In addition the Sabbath is a celebration of a festival-the
60 God Meets Man
festival of deliverance and redemption. The celebration takes place in
the Sabbath worship services. God' 5 people gather to praise Him in
word, prayer, and hymn for His mighty acts. They come to hear again
God's word proclaimed, His acts described, and the good news of
salvation announced. Accepting the gospel message, they commit
themselves anew to the God of grace by word and by symbol in their
offerings to God. The central focus on every worship service must be
what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. The Sabbath
celebrates Redemption ..
Atlendance at worship services must never raise any thought of
merit. We come because of what God has done. Mary, the woman
Christ had forgiven much, brought precious ointment to anoint Him
but had only gratitude in her heart when she did 50. In fact she could
not contain herself. Her heart 50 overflowed with thanksgiving and
joy that, standing at the feet of Jesus as He reclined at the table, she
burst into tears. She mixed her tears with the ointment and wiped
Christ' 5 feet with her hair. And she kissed His feet over and over. Ali
of it she did before the amazed and angry gazes of Simon and his
guests. But forgiven much, Mary loved much, and she was
completely oblivious to her surroundings.
Such who come to Jesus cannot have any thought of reward or
merit. They approach with grateful hearts for the great deliverance
they have received in Jesus Chris!:", Like a gathering of men and
women rescued from drowning, or-prisoners of war delivered from
imprisonment, they participate in the worship service joyfully, not
apathetically or mechanically. Enthusiastically they sing the hymns as
praise to their Benefactor and bring their offerings cheerfully because
they remember what He has given them. As Paul declares, "Thanks
be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).
On the Sabbath we rejoice in God' 5 creation and His new
creation in our lives, but it is also a time for us to work together with
God in His continuing mission of re-creating men. Thus Jesus healed
on the Sabbath. Miracles indicated the breaking in of God' 5
kingdom. Jesus said, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out
A Day of Delight 61
demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew
12:28). In casting out demons He demonstrated that He was the
strong man who enters the house of the deviI to plunder his goods,
and thus He triumphs over the evil one. His miracles of healing
foreshadowed the final restoration of ali men. When He comes again,
He will establish His kingdom completely. It will have no devii, and
there'lI be no blind, deaf, maimed, or lame. The Sabbath was a sign
of that everlasting rest:', fn healing on the Sabbath Jesus pointed to the
fact that He will restore man whole in the new earth.'
Jesus' healings on the Sabbath were not emergencies. AII could
have waited another day, or even longer. Through them Jesus tells us
that we should never use the Sabbath as an excuse for our not doing
good. In fact God specially ordained the Sabbath for us to do such
activities. "Heaven's work never ceases, and men should never rest
from doing good" (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 207).
R. R. Bietz te Ils the story of a Seventh-day Adventist service
station proprietor. One Sabbath arnan who had run out of gasoline
carne to his house. The church member refused to give him even a
galion to get him to another service station because it was against his
scruples. The man had to walk away with the hope that he might find
another station not too far away. No doubt he connected the incident
with Seventh-day Adventists the rest of his Iife. " 'Is it lawful on the
Sabbath,' " Jesus asks, " 'to do good or to do harm?' " (Mark 3:4).
"God could not for a moment stay His hand or man would faint
and die. And man also has a work to perform on this day. The
necessities of Iife must be attended to, the sick must be cared for, the
wants of the needy must be supplied. He will not be held guiltless
who neglects to relieve suffering on the Sabbath. God' s holy rest day
was made for man, and acts of mercy are in perfect harmony with its
intent. God does not desire His creatures to suffer an hour' s pain that
may be relieved upon the Sabbath or any other day" (ibid.).
Karl Barth refers to the minister as the ideal case of arnan who
works on the Sabbath joyfully and in that way keeps it holy (Church
Dogmatics, VoI. III, part 4, p. 68). The incident of disciples' plucking
62 God Meets Man
grain on the Sabbath illustrates this point. It was proper, Christ says,
for the priests to perform greater labor on the Sabbath than on other
days. The disciples in doing Christ's work had a right to do what they
did on the Sabbath. "The object of God' s work in this world is the
redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on
the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the
Sabbath law" (The Desire of Ages, p. 285).
We must not equate the Sabbath with useless inactivity. The
latter may be a serious type of Sabbathbreaking. What Jesus asked
the Pharisees pointedly in the synagogue, He inquires of us today:
" 'Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or
to kill?' " (Mark 3:4). To do nothing sometimes is the same as doing
harm or killing. It is therefore important that the Sabbath becomes a
day of delight as we joyfully work with God in the redemption of men.
 c.
THE SABBATH
AS FUTURE REST

"For as the new heavens and the new earth which 1 will make
shall remain before me, says the Lord; so shall your descendants and
your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath
to sabbath, ali flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord"
(Isaiah 66:22, 23).
"So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for
whoever enters God's rest also ceases from his labors as God did
from his" (Hebrews 4:9, 10).
 "THERE REMAINS
A SABBATH REST"

In the introduction we mentioned that the Sabbath symbolizes

God' s presence with men. The Incarnation represented a limited
fulfillment of the Sabbath in that sense when Christ became
Emmanuel, "God with us." However, in the new earth the complete
fulfillment of the Sabbath promise will take place. The Lord will be
present with men forever. In this sense there will be one unending
sabbath, though the saints shall still gather weekly, from Sabbath to
Sabbath, and monthly to worship God (Isaiah 66:23).
Hebrews 4 advances the same idea, although in a somewhat
different manner. The discussion concerning the rest of God begins
in chapter 3. The author admonishes the people not to follow the
example of the Israelites in unbelief and disobedience. He quotes
from Psalm 95 describing Israel's wickedness during the forty years in
the wilderness and how as a result God determined that they would
not enter His rest. But what do the Scriptures mean by rest? It
involved more than mere entrance into the Promised Land, even
though Numbers 14 indicates that the prohibition included only
65
66 God Meets Man
those twenty years old and above at the time of the Exodus.
However, the author does not interpret it that way, for he goes on to
say in Hebrews 4:8: "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would
not speak later of another day." Clearly it indicates that Joshua, even
though he led the Israelites into the Promised Land, did not bring
them this rest.
Why did they not receive it? Simply because they were not
people of faith and obedience. Evidently the rest is not simply settling
the Promised Land, but the author of Hebrews has broadened it to
imply a kind of spiritual rest.
What can we say about such rest? Obviously we can receive it
only on the basis of faith and obedience. Apparently the Israelites
could have obtained it. They failed, though, not because it is wholly a
future heavenly rest, but as a result of their disobedience.
According to Hebrews 4:3, 4, 10, the rest has been available
since Creation and is based on the Sabbath rest of God. Christians
also received it at the time that the author lived, according to
Hebrews 4:3: "For we who have believed enter that rest." It is not
something wholly future but available here and now. In harmony
with the theology of the book, though, complete fulfillment will occur
only at the second coming of Christ.
We cannot equate such rest directly with the Sabbath, even
though Hebrews 4:4 significantly mentions the Sabbath within the
discussion. It is something that could have coincided with the
entrance of the Promised Land and in that case could not have
referred to the Sabbath.
Furthermore, God swears that Israel shall not enter His rest.
Could God be saying that He would deny people the experience of
observing the Sabbath? Would it not be more likely that it refers to a
certain historical experience which would be at the same time
spiritual? And did not God have to deny it because of their unbelief
and disobedience-which would involve their relationship to God' s
commands, including the Sabbath? That being so, the Sabbath
would constitute one of the conditions for receiving rest. The author
"There Remains a Sabbath Rest" 67
brings in the Sabbath only to illustrate the rest, not to define it.
What, then, is the rest? It must be the experience of blessedness
and peace that the Christian receives when he in faith and trust rests
wholly on the Lord. Such rest results in deeds of love and obedience.
Faith and obedience in the Lord produce a spiritual experience that
removes all intern al fears of an offending conscience and the externa!
fear of God' s wrath. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5: 1, KJV).
It is interesting that in Hebrews 4:9 the author speaks of a
"sabbath rest" (sabbatismos), as the RSV translates it, while he has
used the word katapausis for rest until then. Here the Book of
Hebrews makes the connection with the Sabbath, comparing the rest
of faith to the Sabbath rest. Man brings nothing to it. Man entered the
world having done nothing, but he simply accepted what God did
during the six days of Creation; so now he accepts the rest, having
done nothing.
But the writer of Hebrews does mention that men must cease
from their labors, "for whoever enters God' s rest also ceases from his
labors as God did from his" (4: 10). How? We can better understand
it from a negative point of view. Because the children of Israel did not
cease from their labors, they did not enter the rest. The acts then must
consist of the people' s disobedience and unbelief. Thus the cessation
of such acts must constitute the meaning of resting from their labors.
The analogy then rests simply upon the fact of cessation
inasmuch as it is a Sabbath kind of rest. Verse 11 urges the positive
aspect of obedience and faith.
While the rest awaits us now, its ultimate experience stilllies in the
future. What we have is only a foretaste of the real Promised Land
where we will enter into perfect rest. Jesus, the Greek form of the
name Joshua, appears in Hebrews 4:8 of the King James Version.
The first Jesus (Joshua) led the children of Israel into the Promised
Land of Canaan but did not bring them rest. The second Jesus will
lead His people into the ultimate Promised Land and bestow on them
eternal rest. •
68 God Meets Man
For the Jews the Sabbath was a special type of the world-to-
come. In a late Midrash, Othiot de Rabbi Akiba, (cited in Theodore
Friedman, "The Sabbath: Anticipation of Redemption," Judaism,
VoI. 16 [1967], p. 444), Israel addresses God: " 'Masteroftheworld,
if we observe the commandments, what reward will we have?' He
said to them: 'The world-to-come.' They said to Him: 'Show us its
likeness.' He showed them the Sabbath." Friedman also refers to
Nachmanides' statement: "The seventh day is an indication of the
world-to-come that is ali Sabbath."
In the experience of the Sabbath with its celebration of God' s
redemption of man, its rest from man's labors and toil, its fellowship,
its atmosphere of joy and delight, we have a taste of the perfect
Sabbath of eternity. The future world will have an unending
celebration of Redemption. The great multitude in heaven will sing,
" 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God' "
(Revelation 19: 1). The toilsome and burdensome labors of men will
cease. Sin and its results will pass away. Fellowship with
God-interrupted by sin-will be fully restored. "And I saw no
temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the
Lamb" (Revelation 21:22). "Behold, the dwelling of God is with
men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God
himself will be with them" (Revelation 21:3). God's presence alone
will make the new earth a place of unending joy.
On the Sabbath, then, in a special way we have eternity breaking
into the present. With the incarnation of Christ we find the New
Testament speaking of the blessings of the world-to-come as already
partiallyexisting. Dur justification is a forejudgment; the Spirit is a title
deed to the future. The Sabbath stands in a unique way as a symbol
of the blessings of eternity.
The year of jubilee was an extension of the Sabbath idea into a
sabbath of weeks. Its basic theme is restoration and liberty. The
Hebrews returned property to the original owners, and they set free
those who sold themselves as slaves. When He carne into Nazareth,
Jesus read from Isaiah 61: " 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
"There Remains a Sabbath Rest" 69
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the
accepta bie year of the Lord' " (Luke 4: 18, 19). The year of jubilee
began with the life of Jesus, but its final fulfillment will take place at
the Second Coming. Thus the year of jubilee or the sabbath of weeks
points unmistakably to the sabbath of etemity, the unending jubilee.
 PART II

THE MEANING
OFTHE
SECOND ADVENT
•
 A.
THEADVENT
AND
THE PR·ESENT LIFE
"By his great mercy we ha ve been bom anew to a Iiving hope
through the resu"ection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an
inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3, 4).
"Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).
" 'And 10, 1 am with you always, to the close of the age' "
(Matthew 28:20).
"The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness,
but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but
that aII should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
 THE BLESSED HOPE

Two opposite moods exist together in the world today. Anxiety,

pessimism, and despair struggle with hope and optimism. Before
World War I, optimism and hope prevailed. The theory of evolution
proclaimed that the future could only grow betler. One could only go
up. The social gospel rode on the wave of optimism too. The
millennium would begin on earth in a short time. The clash of arms in
World War I, and especiaHy the frightful events of World War II that
ended ominously with the mushroom cloud hanging over Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, crushed such a hopeful spirit. The mood of despair
that swept over the world was much more acute than it is now, but stiH
it does not He too far below the surface.
The threat of world destruction through famine and overpopula-
tion compounded the dismal situation. The demographic statistical
data frightened everyone. Philip Hauser predicts that the population
of the world will reach 6.8 bilHon by the year 2000. It took until1825
to have a Hving population of one bilHon on this earth. Now it requires
only ten years for an additional bilHon ("The Emergence of the
75
76 God Meets Man
Population Problem," in Population Crisis: An Interdisciplinary
Perspective, eds. Sue Titus Reid and David L. Lyon [Glenview,
lliinois: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1972], p. 7). When we consider
that the earth can support only 6 to 8 billion inhabitants, time is short
for the human race before great catastrophes overtake us. Because of
the population explosion and the insatiable needs of such increasing
numbers, an insoluble dilemma presents itself. Men must decide
either to choke to death from the pollutants they pour into the
atmosphere or curtail their needs, be less comfortable, and eat less. If
nuclear war does not wipe us out, we will eliminate ourselves by
overpopulation and pollution. Such prospects lead only to despair.
Yet in recent years a current of hope has arisen. It has by no
means taken the world by storm, but in certain circles and certain
countries we find a small measure of it. First of ali, communism with
its promise of an economic millennium has brought hope to the
downtrodden and oppressed that they will become the rulers of the
future. Norman Cohn (The Pursuit of the Millennium, 2nd edition
[New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961], p. 309) considers
communism as a secularized millennial movement.
Black theology' s building upon the Biblical insight that the God of
the Bible is the God of the oppressed also represents a theology of
hope. Similar to black theology but more influenced by the
theologians of hope, especially Jurgen Moltmann, is the theology of
liberation. A kind of Third World black theology, it incites the
oppressed to revolution with or without violence to obtain freedom
from colonial rulers or totalitarian nationalleaders. Less activist, more
theoretical, is Teilhard de Chardin's evolutionary theology. It
postulates that man has moved beyond the animal sphere, and the
next and final stage is his "Christification" as he enters the
"Christosphere. "
The impetus for much of the current of hope present in the world
comes from Emst Bloch and Jurgen Moltmann. Bloch develops his
thought out of a dialectic of cathedral and ship, the vertical and the
horizontal, permanence and movement, the present and the future,
The Blessed Hope 77
Parmenides and Heraclitus. A Jewish atheistic Marxian revisionist, he
chooses the second part of the dialectic as the norm. Man must move
forward until he establishes the "commonwealth of freedom," a
Communistic utopia. A creature of hope, of movement, man is future-
oriented. The present vertical hierarchization must become inverted.
The God of permanence and of the propertied classes must be
dethroned and the economic status quo shaken up and restructured.
Moltmann, influenced by Bloch, has turned the latter's
philosophy into Christian theology. To sanction his views, he goes
back to the prophets who proclaimed the imminence of something
new. Jesus Christ fulfilled their proclamations. The new age had
come, but they had the problem of what to preserve-if anything-of
the old. Paul saw that the old was not abolished but fulfilled. But
Marcion with his one-sided emphasis sought to completely cut away
the old. He saw Christianity as totally new. Since the church
considered Marcion a heretic, the new-because Marcion 50
radically conceived it-found survival difficult. The adherents of the
new went underground. Thus, Capps describes it, after Marcion's
time: "There are two rival parties, as it were: the one is vertically
oriented, hierarchically motivated, and institutionally structured; and
the other is peopled by those who expect the end of the age to come,
do not feei particularly 'at home' in this world, and understand
themselves, to greater and lesser degrees, to be pitted against an
overpowering, overbearing, and menacingly threatening 'establish-
meni' " (Time lnvades the Cathedral [Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1972], p. 55). 11nrlatter group Moltmann sees as surfacing only at
the present time. They look to the future rather than the past.
Moltmann's future, like Bloch's, centers on this world. It results from
the church's effort to establish justice and equity.
Such theologians of hope are much too opti mistic toward man's
nature. The revolutions of communism have not brought the utopia
they promised. The reversal of the social classes has taken place only
on a limited scale with the result that most of the oppressed continue
in servitude. The change involves only the identity of the new
 78 God Meets Man
oppressors. Bloch's "commonwealth of freedom" is no more
realizable than other Communist utopias. Moltmann's future may
lead to some changes, but nothing of the radical type he envisioned.
Ultimately all such "this-worldly" expectations will prove illusory and
futile since the nature of man remains unchanged. It does not mean
that the Christian should ignore injustice and oppression, but through
it all he must have a realism too often lacking in liberal programs.
Man' 5 hope must transcend our world and time and have its basis
not merely on human aspirations and equity and justice for the
oppressed peoples living at the present but on God' 5 Word and
justice for all peoples of all times. His only hope is Biblical hope,
especially as he directs it to the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. We
04-
call such study eschatology, or the doctrine of last things. The
.doctrine of last things is as important as that of first things. In Christian
circles a crucial conflict took place over the understanding of the latter
in the nineteenth century in the form of evolution versus Creation. At
the same time the battle decided how one would interpret last things.
If one considered Creation as unscientific and incongruous with
science, it follows naturally that he would regard the return of Christ
in the same way. Consequently, not as much open conflict rages over
the doctrine of last things. It was settled with the doctrine of first
things.
Eschatology became a neglected area in Christian theology. For
modern man it did not make sense. But with the neglect there arose a
sense of futility. With no climax and objective to history, what sense
did it make to live, to love others, to do good, to sacrifice, to discipline
oneself? It is like sowing while knowing there would be no harvest, or
practicing for a game that you know you would never play. Thus
even the words "1 hope 50" have altered into an expression of doubt.
Life has become futile and meaningless, and into the vacuum
existentialism entered, trying valiantly to make something out of
nothing. With the 1055 of eschatology went men's hopes. For even
though we live in an age when men have a lively expectation of the
end of tA€ world, that in itself does not produce meaning. Men need
The Blessed Hope 79
to see the end as having a purpose and a meaning, an ultimacy,
rather than merely as an occurrence. In the words of J. A. T.
Robinson: "To the nineteenth century, the Christian scheme may
have seemed incredible-an improbable answer to an intelligent
question; to the twentieth it appears blankly irrelevant-the question
itself has become meaningless. For, without some kind of belief in
teleology, there can be no eschatology" (In the End God, Religious
Perspectives, VoI. 20 [New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1968],
p.30).
The same situation also existed in ancient times. When you view
history cyclically, you don't find much meaning or hope to Iife. "It is
the absence of hope from aII the ancient pagan cultures which is the
most remarkable thing about them from the standpoint of anyone
brought up in the Judaeo-Christian tradition" (J. E. Fison, The
Christian Hope: The Presence and the Parousia [New York:
Longmans, Green and Co .. 1954], pp. 16,17). According to Fison,
"of the three theological virtues it was not faith and it was not love,
but it was hope which was in shortest supply in the ancient world to
which Christ carne, and it is precisely in the same position to-day"
(ibid., p. 15). Writing to Christians converted from paganism, Paul
said, "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world" (Ephesians 2: 12).
What does it mean to have hope? Paul Minear distinguishes it
from wishing this way: "One can easily handle this word flippantly, as
if hopes were no more than passing wishes, which, if they were
horses, beggars might ride. But hope is stronger than wishing,
because in it confidence is added to desire.fWe desire many things
that we dare not expect, but when we expect what we desire, then we
have hop~ Desires become hopes when they find solid earth
beneath t~m, the patient stars above them, and an assured goal
before them" (Christian Hope and the Second Coming [Philadel-
phia: The Westminster Press, 1952], pp. 17, 18). He fin~s three
80 God Meets Man
aspects to hope: source, object, and desire. "Whether his hope is
vindicated depends on the simultaneous validity of ground, goal, and
goad" (ibid., p. 18).
According to Brunner, "Hope means the presence of the future,
or more precisely it is one of the ways in which what is merely future
and potential is made vividly present and actual to us. f10pe is the
positive, as anxiety is the negative, mode of awaiting the futurE~'~:
(Eterna! Hope [Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954], p. 7).
Minear summarizes the Biblical meaning of hope in the following
manner: "In the first place, the Bible speaks of hope in thoroughly
personal terms as the medium of man's God-relatedness. From
beginning to end, true hope rests not in things or events, but in God.
"Secondly, the Bible speaks of hope in the singular, as one hope
that includes the destiny of aII men and at the same time has a bearing
for each moment in the life of each man.
"Thirdly, the Bible does not speak of hope as a line connecting
the present to the future. Hope is a horizon within which God sets
man' 5 past, present, and future. Hope is not a dream about
tomorrow that is subject to change as each tomorrow becomes
today. It is a reality that reveals the future in the past and the past in
the future.
"Fourthly, the Bible speaks of hope as something that cannot be
torn out of its context in the whole life of faith. It is 50 intrinsic to that
life that it pervades every cranny of the believer' s existence. Hope is a
mode of existence and not merely an object of desire. We have hope
because we live in hope and because this hope lives in us. It is not
some state into which we push ourselves by a careful balancing of
historical probabilities and forecasts. We do not argue ourselves into
it by following a chain of reasoning. It enters our hearts as a gift from
the God to whom we turn as rock and refuge" (ibid., pp. 28, 29).
Biblical hope is also a living hope. Peter, who had denied his
Lord three times and who with the other disciples was in despair on
the Black Friday when they saw their hopes seemingly crushed by the
execution of their beloved Master, later expressed exactly that belief.
The Blessed Hope 81
"By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an
inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you, who by God' 5 power are guarded through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-5). It is a
living hope because nothing can squelch it.
From the depths of despair Peter' 5 hope had arisen with the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. His hope for the future inheritance rests
on the Resurrection. Because the Lord has risen, the final
consummation of all things is certain. Thus Christians await the
"blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ" (Titus 2: 13, NIV *). Christian hope centers on and
directs itself to a Person, Jesus Christ. Faith and hope are inextricably
united. "Faith is the foundation of hope, hope is that which gives )
content to faith. But both faith and hope are rooted in the revelation.J
of God in Jesus Christ" (ibid., p. 28).
The resurrection, judgment, heaven, and hell constitute
eschatology, but the central matler is the parousia, the appearance of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The ideas of the resurrection,
judgment, heaven, and hell are not uniquely Christian. Other
religions have some type of end-time events that seek to bring justice
in an ultimate way. It is the parousia of Jesus Christ which is
distinctive, the same Jesus Christ who is our Creator, who was
incarnated, who lived among us, who was crucified, who was raised
from the dead, and who ascended on high.

* From The New International Version. Copyright © 1973 by The New York Bible
Society International and is used by permission.
 HIS GLORIOUS
APPEARING

The Jews at the time of Jesus believed in two ages: this age and
the one to come. The former is the present sinful age, and the latter
the Messianic age, when sin would exist no longer and the conditions
of Paradise would return-when the lion would eat straw like the
cattle and the lion and the Iamb would lie down peacefully together.
With the birth of Christ, the whole time scheme shattered, for though
the Messiah had arrived, the Messianic age as they conceived it did
not carne. Yet certain aspects of the Messianic age did develop with
the incarnation of Christ. The end did not come, but some of its
elements did. From a life of brokenness, men found wholeness as
Jesus healed and cast out demons. The dead were raised, along with
Jesus Himself. Judgment, salvation, the presence of the Holy Spirit,
became experienceable now-not in a final, absolute sense-but in a
real way nevertheless.
Thus, instead of a single radical break ushering in the age to
come, there are two transitions: the first during Christ' s life, which is
preliminary and limited; and the second at Christ' s return, which will
83
84 God Meets Man
remove sin and its effects and bring all the redeemed together with
their Lord.
The limited nature of the visible results of Christ' s work makes it
difficult to establish a convincing Christian philosophy of history. All
things seem to continue as always. The fact that one is a Christian or a
Christian church, community, or nation does not guarantee any
protection against catastrophes or assure wealth, prosperity, and well-
being. Because of the ambiguities of history, even contradictory
philosophies appear to stand on equal footing. But the Christian by
faith sees in Christ the true key to history' s meaning. His resurrection
especially guarantees for the Christian that history has significance. It
assures the victory of God over the forces of evil and the resurrection
of all His people.
The present, however, still witnesses the apparent domination of
evi!. Demonic forces seem to control both human and natural forces.
The death of the innocent, righteous Saviour Himself is a paradigm of
the reality and power of evil in the current world. Without faith one
must weep in despair at the helplessness and hopelessness of
righteousness in the face of evi!. And if this is the reality, then life and
history have no meaning. Only the Resurrection brings significance
back into history.
With the Resurrection the new age begins, but in the midst of the
old age. The preliminary age to come coexists with the present evil
age. Walter Kiinneth describes it thus:
''This dawning of the new world epoch in the resurrection of
Jesus does not result in the end of the old world epoch, but in a
relation of mutual conflict and interpenetration between the two
aeons. There is indeed no immanent continuity between this present
existence and the new life, but the new world epoch is here in the
midst of the old, whether man recognizes this reality ar denies it. The
two aeons stand in a relationship of presence and contemporaneity in
respect of time, but in regard to substance they are in a relationship of
antagonism. The old aeon is the visible and objective mode of
existence, while the aeon of the Resurrection on the contrary is the
His Glorious Appearing 85
invisible and non-objective reality. The world which has dawned in
the Resurrection is a hidden one for the hitherto existing aeon. This
makes it clear that since the turn of the ages a new reality can
interpolate itself into the old visible world by reason of the hiddenness
of its existence, in such a way that the concepts of 'hiddenness' and
'visibility' become characteristic descriptions of the two presently
existing aeons" (The Theology of the Resurrection [St. Louis,
Missouri: Concordia Publishing H6use, 1965], pp. 256, 257).
Thus even the risen Christ was a hidden Christ appearing only to
His followers. The Resurrection was not a spectacular demonstration
for unbelievers and those who crucified Him. He did not in splendid
array appear to the crowds at the Temple gate, nor did He
dramatically reveal Himself to Pi!ate and the high priests in the
darkness of that Sunday night. He went only to the believers. The
Resurrection continues as a hidden event seen only by the eyes of
faith. And the meaning of the Resurrection as victory over the forces
of evi! and a guarantee of the triumph of good over evi! remains
hidden.
Yet, to those who believed in the Resurrection, the message was
clear and unequivocal. It showed forth in their lives as they went forth
boldly proclaiming His resurrection. The cowardly Peter no longer
ran, but he stood before thousands and cried out, " 'This Jesus,
delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of
God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God
raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not
possible for him to be held by it.' " " 'This Jesus God raised up, and
of that we all are witnesses' " (Acts 2:23,24,32). Again threatened
by the Sanhedrin, he said, " 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but
speak of what we have seen and heard'" (Acts 4: 19). The
Resurrection made a difference in the life of believers, but to
unbelievers it passed unnoticed.
The risen Christ lives, and as a result He is still among us. He has
never really gone away. True, His visible presence is not with us. He
86 God Meets Man
did not say that He will be with us at the end of the age, but "to the
close of the age" (Matthew 28:20). We cannot see Him with our
eyes, but we believe that He is where two or three gather together in
His name (Matthew 18:20). His physical presence was limited, but
through His Spirit He can be with His people all over the world at the
same time. No one need be deprived of His presence, yet it continues
hidden.
"Now it is time to ask the question, What is the distinctive and
unique character of this last and definite coming? If he who comes is
not absent but rather present, then his last coming cannot be so much
a second coming as a new way of coming and of being present. First
Jesus was present among us in the manner of bodily human presence
as the only representative of a new humanity. Now he is present
among us in the Spirit, through whom he works in a contagious and
renewing movement to conform many people to his image. And
soon the harvest of this process will be gathered-when he will
appear as the center of a world which is re-created in his own image.
Therefore, the new element will be the publicity and the glory.
"In our present existence the secret of God-with-us is still hidden
under imperfection and sinfulness. Everyone is still able to
deny-and for good reason-that in the Christ event which goes
through the world, the decisive and future-disclosing movement is on
its way. But we enter a future in which this ambiguity will be over; the
new man will be revealed such as he was meant by God from the
beginning and in such a way that nobody can deny his meaning
anymore-so that 'every eye will see him,' including the eyes of
those who have pierced him with their animosity or unbelief or
lukewarmness" (Berkhof, p. 41).
Thus what we will see is not His second coming, for He has never
left us, but with Paul we await His "glorious appearing" (Titus 2: 13,
KJV). He is hidden now, and even during His incarnation humanity
did not see His real person. But when He returns, He will unveil His
true nature. Peter describes the event as a revelation: "Set your hope
fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus
His Glorious Appearing 87
Christ" (1 Peter 1: 13). He speaks also of the time when "his glory is
revealed" (1 Peter 4: 13). Paul tells of granting rest "when the Lord
Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire"
(2 Thessalonians 1:7). When Jesus appears, John says, "Every eye
will see him" (Revelation 1:7). Thus the hiddenness ofthe interim will
vanish. He manifests Himself as King of kings and Lord of lords, as
Son of God, as Creator, and as Heir of all things.
That the forces of evil were truly defeated at the cross, that death
had lost its sting with the resurrection of Jesus, that the small number
of believers were heirs of the world, that righteousness did indeed
reign on earth, He will reveal at that time. Although things seem to
continue as they were after the cross, in reality Christ had turned
everything upside down. Evil did not have the upper hand. In fact,
He had dethroned it. Satan was no longer prince of our world.
But why the unveiling only tilliater? Why could not it have taken
place at the Resurrection? Until Christ' s incarnation, God had spoken
directly only to His people. The Jews were to be the medium through
whom He would address the Gentiles. But they failed in their task.
They refused to accept the Messiah. "What then will the owner of the
vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants, and
give the vineyard to others" (Luke 20: 15, 16).
The time that follows the destruction of Jerusalem, Scripture also
calls "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). Thus the present
interim represents primarily a time for the proclamation of the gospel
to the Gentiles. Paul says that through the failure of the Jews,
"salvation has come to the Gentiles" (Romans 11:11). From
experience in Antioch of Pisidia, Paul stated, "It was necessary that
the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it
from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternallife, behold, we
turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, '1
have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring
salvation to the utlermost parts of the earth' " (Acts 13:46, 47).
Jesus must not appear in glory till the Gentiles have had their
opportunity. His hiddenness is necessary so that no coercion into
88 God Meets Man
belief takes place. They must accept in faith the meaning of the cross
and the fact of the Resurrection. " 'Blessed are those,' " Jesus said,
" 'who have not seen and yet believe' " (John 20:29).
Believers also must live in faith in the same manner as Moses,
who "endured as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).
They must live from the perspective of eternity, knowing the meaning
of the cross and resurrection of the Lord, although the results are still
hidden. The Christian must willingly suffer and bear trials and
persecutions and evaluate them rightly. "For this slight momentary
affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all
comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to
the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient,
but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4: 17, 18).
Christ remains hidden so that the believer can fulfill his tasks with
responsibility and freedom. The father cannot always work with his
son if he expects him to exercise his freedom and responsibility.
Sometime he must appoint him his task, depart, and then return. The
true test comes when he leaves the youth to himself. The boy must be
on his own if the father is to protect the integrity of his son's
responsibility and freedom. Thus the necessity of the hiddenness of
Jesus Christ.
The cross, the resurrection, and the future appearing of Christ are
inextricably bound together. Take one away, and the others cannot
stand. In Brunner' s words:
"Just as birth pangs imply birth, so faith implies ultimate
disclosure-the disclosure of His and our true being, the emergence
from hiddenness to light, unmistakable manifestation and unques-
tioned fullness of true life, where we no longer 'see in a glass darkly,
but face to face.' As the beginning of a discourse has no meaning if it
is not brought to its completion, so faith has no meaning if it does not
atlain its goal in the fullness of revelation, in the apocalypsis which is
called Parousia, in the Parousia which is called apocalypsis.
"From all these considerations it is clear that this thought of the
future coming is anything but a piece of mythology which can be
His Glorious Appearing 89
dispensed with. Whatever the form of this event may be, the whole
point lies in the fact that it will happen. To try to boggle at it means to
try to boggle at the foundation of the faith; to smash the comer-stone
by which all coheres and apart from which all falls to pieces. Faith in
Jesus Christ without the expectation of His Parousia is a voucher that
is never redeemed, a promise that is not seriously meantJA Christian
faith without expectation of the Parousia is like a ladder which leads
nowhere but ends in the void" (pp. 138, 139). T
Redemption remains incomplete without '''the Parousia; the
righteous dead stay in their graves, and the righteous living stumble
about in their sinful bodies in the midst of a sinful world, doomed to
death. Judgment also remains incomplete. Some judgment takes
place here and new, but much remains suspended. In our too-
human world, injustice remains uncorrected, and the hidden things
of the heart remain veiled. Without the Parousia those who suffer for
righteousness' sake will end in futility. Righteousness, truth, and
virtue will seem to have no meaning. If there is no hope of the
Parousia, we hope in vain, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19. "In
this one sentence the Apostle has woven two thoughts together at
some expense of syntactical perspicuity. The one thought is that
hope without corresponding reality, or at least a principle of re-
alization, is the most futile and ill-fated frustration of life-purpose;
the other is that when this futile hope so engrosses a man as to
monopolize him for an unreal world such a state of mind involves the
forfeit of all palpable realities of life, a sacrifice at botlom of all this-
worldliness for an other-worldliness that has no substance"
(Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology [Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1961], p. 31).
But the resurrection of Christ guarantees His future appearing. It
is no longer a question of if but simply of when. For "this period of
hiddenness must end in a final consummation when the full glory
shall shine forth. Then, what is happening in the present period of
history, when the aeons overlap and the powers of the coming aeon
are at work in historical time, will be summed up and made plain.
90 God Meets Man
Then, the judgment that is already supervening upon men and the
salvation that is already effective in their lives will be gathered up into
a fully consummated etemal order, and history will be no more.
Then, the Christ whose glory is known only to faith, will stand forth in
his supemal splendor, and the mists of history will be taken up into
the unbounded and unfetlered etemity of God" (Eric Rust, "Time
and Etemity in Biblical Thought," Theology Today, VoI. 10 [1953-
1954], p. 349).
THE FUTURE IS PRESENT

Before the incarnation of Christ, one's past determined the future

and present. Our life story then inevitably led to death. "Each person
is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then
desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-
grown brings forth death" (James 1: 14, 15). With our life bound up
with Adam, our destiny was fixed. "In Adam all die" (1 Corinthians
15:22) was the judgment on all apart from Christ. "All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23kOur past locks us
into sin without escape. Sin reigned in our bodies and compelled us
to obey its sinful passions.--:We are the slaves of sin because we
yielded to it and the end result is death.l$'ince sin was our past and is
our present, it determines our future-deathlPaul S. Minear says of
sinful men, ''Their future is already behind them; ahead of them is
nothing but their past" ("The Time of Hope in the New Testament,"
Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 6 [19531. p. 349).
'1 The coming of Christ reversed the whole process. The future
det~rmines the present and thus the past as well.? In the New
91
 92 God Meets Man
Testament understanding of eschatology, the future enters the
present and effects it. Eternallife, the Holy Spirit, and justification we
experience now, yet they are of the age to come. The ultimate
certainty of the future blessings effected through the coming of the
second Adam makes it possible to bring the future into the present.
Thus we stand justified now, reconciled to God. "For the judgment
following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift
following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of one
man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will
those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of
righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ"
(Romans 5: 16, 17). We walk in newness of life, and sin no longer
., rules in us. The Spirit dwells in us. Thus the future determines our
present.
Some think of the Parousia as a compensation for our various
lacks in the present life~In a number of cargo cults, the adherents
believe that a messiah and the dead will retut~ with ali types of
material goods which they hadn't enjoyed beforeJ An early Christian
writer, Papias, describes the new earth as ii- place where the
grapevine shall each have ten thousand branches, and each branch
will have ten thousand twigs, and each twig ten thousand shoots, and
each shoot ten thousand clusters, and each cluster ten thousand
grapes, and each grape will produce twenty-five measures of wine (in
Irenaeus, Against Heresies, V, 33:3). Such cases look upon the
Parousia from the perspective of supplying some economic
deprivation or at least of doing something completely unrelated to
our present life in Christ.
Berkhof cites question and answer 58 of The Heidelberg
Catechism: "'What comfort does the article conceming "the life
everlasting" give you? That, since 1 now feeI in my heart the
beginning of eternal joy, 1 shall possess after this life, perfect
blessedness.' " Then he comments, "Unfortunately this nature of
hope has often been obscured in the course of history, and it
sometimes looked as if the Christian hope were only a compensation
 'The Future Is Present 93
for what we lack. a 'drawing on eternity' which diminished when
prosperity increased" (pp. 20,21). Those who look to hope only as a
compensation for what they do without have a futile and fragile hope.
F..l.ltile because Christian hope is only a fulfillment of a present
possession, a present experience. It is not the promise of what we
need or would Iike, but a fulfillment of what we even now experience.
And those who look to Christian hope as a compensation have a
fragile hope because it depends on human circumstances. What we
lack today we might receive tomorrow. Prosperity diminishes or
makes unnecessary such hope. Hope then becomes only a wish
projection of the deprived. We grow beyond such hope when we
become better educated and better employed. Our earthly mansions
can take the place of the heavenly, our Cadillacs for the heavenly
chariots, our stylish wardrobes for the white robe of righteousness,
our table delicacies for the tree of Iife. Because 50 many Christians
view hope in such mqnner, their hope diminishes as their bank
account increases.
"New Testament eschatology is the extrapolated projection on
the screen of the future of our Christian experience here and now"
(ibid., p. 73). Thus Christian hope has an integral connection with
Christian experience. In Fison's Christian Hope, we find that "these
blessings are not mere future compensation for what is not present
here and now. They are the fulfilm~nt of what is here and now,
whether we realjze it or not" (p. 213t' This means, above all, that the
face-to-face fellowship taking place at the Parousia completes that
which we enjoy now in a somewhat limited wayfThe communl~n
with the Master in the Lord's Supper not only commemorates His
earthly presence but also anticipates His future presence~ The
presence of the Lord in the worship service offers a foretasteof His
physical presence in the worship service of heaven.
__, 50 closely related is Christian hope withChristian experience that
\ Brunner says, ''The hope which springs from faith is 50 much a part of
the Iife of faith that one must say: the future, for which it hopes, is the
present in which the believer Iive;''l (p. 30). This is evident by the way
--'
94 God Meets Man
the New Testament describes the present experience in eschato-
logical terms. It considers conversion as a rising with Christ.
Resurrection is an eschatological event, but by virtue of the
resurrection of Christ, the one who believes in Christ begins even to
live a new life. "It is in the most literal sense of the word an
anticipative effect produced by the eschatological world upon such
who are still abiding in the present world" (Vos, p. 45). Salvation is
basically an eschat$logical occurrence, and yet we experience
salvation here and now. Judgment is also another eschatological
event, but the Christian stands justified by faith now in anticipation of
the final judgment. Thus the future "is the present in which the
beJ.ieyer lives."
J We must avoid two extremes--mysticism and absenteeism~ ~ In

the~ former the devotee reaches out for direct communion with the
divine until he finds himself absorbed into oneness. His selfish
-
communion becomes his obsession so that he no Ion ger appreciates
others and the daily activities of life. The emotions are so satisfying
that the person downplays or ignores Parousia. "
In absenteeism one concludes that Jesus has completely forsaken
him and left him as an orphan. He feels alone and abandoned. Since
he doesn't know the presence of the Master here, he dwells on the
future to make up for the loneliness he suffers from here. In feverish
anxiety he virtually seeks to bring Christ back single-handedly.
Whatever it takes he will do. He longs for the Parousia in a way that
he forgets the present. The Parousia is thus not a fulfillment, a
consummation, but a compensation. Such a one-sided emphasis
with its "danger of so concentrating upon the future revelation of
Christ" forgets "the ali-important central Christian conviction that
the end had already come and that its nature had already been
clegrly revealed in Jesus Christ" (Fison, p. 155).
'1 Fison sums it up in the following words: "It is the periI of the
church either to believe in an eschatology which in fact if not in theory
offers a presence one day in the future to make up for the absence to-
day in the present, or else to believe in a mysticism which in fact if not
The Future 15 Present 95
in theory offers a presence to-day in the present which leaves no
room for any further significant reality on any future daYJBut when in
love eschatology and mysticism come together, then there is room
for a real present presence and a real future parousia" (ibid., p. 221).
We cannot compensate for extreme mysticism by a feverish
longing for the Parousia. It is rather daily union with Christ, Christ
living in me and 1 living in Christ. "Just as it might be said that the
human body is in the atmosphere which surrounds it on every side,
and yet that atmosphere is also within it, filling it and vitalizing it, 50 it
may be said of the C~stian soul that it both exists in the Spirit and
has the Spirit within iţ. Here, then, is the key to til~ phrase 'in Christ. '
Christ is the redeemed man' 5 new environmentj(James Stewart, A
Man ip:' Christ [New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, nd], p.
157).lBut the Christ:4ln knows that it gives only a taste of the
communion to com~ Thus, in Brunner's words, "By the life in
Christ," he yearns "for fulfilment through the life with Christ" (p. 85).
Fison puts it beautifully in the following manner: "St Paul' s
relationship with Jesus Christ was one of vivid and dynamic
reciprocal intimacy: it was never an absorption in static
contemplation. So he lived in the present, and in the present he knew
the presence in such a way as to hope for the future and long for the
parousia. The love he knew in the present gave him the certainty of
the love he looked for in the future. Present presence and future
parousia do not disappear or coalesce in a timeless eternity. They are
two inseparable but irreducible elements in that single reality of love,
of which the more you have in the present the more you know awaits
you in the future" (p. 221).
The Gospel of John gives us the remedy for the feeling of an
absent Lord. Jesus Christ promised to send the disciples another
Comforter. He told them, ''The Holy Spirit will 'be with you for ever,
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with
you, and will be in you'" (John 14:16, 17). He promised His
presence through the Spirit. The Lord is not absent. But the dwelling
96 God Meets Man
of the Lord with us through the Holy Spirit "does not rule out the
possibility of future love. On the contrary it demands it, not as a
contradiction of the present but as a corollary to it; not to compensate
for what is not butto balance whatis" (ibid., p. 160). Thetwo have an
inextricable intertwining and relationship.
Fison continues, "Without faith in the real presence, belief in the
realparousia ... is phantasy: without faith in the real parousia, belief
in the real presence is idolatry" (ibid., p. 4)fAnd again: "Only those
who know the presence can hope for the parousia. Only tho~~ who
hope for the parousia can know the presence" (ibid., p. 70U
'\The present hope relates to the future realization but is not
identical with it. The Parqusia is the fulfillment, the consummation, of
the present experience.J .-'
Then we will have salvation in complete
freedom from the power of sin and its effects. "This perishable nature
must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on
immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53). And death will cease. Judgment
will be final and irrevocable. And above ali, the hidden presence of
the Lord Jesus Christ will end, and we shall see Him face-to-face in ali
His glory. The universe will declare, "Behold, the dwelling of God is
with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and
God himself will be with them" (Revelati9n 21:3)fThus the present
will be fully consummated in the future. ':
THE PROBLEM OF DELAY

Expecting the Lord to descend from heaven on October 22,

1844, many farmers left their crops unharvested, merchants closed
their shops, others left their jobs. Bitler disappointment thinned their
ranks, but the true believers doggedly kept their faith in the God
whose promises never fai!. Some continued to set dates and reaped
more discouragement. Probably none of the Adventists who
continued to hold to the soon coming of Christ would have imagined
that we would stiH be living on earth during the latler part of the
twentieth century.
Not for any Biblical reasons, but some instinctively felt that
perhaps in 1944, a hundred years later, Christ would return. Then
again in 1964, 120 years after October 20, 1844, and analogous to
the 120 years of Noah' 5 preaching before the Aood, some hoped
wistfully that the Lord might return. It was no great external
expectation but a quiet wistful hope. But of course, nothing
happened. And intermittently throughout the author' 5 lifetime
(especiaHy from the forties to the present), evangelists and others
97
98 God Meets Man
preached the imminence of Christ as they identified one country after
another with the kings of the east portending the battle of
Armageddon, an immediate prelude to Christ' s coming. The Middle
East crises from time to time provided texts for the renewal of such a
theme. Almost any major international crisis supposedly showed that
at the most, "only five years" would elapse before the end.
And yet we are still here. Such a constant whipping up of the
emotions can have deleterious results. Crying "wolf' too many times
can lead to a complete lack of response. It can further create
questioning about the credibility of the Second Advent. And that
results in a careless Christian life. The implicit and unexpressed
reasoning is that only an imminent sense of the physical coming of
Christ can produce an expectant, urgent Christian life. The opposite
pole of that reasoning concludes that if one does not expect an
impending return, he can relax and live a careless Christian life. The
latler kind of reasoning controlled the servant who said to himself,
" 'My master is delayed in coming,''' and began "to' beat the
menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get
drunk" (Luke 12:45); and this relaxing is a real danger to those
taught that only a sense of Christ' s immediate return can instill the
urgency necessary for a fervent Christian life.
The 1844 disappointrnent was a dramatic and traumatic one.
The Christians of the first and second centuries had a similar, though
less acute, sense of disappointment when Jesus did not return in their
day. Scoffers plagued the believers in 1844, and they did the same
during the time of the apostles. 2 Peter 3:4-7 refers to those who
demanded, " 'Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the
fathers fell asleep, ali things have continued as they were from the
beginning of creation.' "
Paul expected the Lord to return soon-probably in his
day-when he wrote to the Thessalonians that "the dead in Christ
will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we
shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). James
The Problem of Delay 99
also felt that the Lord' s return was near. He urged, in chapter 5, verse
8, "Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."
Throughout the New Testament we find an expectancy of Christ's
imminence. The Gospels contain many admonitions. Jesus said,
"Watch therefore-for you do not know when the master of the
house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in
the morning--lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I
say to you I say to all: Watch" (Mark 13:35-37).
The early Christians, then, must have experienced a sense of
delay with the passing of time. Though Jesus did not return in their
day, what Christ had already done was uppermost in their minds. In
fact, according to Cullmann, that fact led the Christians to have an
intense sense of Christ's imminent return. Christ had fought and won
the decisive battle. The natural consequence was Jesus' quick return
to claim His own and complete the drama of salvation. "This then
means that the hope for the future can now be supported by faith in
the past, faith in the already concluded decisive battle. That which
has alread~happened offers the solid guarantee for that which will
take placelThe hope of the final victory is so much the more vivid
because of the unshakably firrn conl,JiFtion that the battle that decides
the victory has already taken place" (Christ and Time [philadelphia:
The Westminster Press, 1964], pp.: 86,87).
Thus a sense of expectancy was natural in such a situation. What
else could they conclude but that Christ would quickly take over the
dominion of the vanquished? The climactic scene has taken place. It
can be only moments before the final curtain. While their hopes for
the quick return turned into disappointment, still they did not need to
give up their hope in Christ' s return; for the very event that made
them have. a sense of imminence was that which guaranteed its
realization. The cross, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus
make the coming of Christ an absolute certainty~:The early Christians
and the Adventists ma~l- have been wrong in their timing, but not in
the fact of the advent [What is of decisive significance is after ali not
the date but the reality of the ParousiaJln the words of Berkouwer,
100 God Meets Man
''The believer is called to an attitude that does not reckon but
constant1y reckons with the coming of the Lord" (The Retum of
Christ [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1972], p. 84).
According to Scripture, Jesus Himself did not know the exact
date of His coming: "Of that day or that hour no one knows, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark
13:32). The signs cannot pinpoint Christ's retum, especially the wars
and rumors of wars which Christ says "must take place, but the end is
not yet" (verse 7). Earthquakes and famines represent only "the
beginning of the ... [sufferings}" (vers.e 8). AlI ţhesigns provided in
Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 (wars, rumors of wars,
earthquakes, famines) have seen their fulfillment or are such that one
can point to them as present throughout history. These things,
according to Christ, point to the fact that the end is not yet.
The only sign left appears in Matthew 24:14: "And this gospel of
the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a
testimony to ali nations; and then the end will wrne." But it is
somewhat difficult to determine whether it has met its fulfillment or
not. Does it mean having a missionary in every country? Does it
demand that everyone must have an opportunity to hear and
understand the gospeliHow in fact shall we know that the gospel has
been preached in ali the world? As a sign for our personal ca\culation
and reckoning, to help us know exact1y when Christ will return, it
therefore does not offer much assistance. We should not rely on signs
anyway. It is not for us to reckon, but to reckon with, as Berkouwer
says.
While not even the angels know the day or the hour of Christ' s
coming, the Father does. The sense ofdelay does not result because
the Father disappoints us. God has not set dates and then changed
His mind. Nor has He postponed Christ' s return at any time. The
feeling of delay arises out of a purely human reaction to human
expectations. We make plans for Christ's coming and then grow
depressed and discouraged when He does not meet our deadHne.
"The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness" (2
The Problem of Delay 101
Peter 3:9)[lt may seem to us that He delays, but in actuality it is our
reaction to our own established expectations~(
. . IMany think they can by their good work~ ar lives force Christ
down from heaven. A Jewish rabbi said that the Messiah would come
if they kept the Sabbath perfectly for one da'ilSome quote 2 Peter
3: 11, 12 with such an idea in mind: "Since aII these things are thus to
be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness
and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of
God." The Greek word for "hastening" isspeud5which we can also
translate "striving for" or "earnestly desiring," the alternate reading
of the RSV.
Phillips [1962 edition] translates this section, "who live expecting
and earnestly longing for the coming of the day of God." Since the
preceding word in the two versions quoted is "waiting" or
"expecting," it seems betler to join it with "eamestly desiring" rather
than "hastening." It is less incongruous than "waiting" with
"hastening." At any rate, "eamestly desiring" is a viable alternative
reading. God is sovereign, and when His time comes, so will the day
of the Lord. Besides, aII that we do God has taken into consideration
in His determination of the date, but the final decision is God' s, not
men' s. It is well to keep this in mind so that we do not blasphemously
think that we can somehow by our own merely human efforts bring
Christ down.
It is true that "our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped, "
that "the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional,"
and that "Christ would have come ere this" (Ellen G. White, Selected
Messages, Book One, pp. 67, 68, italics supplied). We must
remember, however, that God knows whether at any given time the
conditions for the fulfillment of His promises will be met. He knows
whether our response to Him, along with other conditions, willlead
to the closing of earth' s history. Christ could have come at an earlier
time, but God knew He would not. "Hastening the coming" cannot
imply that God changes the time that He has set. It can mean only
that God has taken into consideration man' s 'response. God is not like
102 God Meets Man
an astronaut, his space suit on, who climbs into a spacecraft fully
prepared for a lift-off, only to leam that because of problems with the
weather or the spacecraft he must delay his flight not just once but
several times. He knows when Christ will come.
Because God knows the exact time that Christ will retum does
not mean that we sit back and do nothing. We cannot reproduce
Christ' s character in our lives, but we can allow God to do it. "When
the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people,
then He will come to claim them as His own" (Ellen G. White,
Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69). However, we cannot feverishly and
frantically force ourselves to reflect Christ' s character. It is God' s
work. When He has done it with our cooperation and sees ali other
conditions met (such as the gospel preached in all the world), Christ
will retum. It is He who fashions Christ' s character in us, and it is He
who detennines when Christ shall retum-not we.
How can we keep from disillusionment in our expectancy of the
coming of Christ? We need to remember first of all that the death,
resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ guarantees His retum.
The first are accomplished facts. It is only a matler of time until His
coming. No longer is it a question of "if' but of "when." There is an
end, a culmination to history. At some time we must give an account
of our life. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what
he has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 4: 10). We can be absolutely
certain that Jesus is coming, and we must reckon with it.
The second thing we must keep in mind is that we do not have
until He retums to prepare. God's people have died throughout the
ages, and many more shall die before Christ comes. The time of our
preparation, in other words, is that of our existence. It death is like
sleep, the intervening years from the moment arnan dies to his
resurrection are timeless for him. The instant of his death is in effect
for him the moment of Christ' s coming. Thus in a real sense, Christ
retums for everyone in his lifetime. The urgency of Christian living
must center around that pOint.rrhe actual time of Christ's coming is
The Problem of Delay 103
not~ignificant--only the fact of it.]
fTo say that because Christ's coming is near we should be more
fervent in our Christian life is to, misunderstand the poinC
Furthermore it implies that if it is not soon, we are justified in living less
fervently, less urgently, perhaps even carelessly. In fact, that was the
attitude of the servant who, because he felt that his master was
delaying, began to beat his workers, to eat and drink and get drunk.
But whether Christ' s coming is a thousand years from now should
not make one iota of difference in the way we livE['That He will come
should provide sufficient motive for a dedicated Christian lifEi:
Furthermore, even if He retums in our lifetime-which -is an
indeterminate period-we have no room for complacency. Our
lifetime may extend seventy years or seven. If we should die at
fifteen, for us Christ retums then. For that reason the imminence of
Christ's second advent is a reality in every period of the church's
history, from the time of the apostles to the present and beyond.
Emphasizing the neamess of the real coming in an almost time-
setting way, we will continue to develop a sense of delay. If we
connect it with the necessity to give more generously and to live more
fervently, we will create the impression that only if we feei its
approach, need we show concern to live urgently. Disillusionment
and careless living can result. But God's plans know no haste or
delay. His promises are sure, and they will take place in the appointed
time. We must live with that fact in mind rather than on the basis of
the momentary feverish excitement of every passing crisis.
God's message to Habakkuk, in chapter 2, verse 3, is one
appropriate for our day also. Before declaring that Babylon, though
at the height of its power at that time, would inevitably meet its doom,
God assured the prophet: "StiH the vision awaits its time; it hastens to
the end-it will not lie. If it seem slow, wait for it; it wiH surely come, it
wiH not delay." We do not suggest that we must place the coming of
Christ in some distant future. If Paul could write in his day that
"salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is
far gone, the day is at hand" (Romans 13: 11, 12), then surely we can
104 God Meets Man
say it alI the more emphaticalIy. It is especially so when pollution, the
population explosion, and the threat of nuclear war have brought us
to th~ brink of our planet' s disaster from a purely human point of
view. Nevertheless our readiness must not depend on the imminence
of Christ' s retum but on its reality in our own experience. --,'
 ESCHATOLOGY
AND ETHICS

.> One frequently hears the charge made that the person who really
believes in the second coming of Christ and the end of our world is
not alert to and cannot have any concern about improving human
social conditionsjHe is 50 otherworldly that he loses ali sense of
involvement in our world. Wrapped up only in his own individual
salvation, he feels nothing for his neighbor and his plight. In the
words of Max Warren (The Truth ofVision: A Study in the Nature of
the Christian Hope [London and Edinburgh: The Canterbury Press,
1948], p. 53): ''The real reason for the failure of Second Adventism
to win support lies in the fact that it affronts the moral conscience of
the Church by its virtual abandonment of responsibility for the things
of this world in deference to its preoccupation with the imminent
return of the Lord and the end of history. Human life, in 50 far as it is
involved in the life of Society, is held to lie 50 completely in 'the evil
one' that the only safe action is for the Christian to wash his hands of
it. On this view salvation is salvation of the soul alone. No serious
atlempt is made to consider the soul' 5 environment."
105
 106 God Meets Man
A measure of truth does exist in the accusation. If one expects the
coming of Christ in a few years, or a few days as the early Adventists
did in 1844, one cannot get too enthusiastic about changing society's
evil structures. The logic and the consistency of their conviction
inevitably and rightly lead to that conclusion, not to mention their
minority status and despised role in society. We would charge them
with inconsistency if they did otherwise. But it ought to be only a
temporary thing, only for that mistaken period. One can press the
point further: Can the Second Advent believer, knowing that one day
alI things wilI pass away and that no hope exists for a progressive
improvement in the world' s moral condition, realIy put his heart into
any scheme for mankind' s betlerment?
First of alI, Christian ethics based on love does not directly and
fundamentalIy rest on eschatology. Nils A. Oahl ("New Testament
CEschatology and Christian Social Action," Lutheran Quarterly, VoI.
22 [1970], pp. 374-379) points out that the basic warrant for social
action arises from the commandment of love, which directs itself not
toward eschatology but to the need of the neighbou
H. P. Owen ("Eschatology and Ethics in the New Testament,"
Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 15 [1962], p. 376) says that
"there is no evidence that Jesus alIowed His predictions of the future
to affect the content of His teaching. He never gives these predictions
as the reason for performing, or avoiding, any action. Thus He does
not prohibit anxiety about material things on the ground that the
material world is soon to perish; He prohibits it because it is
incompatible with a belief in divine providence. ~imilarly, He does
not command His disciples to love their enemies 'on the ground that
these enemies wilI soon disapp~r~ He commands them to act thus
because this is how God acts.tb{hoth cases the ground of moral
action is the etern al character of God Himself!?
Christ telIs the story of the Good Samaritan, particularly the
command that we ought to love our neighbor as ourselves, to
illustrate the point. It lacks an eschatological motive. Jesus simply
says, "Go and do likewise."
Eschatology and Ethics 107
A kind of "eschatological" motive for ethics appears in the
parable ofthe rich fool (Luke 12: 13-21), i.e., that death can overtake
us by surprise. It is not the primary reason, however, and is besides
not the type of eschatological motive we are speaking of here(JJe do
not say that the eschatological factor is always absent, but we do
suggest that the primary basis for ethics is Godlikenes:JWhenever
Scripture gives an eschatological incentive, it is an additional but not
primary one. When Paul says, "50 then let us not sleep, as others do,
but let us keep awake and be sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:6) or "the
night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of
darkness and put on the armor of light" (Romans 13:12), the basic
motivation is not eschatological. The primary reason he gives for the
firstis thatwe are "sons oflightand sons ofthe day" (1 Thessalonians
5:5), i.e., children of God. The second is the same; it tells us to "put
on,the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14).
l What is significant in all of this is the fact that the eschatological
motive is not an excuse to be unconcemed with ethics but an
additional basis to be intensely more 50: Owen (ibid., p. 378)
concludes, "In the teaching of Jesus and Paul, therefore, the hope of
an imminent Parousia, while it supplies a special motive for ethics,
does not determine their content. The content is neither more nor
less than the Reign of God that has already been revealed. The
virtues that Christians are to practise derive their meaning and
validity from their exemplification in Christ whose etemal life is
conveyed to believers here and now by the action of the Spirit in the
Church."
Nevertheless, the New Testament shows no evidence that the
early Christians set out to change the evil structures in the society
around them. We must keep in mind that Christianity at that time was
a small minority sect fighting for its own survival in the midst of a
hostile society and state. Any new, growing religious movement will
arouse the enmity of those institutions or groups out of which it takes
its membership: families, cJubs, other established religious
movements, places of employment. It will also arouse the hostility of
 108 God Meets Man
those economic institutions affected by the growth of a new
movement-such as the idol-making shops. Without any political
rights or power, the early Christians were in no position, even if they
wanted to, to change social strudures by their politic al or social
involvement. And yet by its conversion of people within their society,
it brought about far-reaching changes. It led finally, even if only
externally and politically, to a Christian state.
The situation today is quite different for Christians who are
accepted citizens and at times have been a majority of the voting
populace. As long as Christians Iive in our world and it is possible for
them by their influence-political or otherwise-to affed society,
they should do 50, remembering that man is basically a sinful being
and that any secular optimism will end in complete disillusionment.
'IThe Auschwitzes and Hiroshimas remind us of the latent brutality that
Iies c10se to the refined exterior of the twentieth-century marie'
: Nevertheless, the decent person is one who, though he frlOws
th~t he is on a f10undering ship doomed to a watery burial, refuses
simply to think of saving himself by secretly escaping alone on a
IifeboaC He ministers to the needy and for the welfare of aII
concenl'ed, even though he may well realize that no hope remains for
any of them. The Christian cannot do any less, and paradoxically the
eschatological motive with its implication that there exists a righteous
loving God in control of aII things intensifies his desire to act in the
way of his Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself not only for His
friends but for His enemies.
Colin Morris atlributes to C. S. Lewis the thought that "only since
Cnristians have largely ceased to think of the other world have they
become 50 ineffective in this. The rule seems to be that if ypu aim at
heaven, you get earth 'thrown in.' Aim at earth and you will get
neithe?",
/"
(The Hammer of the Lord [Nashville and New York:
Abingdon, 1973], pp. 137,138). It is paradoxical that only the man
who has an eschatological vision can truly feeI concern for the
present world. The man whose whole Iife ends with this existence
cannot logically worry about others----about love, right, justice, and
Eschatology and Ethics 109
truth.n~.obert McAfee Brown said, "Among the New Testament
Christlans, the fact of the matler is that eschatology did not lead to
irresponsibility or neglect of this world. On the contrary, theirconcem
with the 'age to come' made them live more responsibly in the
present age. This is a fact which can be documentecr~
(" 'Eschatological Hope' and Social Responsibility," Christianity ami
Crisis, November 16, 1953, p. 147). He cites 1 Corinthians 15:34
[58], which follows an eschatological emphasis as proof: "Therefore
[i.e., because of this eschatological fact] , my beloved brethren, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work~of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
[Another way in which the eschatological orientation
affects the Christian
~ ..
is by helping him to see what things are really
important. .,Knowing that the end is certain, some things become
more vitâT than others:; The amassing of possessions and an
atlachment to the thingsof a passing world grow less important to
him. The eschatological Christian has time only for the things of the
Lord. His life must be dedicated to Him in service for others. The
para bie of the sheep and goats occurs in an eschatologic al setting,
and the Christian knows that he must serve Christ now in the person
of the poor, needy, naked, and miserable. Christ warned His
disciples time after time that His followers must not wrap themselves
up in selfish complacency such as the rich farmer, Dives, or the rich
young ruler did.
According to Amos Wilder, Paul sees in the disarming of
"principalities and powers" (Colossians 2:15) and Christ's triumph
over them through the cross a caII to arms for the Christian to carry
the battle to the enemies who are visible in the form of world rulers (1
Corinthians 2:2-8). Paul has in mind "the structural elements of
unregenerate sOciety, including both pagan error and the institutions
in which it embodies itself-all constituting the world rulers which
hold men in bondage, perverted authorities which dwarf and debase
the spirits of men, of which Satan avails himself to resist the gospel"
(Kerygma, Eschatology, and Social Ethics, Facet Books: Social
110 God Meets Man
Ethics Series, 12 [Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1966], p. 33). It is not
enough to speak of Christ's victory, since the battle in fact goes on to
the end. TheChristian must continue the battle, knowing full well that
he cannot succeed in his own human strength. "For we are not
contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities,
against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness,
against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"
(Ephesians 6: 12). Yet he has "divine power to destroy strongholds"
(2 Corinthians 10:4).
/Like Paul we too must challenge "the world rulers of this present
da~ness" by spreading the gospel, which liberates people from the
captivity of any social structure that oppresses them) By his
proclamation of the God made without hands Paul touched the
vested interests of the Artemis cult in Ephesus. And by his freeing of
the slave girl with the spirit of divination, Paul challenged her owners
and other owners of such girl&lf the Christian gospel is to advance in
its authenticity, it will mean tonfrontation with economic, political,
and religious interestsJ
And yet while the mevitable encounters took place, neither Paul
nor any other of the early Christians planned any political
involvement. In fact if anything, they sought to avoid political
situations when they could. Their method seemed to be not an attack
directly on the evil structures of society as such, but "the heart of
problems, the personal centre and personal relations" (Theo Preiss,
Life in Christ, Studies in Biblical Theology [Chicago: Alec R.
Allenson, Inc., 1954], p. 33). Paul' s treatment of Onesimus offers a
case in point. Leading people to worship the true God dealt a mortal
blow to those businesses that depend on people' s ignorance.
Changing structures may alleviate some conditions, but as long as
sinful men administer such institutions, similar problems keep
coming back.[Christians altered the shape of the Roman empire by
converting people one by one to their way of life, not by deliberately
attacking its society. In time the yeast did its WOrK&
" We do not mean to say that the Christian by his vote cannot
Eschatology and Ethics 111
influence the political climate of a country, state, county, or townshi P)
but more lasting change takes place by transforming people' s hearts.
We have found that Christian ethics in one sense is autonomous
in that its basic warrant is not eschatology. fÂ.nd we have also
discovered that eschatology, instead of making people less
concerned with ethics and people, does just the opposite.
Eschatology becomes an additional motive for ethics-:'( The charge
then that the person who knows that our world will vânish has no
interest in people and their environment collapses. In fact,
eschatology leads to gre ater concern. The man with an
eschatological vision feels convinced of the validity of love, justice,
right, and truth, which compels him to live ali the more responsibly.
 B.
THE ADVENT AND
FUTURE EVENTS

"And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devii
and Satan, and bound him ... till the thousand years were ended"
(Revelation 20:2, 3).
"The hour is coming when ali who are in the tombs will hear his
voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection
of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
judgment" (John 5:28, 29).
"We must ali appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that
each one may recei ve good or evil, according to what he has done in
the body" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
"Then 1saw a new heaven and a new earth; ... and 1heard a loud
voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling of God is with
men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God
himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their
eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mouming nor
crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away' "
(Revelation 21:1, 3, 4).
 THE RAPTURE
AND THE MILLENNIUM

What will the parousia of Christ be like? When will it take place?
And what is its relationship to the millennium? Those who believe in
the literal Second Coming often have Httle agreement in such
matlers. There exist basically three different understandings or
interpretations of the relationship between the second coming of
Christ and the millennium. We call people who hold such views
premillennialists, postmillennialists, and amillennialists.
The amillennialists say that the only place where the millennium
comes into view occurs in Revelation 20. (The view presented here is
that of Floyd Hamilton, The Basis of MiIlennial Faith [Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Eerdmans, 1955], pp. 128-142.) Everywhere else the
Scriptures say nothing about it. It does not mean that we have to
rule it out, but it the millennium does not fit into the rest of the
Scriptures and we find an alternative interpretation of Revelation 20
that would harmonize with the Bible, the presumption would favor
the latler. Revelation is highly figurative and symboHcal. Thus we
cannot always insist on the literal interpretation. The book contains
115
116 God Meets Man
seven parallel sections, each describing events between the first and
second advents of Christ. (Premillennialists believe that the first six
sections fali between the First and Second Advent but that the
seventh does not. Such a concept, however, breaks the book's
harmonious structure.)
Thus according to amillennialists the millennium is a symbolic
figure for the period from the First to the Second Advent. The
"binding" of Satan at the beginning of the millennium is that at the
coming of Christ mentioned in Matthew 12:24-29. "How can one
enter a strong man' s house and plunder his goods, unless he first
binds the strong man?" (verse 29). Other passages used to support
their point include Colossians 2:14,15; John 12:31; Hebrews 2:14.
The Revelation 20 reference to the binding of Satan means his not
deceiving the nations anymore. The opening of the way for the
preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles shows that Satan is bound,
according to their view.
At the end Satan "must be loosed for a little while." It will occur
before the coming of Christ. We recognize signs of it even now as we
see Christianity opposed by the world' s leading nations. "The souls"
that lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years take part in the
first resurrection. "The first resurrection is the new birth which
reaches its culmination and consummation when the soul of the
believer leaves the body and goes to reign with Christ in heaven"
(ibid., p. 134). It is not the literal bodily resurrection but the
corn bination of the new birth and the release of the soul at death to be
with God.
The reigning with Christ (Revelation 20:4) takes place in the
present (Romans 5:17). At conversion, they say, we are translated
into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13). "That kingdom is the present
kingdom of Christ, and we reign with him in the spiritual realm now,
and continue to reign with him after death in heaven (Revelation
20:4), and will reign with God the Father and Christ the Son
throughout ali etemity (Revelation 21:7)" (ibid., p. 136).
Postmillennialists, however, believe that Christ will come after the
The Rapture and the Millennium 117
millennium. According to their view the proclamation of the gospel
will gradually prepare the world for a golden age. "This gospel will be
preached unto every nation, it will prepare the world for the vision
given the prophetic seers of the Old Testament. The gospel agency is
not despaired of, it can harbor no defeat, but will win its way,
dominate society, put down evil, will christianize nations and
governments and when once holding such universal sway the
glorious millennium will commence. Then shall that golden age for
which men have dreamed and poets have sung be realized.
"There will be a brotherhood of men, wars shall cease, envy,
jealousy, rivalry among individuals and nations will be forever blotted
out. The Kingdom of Christ or of God, preparatory to the final
consummation when God will be all in all, will be established by the
ordinary means of grace, and not by the coming of Christ in bodily
visible form. The millennium signifies Christ' s complete regnum
gloriae, a spiritual rule and moral sway over his subjects. The King is
present in the person of the Holy Spirit whom He sends to
accomplish His task.
"At the beginning, or during this period the Jews will be
converted to Christ. Although the millennium will be of unparalleled
peace and prosperity, it will yet end in great Apostasy, and a terrible
conflict between the Christian and non-christian forces will ensue. In
the midst of this battle which is of short duration Christ and His hest of *-
angels intervene. Jesus now returns bodily and visibly to the earth,
the old world is destroyed and purified by fire, the last trump is
sounded, those living are translated, a universal simultaneous
resurrection of the dead and a general judgment follows, each
individual receives his due reward and is directed to his etern al
destination, heavenly bliss or everlasting perdition as the case may
be" (William H. Rutgers, Premillennia/ism in America [Goes,
Holland: Oosterbaan & Le Cointre, 1930], p. 17).
Premillennialists hold that Christ will return at the beginning of
the millennium. Before then, though, antichrist will arise and cause
the great "tribulation" (Matthew 24:29) for three and a half years. He
118 God Meets Man
"will exercise a world-wide rule, deify the state and achieve a un ion
of church and state so that men will be forced to worship him or suffer
economic sanctions and death" (George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed
Hope [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1956], p. 6). Ladd also sees the restoration of the Jewish people at
this point. They turn now in faith to Jesus Christ and as a re suit suffer
martyrdom.
They point out that with the coming of Christ the resurrection of
the righteous takes place, and they and the translated living will meet
Christ in the air. Christ then descends and destroys antichrist, the
judgment of the sheep and the goats occurs, Christ sets up His
millennial kingdom, rules over the nations with a rod of iron, and
binds Satano At the end of the millennium, He "unbinds" Satano The
devii gathers the nations to war against the saints, and fire destroys
him and his followers. Then comes the resurrection of the wicked and
the great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The
creation of a new heaven and a new earth and the establishment of
the etern al kingdom follow.
Some basic differences occur between those falling under the
general heading of premillennialists, even in the broad outline given
above. Much confusion exists about the nature of the millennial
kingdom. The more basic differences come, however, preceding the
millennium, divided according to when they see the rapture taking
place-before, during, or after the tribulation. Thus there are
pretribulationists, midtribulationists, and posttribulationists. The
midtribulationists are not an important group. They maintain that the
rapture happens during the midst of Daniel' s seventieth week, which
they say precedes Christ' s appearance. The two important groups
are the pretribulationists and the posttribulationists. The posttribula-
tionists follow the main outline given above for premillennialists. The
rapture takes place at the end of the tribulation, which is the
beginning of the millennium. The dominant group among the
premillennialists are the pretribulationists.
One of the leading proponents of the latter view, E. Schuyler
The Rapture and the MilIennium 119
English, recently put out a revision of the Scofield Bible whose notes
have had an influential role in its spread. In his book Re-Thinking the
Rapture (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1954), he has
presented a detailed explanation of the pretribulationist concept.
With his starting point in Daniel 9, he explains the seventy-week
prophecy. In the first seven weeks, the Jews rebuilt the city. At the
end of the next sixty-two weeks (434 years) Messiah carne. The
beginning date for his calculation is 445 Be.
"Forty-nine years (seven weeks) plus 434 years (sixty-two
weeks) equals 483 years; and 483 years after 445 BC would be AD
38. But prophetic years equal only 360 days each, so that
approximately seven years must be subtracted, bringing the date that
'Messiah [should be] cut off, but not for Himself,' to AD 31" (ibid., p.
22). That accounts for sixty-nine weeks, but one more still remains.
With the cutting off of the Messiah, Israel is no Ion ger God' s nation. It
is now the time of the Gentiles. But a remnant of Israel who will
believe in Christ will return to Jerusalem and Palestine. Then Daniel
9:27 (the seventieth week) will commence. According to
pretribulationists the time of tribulation, mentioned in Matthew
24:29,30, will take place during the last half, or the last three and a
half years, just before the coming of Christ.
Pretribulationists feei that one cannot separate the rapture from
the resurrection, and they base their belief on 1 Corinthians 15:51,
52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; and 2 Thessalonians 2:1. Since
Revelation 20:4 describes the resurrection as occurring before the
millennium, then apparently the two events take place after the
tribulation. But they do not accept this as the final word. Somehow
they find that it is not the whole picture. "The important thing to
discover is whether or not the first resurrection must be a
simultaneous resurrection of ali the just at one definite moment, or
whether the first resurrection may be understood to mean the
resurrection of ali the just, to be sure, but in a series of two or more
ascensions" (ibid., p. 32). Thus they open up the possibility of the
rapture before the millennium.
120 God Meets Man
Pretribulationists believe that the prophecies relating to Israel will
have a literal fulfillment, since they rely on God' s promise instead of
depending on Israel' s faithfulness. They also insist on a clear
distinction between scriptures describing Israel and passages relating
to the church. Somehow they find such a distinction in Matthew
24:29-31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. "There are certain
similarities about them: both refer to the coming of the Lord, both
speak of the sounding of a trumpet, and both suggest a gathering of
the Lord' s chosen. But there are also nota bie differences in the two
passages: one speaks of cataclysmic signs in the heavens, while the
other does not mention them; one scripture records that the Lord will
send His angels 'with agreat sound of a trumpet,' while the other
account tells us that it is 'the trump of God'; one speaks of the angels
gathering the elect, while the other intimates that it is the Lord who
will draw them to Himself; in one instance there is no reference to the
resurrection, while in the other it is stated that 'the dead in Christ shall
rise' " (ibid., p. 40).
Matthew 24, according to English, comes after the tribulation and
deals with an earthly kingdom. It is directed to the Jews and
Jerusalem where the Temple will be. The Sabbath law prevails. Thus
Matthew 24 is posttribulational, they say, while 1 Thessalonians 4 is
pretribulational. Matthew 24:37-42 does not deal with the rapture.
Jesus nowhere mentions it. Paul brings this new revelation. 1
Thessalonians "has to do with those who are on earth when Christ
retums to the earth-those taken will be those who have rejected
God and His Christ; those left will be tribulation-saints, Israel
primarily, who will enter the earthly kingdom" (ibid., p. 50).
Matthew 25:31-4o, dealing with the judgment of the nations in
the para bie of the sheep and the goats, comes at the end of the
tribulation. The sheep inherit an earthly kingdom here on earth. They
have shown mercy to Israel-"these my brethren" (verse 40). The
parable of the wheat and the tares describes the same event. But it
indicates that even after the rapture some saints will still remain on
earth.
The Rapture and the Millennium 121
The main passage for pretribulationists is 1 Thessalonians 4.
However, it alone does not indicate the time relation of the rapture to
the tribulation. Notwithstanding chapter 5, they do not identify the
events of 1 Thessalonians 4 with 1 Thessalonians 5, since for them
"the day of the Lord" is the day of judgment and cannot refer to the
rapture. The "day of Christ" is the rapture. They also make a
distinction between tribulation, persecution, or affliction and the
wrath of God.
The former Christians must suffer, but "tribulation is not of
necessity wrath, but the period known as 'the Tribulation' is indeed
the manifestation of the wrath of God. God' s people will surely suffer
tribulation during this age but the Church will not be obliged to
endure the Tribulation, the time of the outpouring of God's wrath"
(ibid., p. 61). They base it on 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV): "God hath
not appointed us to wrath"; also Revelation 3:10. Pretribulationists
interpret 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 to mean that the rapture precedes the
appearance of the man of sin. Thus the "falling away" (KJV) is not
the apostasy but the rapture. It does not refer to a "rebellion" but to a
"departure," Le., of the saints. The Restraining One is the Holy
Spirit, who leaves during the time of the tribulation.
The rapture must precede the coming of Christ in glory, since the
saints accompany Him when He returns. Pretribulationists present
Jude 14, Colossians 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 4: 14, and Revelation
19: 14 as proof for their teaching. Thus according to their view, seven
years before the millennium and the appearance of Christ, God will
rapture the living and resurrected saints. The last three and a half
years of the seven will comprise the Great Tribulation when antichrist
arises. At the end Christ comes, destroys antichrist, and the judgment
of the sheep and goats takes place. Then the millennium begins. As to
the description of the events during this period, their picture is not
dear.
"Some hold that the millennial kingdom will be predominantly
Jewish, with Christian Gentiles in a rather subordinate place, while
others hold that the martyrs, and those who worshipped not the beast
122 God Meets Man
nor his image nor had his mark upon their forehead and hand, will
occupy the ruling place during the millennium. Others believe that
the Jews reign as unconverted Israelites during a restoration of the
Jewish kingdom of Palestine, under a theocracy, with the church in
heaven. Others hold that the whole church of Christ will reign during
the millennium, with no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
''There is a great deal of confusion as to the place of the restored
temple worship during the millennium, while the premillennialists in .
general experience much difficulty in reconciling Old Testament
eschatological prophecies with New Testament prophecies con-
ceming the Second Coming. There is also much confusion as to the
relationship between the transfigured saints with spiritual bodies,
and the untransfigured 'nations' over whom Christ reigns, during the
millennium" (Hamilton, p. 23).
The amillennial attitude described above is that of Floyd
Hamilton. Gther amillennialists have different concepts. However,
they all fail to take seriously the binding of Satan described in
Revelation 20. Hamilton's view also spiritualizes the resurrection and
presents a totally non-Biblical view of the nature of man, a view that is
in fact Hellenistic and which many modern Biblical scholars have
rejected.
The postmillennial position has a much too optimistic view
concerning the world' s future. The gradual betlerment of the world
and its acceptance of the gospel that leads to a glorious millennium is
the antithesis of what we can actually anticipate. Such rosy-eyed
utopianism blinds itself to reality.
Premillennialism has much confusion about what goes on during
the millennium because of what it believes will happen to the saints
and the unrighteous at its beginning. Are all the righteous in heaven?
Will some on earth be saved? Do they have a special resurrection?
Furthermore, the attempt to find literal fulfillment of the Old
Testament prophecies to the Jews here on earth compounds the
problem. Without question its proponents find themselves driven to
such positions because of their desire to maintain the integrity of the
The Rapture and the Millennium 123
Scriptures. Nevertheless it seems incredible that the people who have
rejected their role in God's plan-as Christians see it-should
continue to receive the blessings which would ha ve been theirs had
they fulfilled their role. What is the period for? Is it just so that God
brings to completion the unfulfilled prophecies of the past before the
final curtain falls?
Another weakness in the view of some is their use of the seventy-
week prophecy, more precisely the seventieth week. They cut it oH
from the rest of the sixty-nine and arbitrarily place it just preceding the
coming of Christ. One finds it difficult to justify such a procedure.
The pretribulation position also relies on questionable exegetical
procedures to arrive at its position. It seems to be first arrived at, and
then itsJollowers only later find texts and interpretations to support it.
Seventh-day Adventists are a rather unique brand of
premillennialists. They believe that Christ comes openly, with every
eye observing Him, at the beginning of the millennium. A time of
persecution precedes it, but not the tribulation of Matlhew 24. At His
coming He raises the righteous dead and translates the righteous
Iiving, and they aII retum with Christ to heaven. The wicked dead
remain in their graves till the second resurrection at the c10se of the
millennium, and the wicked Iiving are destroyed. The earth remains
depopulated during the millennium, which is only an interim until
the resurrection of the wicked dead. Satan then makes one final
atlempt to take over the world after the saints descend to the earth.
The final judgment of the wicked takes place, and their destruction
(the second death) results. After God re-creates the earth, the
righteous dwell securely on it forever.
The Seventh-day Adventist interpretation has its difficulties, but it
seems more in harmony with the Scriptures, more consistent, and
less confusing than the other views presented. The righteous aII enter
into their reward at the same time-and thewicked to their judgment.
Two c1ear-cut resurrections occur~ne for the righteous and one for
the wicked. One has no confusion as to who Iives on earth during the
millennium and what their relationship is to those in heaven.
 UNIVERSALISM?

f The view that God will eventually save aII men has arisen from
time to time in Christian history. Clement of Alexandria and Origen
held the view as early as the second-third centuryŢIn rnore recent
times Friedrich Schleiermacher espoused the poS1tion.\ More than
usual interest existed in the nineteenth century. In the current period,
Nikolai Berdyaev, William Temple, John Baillie, C. H. Dodd, Charles
Raven, Herbert Farmer, Nels Ferre, Paul TiIlich, Norman Pittinger,
and J. A. T. Robinson, among others, have adopted it. Surprisingly,
relatively conservative scholars such as Walter Kunneth and William
Barclay have joined its camp.
Its proponents have offered various reasons for the teaching.
Origen based it on the cyclic view of history, that is, that the end must
ultimately become restored as it was in the beginning. Thus the
original perfection retums through the reconciliation of aII men and
angels to God. For Schleiermacher, the church would be incomplete
if some were lost, and those saved would not enjoy blessedness since
they would know of them. Tillich would second Schleiermacher' s
125
126 God Meets Man
reasons. He says that many-because of physical, psychological, or
sociological conditions, such as premature death or mental
illness-could not even begin to reach their goal. And he also points
to the millions who have never heard of Christ (see Hans Schwarz,
On the Way to the Future [Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg
Publishing House, 1972], pp. 144-148).
J. A. T. Robinson ~as urged strongly for universalism. He first
cites texts that he feels support his position: John 3:17; Acts 3:21;
Romans8:19-21; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20; 1 Timothy2:4; 1
John 2:2. God's love must ultimately triumph. "If there was anything
that could prevent this fulfillment, then that power would be stronger
than the Divine love, and God less than all-mighty." But here we
encounter a problem. If love is omnipotent, what becomes of man' s
freedom? Or if he cannot reject, what has love won? Is it then love or
simply naked, irresistible power? "The dilemma may be stated thus.
Either Love is omnipotent (this is a necessary statement if God is to
be God, Le., infinite): in which case it must conquer. But this 'must'
involves the elimination of the very thing which makes its victory a
victory of love-viz. freedom. By the very fact, therefore, that He is
omnipotent does necessarily fulfill His purpose, God contradicts
Himself and works His own defeat.
"Or freedom is absolutely inviolable (this is a necessary statement
if God is to be God, Le., love): in which case there can be no necessity
in this victory. And this means there is no necessity that God can be
Himself-almighty and unbounded. But the very possibility that He
could not be what He is once more involves Him in self-
contradiction. Thus, the in evita bie conclusion appears to be that the
ideas of omnipotence and love are themselves mutually contra-
dictory. God cannot be omnipotent love" ("Universalism-Is It
Heretical?" Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 2 [1949], p. 141).
To solve this dilemma, "eitherone must be prepared toshowthat
the possibility that all are not saved is compatible with the Divine
omnipotence, or one must establish that the necessity for all to be
saved involves no infringement of freedom, and therefore no denial
Universalism? 127
of God' slove." Robinson takes the second alternative and illustrates
it on the basis of human love. "When a man or woman really shows
his or her love for us, whether it be in some costing manifestation of
forgiveness or self-sacrifice, or in some small act of kindness or
consideration, we feei constrained to respond to it-we cannot help
ourselves, everything within us tells us that we must" (ibid., p. 147).
And yet we know that nothing has infringed our freedom.
In regard to the charge that if indeed ali men ultimately will be
saved, we will see no moral earnestness among men, Robinson says
this is true if looked at objectively, but not from a subjective
viewpoint. ''The knowledge that one is the object of another human
being' slove, who, whatever one may do, will continue to love and to
cherish, is not the signal to seize the opportunity for careless and
thoughtless living. Rather, the knowledge brings with it an
overwhelming constraint to pursue precisely the opposite cou~se"
(ibid., p. 152). His last argument is extremely difficult to follow. How
one can consider hell as an option when there will not be one, even if
you consider it subjectively, is difficult to see. There is no way one can
consider rejection by God as real when one knows that ultimately
'-1
there can be no rejectio!'.!:)
In regard to Robinson's first illustration, we can have no
guarantee that we shall respond to such love. Judas, who Iived in the
presence of love-Jesus Christ Himself-refused to yield. Robinson
fails to understand the mystery and depth of iniquity within man' s
heart. What kind of response did Jesus receive·for His Iife of love in
Palestine but the cross? The cross of Calvary witnesses to God's love
to men, yet people do not accept His sacrifice automatically or even
predictably. True, when we respond, it does not infringe our
freedom; but if we say that God's love is omnipotent, then-given
man's nature-it is inevitable that if he must ultimately surrender to
divine love, it encroaches on hi~ free will.
As for the second illustration, it is a fact of human nature that if
indeed we know that no matter what we do, someone shall continue
to love us, our behavior will become less disciplinecl:' Sometimes,
128 God Meets Man
only when something shocks us out of our complacent feeling that
the relationship will continue regardless, do we change for the better.
Robinson again fails to consider the depth ef man' s sin. He has a too-
opqrnistic view of man's nature.
{If love is so ali powerful, why speak about finally overcoming?
Could not love have manifested its power at the beginning so that
man would not desire to stray away from God? Then ali men would
have continued in His love. But to talk about man's freedom is to
speak about his possibility of straying, of rebelling against God.
Freedom involves the risk that divine love may be frustrated. ''This is
the horror of great darkness that carne upon Gethsemane and
Calvary, that by pressing the issue of divine love to the point of
ultimate decision, God risked the happening of the incredible, that
men should still choose to contradict the utmost work of love, even in
justifying the ungodly. That they did so choose to do at Calvary is a
ghastiy fact, and in that fact the Cross unmasks the bottomless
dimension of sin in the human heart. The whole of the Bible stands
aghast atthis vast mystery of iniquity" (T. F. Torrance, "Universalism
or Election?" Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 2 [1949], p. 317).
While Scripture speaks of the complete provision made for man' s
salvation and the divine desire to save ali men (1 John 2:2; John
3:17; 1 Timothy 2:4), nevertheless it does not view with slick
optimism that everyone will accept. Jesus says, "And this is the
judgment, that the light has come into the worid, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every
one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest
his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19,20).
In the para bie of the sheep and the goats, the King says to those
on the left, "'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devii and his angels' " (Matthew 25:41); and to
those on the right, " 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world' " (verse
34). Thus "they will go away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternallife" (verse 4.).
 THE RESURRECTION
OFTHE DEAD

Most Christians hold to the immortality of the soul. They believe

that at death the soulleaves the body for its final destiny, either to
bliss in heaven above or to punishment in hell. Some also claim a
third possibility-purification in purgatory. Each individual goes to
his reward or punishment at death. But Christians also have as one of
their basic doctrines the bodily resurrection. One faces difficulty
when he tries to bring the two concepts into harmony and
consistency. If the soul is immortal and goes to its reward at death,
then why the resurrection? We face a radical discord and disharmony
that we cannot easily dissolve-a problem that has led scholars to
study more closely what the Bible teaches on the subject. They have
discovered that the traditional view of man's state after death carne
into the Christian church in the second century through Greek
inqLlence and that what the Bible teaches, completely contradicts it.
( Professor Cullmann graphically demonstrated the difference
between the Greek and ~ip'lical views by his descriptions of the death
of Socrates and of Chris~According to Socrates, "Our body is only
129
130 God Meets Man
an outer garment which, as long as we live, prevents our soul from
moving freely and from living in conformity to its proper etern al
essence. It imposes upon the soul a law which is not appropriate to it]
The soul, confined within the body, belongs to the eternal world. As
long as we live, our soul finds itself in a prison, that is, in a body
essentially alien to it. Death, in fact, is the great liberator. It looses the
chains, since it leads the soul out of the prison of the body and back to
its etern al home. Since body and soul are radically different from one
another and belong to different worlds, the destruction of the body
cannot mean the destruction of the soul, any more than a musical
composition can be destroyed when the instrument is destroyed"
(Oscar Cullmann, Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the
Dead? [New York: Macmillan, 1958], pp. 19,20).
On the day of his death Socrates taught his discipiE~s-rather lived
before them-the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. He goes to
his death apparently convinced that death but liberated his soul from
its fleshly prison. Death is the avenue to freedom-freedom to return
to his etern al home. He does not beg that someone remove the
hemloc;1< from him, but manfully and approvingly he drinks to his
death-t Thus Socrates dies peacefully and courageously. No terror
threatens to overwhelm him. Instead it is a beautiful, calm death.
P~rfect conformity exists between the action and the doctrine)
In contrast to Socrates we find Jesus reacting to death in quite the
opposi~ way. Jesus said, "'My soul is very sorrowful, even to
death'~I(Mark 14:34). Knowing He must taste death for every man,
He shuddered at the prospect. Christ felt the wrath of God against
transgression, and His face showed anguish. As He faced death He
cried out, " 'Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this
cup from me; yet not what I will, b9J: what thou wilt' " (verse 36).
Three times He utlered that prayer.t'And when He concludes, 'Yet
not as I will but as thou wilt,' this does not mean that at the last, He,
like Socrates, regards death as the friend, the liberator. No, He means
only this: If this greatest of all terrors, deat~ must befall Me according
to Thy will, then I submit to this horror" \ibid., p. 22) .
.....
The Resurrection of the Dead 131
The way Socrates and Christ awaited their death reveals agreat
contrast. Their deaths each accord with their doctrine of death. One
welcomes it, since he believes it releases the true self from the bonds
of the body. For the other, death is the great enemy, "the last enemy
to be destroyed" (1 Corinthians 15:26).
The Biblical view of man has no dichotomy as does the Greek.
"The Hellenic conception of man has been described as that of an
angel in a slot machine, a soul (the invisible, spiritual, essential ego)
incarcerated in a frame of matler, from which it trusts eventually to be
liberated. The body is non-essential to the personality: it is something
which arnan possesses, or, rather, is possessed by. 'The Hebrew idea
of the personality,' on the other hand, wrote the late Dr. Wheeler
Robinson in a sentence which has become famous, "is an animated
bod'yL and not an incarnated soul' (The People andtneBo6k, p.
~(2). ---- ------.--------
r'M;;m does not have a body, he is a body. He is a
flesh-animated-by-soul, the whole conceived as a psycho-physical
unity: 'The body is the soul in its outward form'}.J. Pedersen, Israel,
1-11, p. 171). There is no suggestion that the soul is the essential
personality, or that the soul (nephesh) is immortal, while the flesh
(basar) is mortal. The soul does not survive arnan-it simply goes
out, draining away with the blood" (J. A. T. Robinson, The Body: A
Study in Pauline Theology, Studies in Biblical Theology [Chicago:
Alec R. Allenson, Inc., 1952], p. 14).
The body is God' s created handiwork, not the production of
some lesser god, as Gnostics influenced by Greek philosophy taught.
Scripture also regards the body as the temple of God (1 Corinthians
6: 19). The body is meant "for the Lord, and the Lord for the body"
(verse 13), and it is in ourphysical selfthatwe must glorify God (verse
20). In the end we shall rise in our bodies, though God will have
transformed them to spiritual bodies, Le., with no traces of the
Adamic body and its fleshly nature, but one in which the Spirit has full
control. Now, "the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the
desires of the Spirit are against the flesh" (Galatians 5: 17). Then we
132 God Meets Man
will have no desires of the flesh, and the Spirit shall have full sway.
Man is not a dichotomy-he is a whole. No part continues to Iive
apart from the body. Every part of him dies-the whole person. It is
inconceivable to speak of the soul as surviving away from the body.
Nor is it possible to mix the Greek philosophy of the immortality of
the soul with the Biblical doctrine of the bodily resurrection. But we
find perfect harmony and sense in speaking of the resurrection of the
body if we reject the immortality of the seul.
If the soul does not survive the body, then what happens to man
when he dies? To accept the Biblical point of view makes it difficult to
conceive of any type of existence during death. It must be a period of
nothingness, Iike that of unconscious sleep. Some feeI that it must
involve more than that. But it seems difficult to square this with the
Biblical conception of the body.
The resurrection of the body, that is of the total person, witnesses
to God' 5 sovereignty and grace. Man is not inherently immortal. The
Lord alone has immortality. It is as a pure gift from God that we
receive at the resurrection. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul
opposes God' 5 sovereignty and grace and suppresses the true
meaning of man' 5 death.
By considering death merely as the .pposite of biologic al Iife, it
becomes easy then to talk about the rhythm of Iife, of becoming and
perishing, as the natural course of existence. Death becomes natural.
The seed springs forth, grows, bears flowers, produces seed, and
then withers away. Nature follows its natural course. If that is 50, w'e
ought to accept its processes. But according to the Bible, even when
we are still alive, we can be dead, and though we Iive, we can be
resurrected. Paul says, "And you he made alive, when you were
dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked"
(Ephesians 2:1, 2). The Scriptures consider the present Iife dead
apart from Christ. "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal Iife in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). "As sin
reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to
eternallife through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:21).
The Resurrection of the Dead 133
"One could multiply such antithetical pairings at will from the
statements of the New Testament. In every passage it is characteristic
that the opposite of death is not physical life, but etemal life, life
related to etemity with the barrier removed" (Helmut Thielicke,
Death and Life, trans. Edward H. Schroeder [Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1970], p. 190). Since we ha ve etemallife now through Christ,
who makes us alive, He has removed the sting of death from
biological death.
But if death is the opposite of etemal life, then we must view
death as something other than part of the natural rhythm of life. It is
rather a disorder that de.stroys us because of our rejection of God.
Death is not natural. tThe remarkable sentence of the Apostle Paul
that 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23) compels us to see that
man's mortality is rooted not in creation but in his fall from creation.
Thus death is not of the created order; it is disorder" (ibid., p. 1). We
can see this fact especially in man' s attitude in the face of death itself.
No matler what kind of philosophy one has conceming the meaning
of death, it does not in fact remove his fear.
"Theoretically, that is, in philosophical thought, death surely
belongs to life. Practically, however, anxiety triumphs as a sign that
death is a fracture and an abrupt unmasking of life' s supposed
security (Psalm 39). Practically, death makes a mockery of any
consolation from biological or idealistic theory. Practically, no one
experiences the end of life the same way as life itself, as if they were
seamlessly joined. Death seems rather to be radically disconnected,
absolutely alien to life. Thus we can maintain that as a practical
matler, anxiety about the end of life stands in real contradiction to
any theoretical explanation of death as natural. Here it must be said
that anxiety is still anxiety, even when it is suppressed behind
clenched teeth or when it takes refuge in an ideological scheme of
immGrtality" (ibid., p. 14).
Even Socrates could face death calmly, not simply because it
released his soul from the body according to his philosophy, but
because if he were to be true to himself and follow his convictions, he
134 God Meets Man
could do nothing else. If carried to its ultimate, his concept would lead
to the absurdity that one should kill every infant at birth to free it from
its bodily prison as soon as possible. Socrates doesn't recommend
suicide by his drinking of the hemlock. life is still to be cherished
except at the expense of personal integrity.
{Man' s anxiety about death arises from the fact that he senses it
does' not come naturally but instead as a consequence of a broken
fellowship with God7Death is God' s "No" to man in the face of his
sinfulness. He cann'ot die simply as a mammal. Rather he is a
responsible man in relationship to God and senses that death is final.
If he has not made his pe ace with God, he has no further opportunity
or time. The only Iife he can present before God is the one he has up
to that point. Thus apart from God, man can only face death in
anxiety and terror.
Death comes also to the believer, but for him it lacks the sting. He
knows that Christ became man "that through death he might destroy
him who has the power of death, that is, the deviI, and deliver aII
those who through fear of death were subject to Iifelong bondage"
(Hebrews2:14, 15). Thus he can face death knowingthatfor him it is
not the end of aII things.
While the Christian and the non-Christian attitudes toward death
are different, nevertheless, externally the result is the same. They
both die. For God to demonstrate His righteousness in regard to both
the righteous and the wicked requires the resurrection. It also
confirms that the Christian Iife is not a sham.
Belief in Jesus Christ leads to the reception of eternal Iife even
now-even now we walk freed "from the law of sin and death"
(Romans 8:2). Now we value the things of the Spirit which bring "life
and peace" (verse 6). Our having Christ within us now through His
Spirit assures us Iife now and hereafter. "But if Christ is in you,
although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive
because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus dwells
in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give Iife to your
mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you" (verses 10,
The Resurrection of the Oead 135
Il}. A continuity exists between the new life we live now and the
resurrected life in the future.
~If this awakening of the bodies is to happen through 'His Spirit
who dwells in us,' is the present indwelling of the Spirit then not the
sufficient reason also for the future resurrection?'J (Werner Elert, Last
Things [St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia, 1974], p. 39). "If you live
according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body you will live" (Romans 8:13). Thus the
resurrection in a sense perpetuates the "newness of life" we already
experience.
"Resurrection is to believers a reality not only in the past and in
the future. It exists also in the present as the working of the spirit of "'-r
Christ . ... The Spirit carries the resurrection of Jesus into our lives, or
rather that the Spirit involves us in the resurrection of Jesus"
(Hendrikus Berkhof, Well-founded Hope [Richmond, Virginia: John
Knox Press, 1969], p. 34). Thus Christian life now is not a sham but a
reality which the resurrection will fuI fiII.
The resurrection also validates the Christian life in the sense that it
shows it is not a delusion when one gives up everything for
Christ-even life itself. The promise, "Be faithful unto death, and I
will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10), is not a set of
beautiful or merely encouraging words, but a reality. Paul asks,
"Why am I in periI every hour? . . . What do I gain if, humanly
speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised,
'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die' " (1 Corinthians 15:30-
32).
Without a resurrection, a life such as Paul endured makes no
sense. He had many imprisonments, countless beatings, and often
lay near death. He says, "Five times I have received ~t.the hands of
the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten
with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a
night and a day I have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in
danger from rivers, danger from robbers, dan ger from my own
people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the
136 God Meets Man
wildemess, dan ger at sea, danger from false brethren; in toi! and
hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often
without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). If the
dead do not rise, everything is meaningless and futile.
Also the resurrection shows that those who have fallen asleep in
Christ have not perished. It tells us that we have hope not only for our
present life but for the one to come. The resurrection of the dead
finds its guarantee in the resurrection of Chris{şince the raising of
Christ is a reality, the resurrection of the dead is a certainty. 7to reject
the resurrection of the dead denies the resurrection of Christ. Christ' s
resurrection stands as the comerstone of Christian hope and faith.
Dur modem secular age, with its scientific methods and closed-world
conception, tends to explain it away into something less than
resurrection. To do so destroys Christian faith. "If Christ has not been
raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians
15: 17). It would be the end also of Christian hope, the Second
Coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the new earth. Christ' s
resurrection is the one pillar that man cannot remove.
''The ground of the Christian hope is not in prophetic predictions
or in visions of the future, not in individual words and sayings of
Jesus, not even in the person of Jesus or the wholeness of the
Christian faith whose paradoxical structure demands an eschato-
logical fulfilment, but solely and decisively in the reality of the
resurredion of the Kyrios [Lord] in which all these other insights are
summed up and confinned. The resurrectio'n of Jesus is the principle
which govems a Christian eschatology" (Kiinneth, p. 233).
The resurrection of the dead is not an individual but a community
affair. The righteous dead all rise up together, and those alive receive
translatiqn at the same time~1We die individually, but we rise up
together~ Ali enjoy the blessings of etemity together. "What the New
Testament has to say about the future of each of us is indisso~ly
bound up with our membership, in Christ, with one anothet\'. Dur
hope is corpora!.!; it is nothing else than that in Christ all things in
heaven and earth should be reconciled, summed up. It is, therefore,
The Resurrection of the Oead 137
unthinkable that any individual should share in that salvation except
in its totality which includes all who are Christ' 5" (J. E. L. Newbigin, in
Missions Under the Cross, ed. N. Goodall [London: Edinburgh
House Press, 19531, p. 110).
The wicked dead, too, must be resurrected, for "all who are in the
tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good,
to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28, 29). Ali the righteous rise
together, and 50 will all the wicked as they face the last judgment
described in Revelation 20: 11-15. They rise that they may know they
have deserved their judgment and to receive their sentence. Their
judgment is not a never-ending punishment, but the second death
(Revelation 20: 14). As God makes no distinctions between the
rewards of the individual righteous, 50 He sets no differences in the
punishment of the wicked. The punishment for all is the second
death.
What is the nature of the resurrected body? Paul describes it as
imperishable, glorious, powerful, immortal, and spiritual (1
Corinthians 15:42-44, 52-54). He gives no suggestion here that God
will alter the personality of the individual except for those changes
resulting from a new spiritual body. Dur heavenly bodies will be a
new creation, freed from all the effects and remnants of sin. It is not
necessary or even desira bie that God restore the identicallimbs. He
can make us anew. We find it difficult to comprehend a spiritual body
unless we understand it as a body completely under the control of the
Spirit-in contrast to the body in which sin still clings. The indwelling
of the Spirit described to some extent as the case for Christians now
will then be fully and completely realized.
 ($ THE FINAL JUDGMENT

The Bible teaches clearly and emphatically of a judgment of all

men. The concept appears especially in the New Testament.
Throughout the teachings of Jesus we find the theme. For example,
in the parables of the kingdom He speaks of the harvest, the
separation of the wheat and the tares, or the great catch and the
separation of the good fish from the bad. He relates in Matthew 25
the parable of the sheep and the goats. Referring to the recalcitrance
of the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, He warned, "It shall be
more tolera bie on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for
you" (Matthew 11:22).
John 5:28, 29 quotes Jesus as saying, "The hour is coming when
all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who
have done good, to the resurrection of Hfe, and those who have done
evil, to the resurrection of judgment." Dur accountability does not
end with our death. We must rise again to receive God's verdict on
our lives.
Paul states that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of
139
140 God Meets Man
Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what
he has done in the body" (2 Corinthians 5: 10). In Romans 2:2, 3 he
writes, "We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those
who do such things. Do you suppose, Ornan, that when you judge
those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape
the judgment of God?" He speaks in verse 16 of "that day when,
according to ... [his] gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ
Jesus. "
Peter refers to the Father, "who judges each one impartially
according to his deeds" (1 Peter 1: 17), and in Hebrews 10:27 the
author mentions "a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire
which will consume the adversaries."
John presents an awful scene: "Then I saw agreat white throne
and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away,
and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and
small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead
were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had
done" (Revelation 20:11, 12).
The judgment is inescapable. No one will be too insignificant for
divine justice to pass over or too important to escape examination.
The only question is whether we shall be acquitted or convicted.
Divine justice will determine it on the basis of our relationship to God
now. "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever
denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in
heaven" (Matthew 10:32, 33).
In a sense, then, our judgment takes place now. How we relate to
Jesus in our present lives establishes the verdict. "He who believes in
him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of
God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil""(John 3:18,19). If we believe in God's Son, we have God on
The Final Judgment 141
our side, and no power or combination of powers can overcome us.
"If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son
but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?
Who shall bring any charge against God' 5 elect? It is God who
justifies; who is to condemn? 15 it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who
was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who
indeed intercedes for us?" (Romans 8:31-34).
For the Christian, the verdict is assured. He already stands
acquitted, for by faith he has been justified. Even now he knows what
the verdict will be. God has declared him righteous. Therefore he has
no "fearfullooking for of judgment" (Hebrews 10:27, KJV). For him
love has taken the place of fear. "In this is love perfected with us, that
we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is 50
are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not
perfected in I.ve" (1 John 4:17, 18).
But the verdict that God pronounces upon us here is only for the
present. It can become permanent only if our faith in Jesus continues
until the end. If we turn our backs on Jesus, then condemnation
returns upon us. On the Godward side there can be no failure, but on
the human the possibility always exists. God cannot coerce us to be
faithful if we refuse to believe in Him. Thus for now the
verdict-while authentic--cannot be permanent. It is not once
saved, always saved. In the words of Kunneth, "The believer has
already experienced Christ as his Judge. Nevertheless he still has the
judgment continually before him, because he stands in the old aeon
and until death participates in its sin, and also because the new Christ-
life is a hidden one. The believer is thus always at the same time on his
way towards the 'judgment.'
"Accordingly, the 'Iast judgment' in the parousia means two
things for the believer: firstly, the unveiling of the life which man
already possesses in faith, which means the manifesting of the
sinner's acquittal by Christ, about which the believer already knows;
and secondly, the renewed awarding and confirmation of the life of
142 God Meets Man
the resurrection, because of the sin which c1ings continually to the
believer in the old aeon and which therefore means even for faith a
persistent threat to his acquittal, so that before the parousia the
believer, being a sinner. is still always faced by the dual possibility of
life or death. The parousia judgment is therefore for faith both an
unveiling of present grace and a renewed justifying of the sinner" (p.
283).
Thus the ultimate verdict can come only in the last judgment.
True, God can in effect make the verdict at death, but its execution
must await the end, since at death men do not go either to their
reward or to their punishment. Those who believe that as soon as a
man dies God sends him to his eternal destiny-heaven, hell,
purgatory, limbo---conclude thatjudgment must take place then. But
according to the Bible, man remains in the grave until the final
resurrection when God raises ali together, the righteous at the first
resurrection and the wicked at the second resurrection, to receive
their reward or their condemnation. But before He can pronounce
the sentence on everyone, a judgment must take place. Therefore
the last judgment has two aspects. The first deals with investigation
and the second with execution.
The second part will ultimately happen after the second
resurrection when God pronounces the final verdict and the wicked
suffer their second death in the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 14, 15).
But a kind of judgment occurs also for the living wicked when Christ
comes. At that time Jesus will be "revealed from heaven ... in fire
with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished
with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the
Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be
glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among ali those
who have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, NIV*).

*Frorn The New International Version. Copyright © 1973 by The New York
Bible Society International and is used by permission.
The Final Judgment 143
But before then, divine justice must decide the cases. God must
determine the good and the evil. Such an investigative type of
judgment must finish at least for the righteous before the coming of
Christ when the second part of the last judgment begins. Thus if
people stiH live when Christ returns, some will be alive while divine
justice judges their cases. Although every person who has ever
existed must sense the seriousness of the judgment, those on earth
during the final days of history must be more solemn and serious
about the life they live.
Those who have died have by their death come to the point of no
return. Nothing they can do wiH change one act of their lives. They
have written "finis" to the drama of their existence, and so it must
stand forever. The present verdict of God has become permanent for
good or for ill. But not so for those of us who are stiH alive. Our verdict
is open-ended as long as probation remains open. But we know that
soon from heaven God will speak these fearful words: "Let the
evildoer stiH do evil, and the filthy stiH be filthy, and the righteous stiH
do right, and the holy stiH be holy" (Revelation 22: 11).
It is not sufficient to be declared righteous now. We must be
righteous until either death or the coming of Christ[More than just
beginning the Christian life, we must persevere in it tiH the end.(
Beyond professing Christ, we must foHow it up by obedience ana
faithfulness. Jesus made this clear when He wamed, " 'Not every one
who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shaH enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day
many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in
your name?" And then will 1 declare to them, "1 never knew you;
depart from me, you evildoers!" , " (Matthew 7:21-23) .
.-.. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship said that
"cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring
repentance, baptism without church discipline, . . . grace without
discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ,
Iiving and incarnate""(p. 36 [hardback]). What the final aspect of the
 144 God Meets Man
last judgment-the investigative phase-emphasizes is that "no
value is attached to a mere profession of faith in Christ; only the love
which is shown by works is counted genuine" (E. G. White, The
Great Controversy, p. 487).
No theology or doctrine is meaningful if it is only an abstract truth.
It must relate to life now. The investigative judgment in heaven must
be relevant to current Christian experience. Not something merely
going on up there, it involves what happens here. What it means is
that we must take the Christian life in earnest. There can be no such
thing as a nominal Christian. We deceive ourselves when we think we
are Christians simply because our names are on the church books,
because we were baptized when children, because we go to church
on Easter and Christmas, because we give the church five dollars a
year, or because of many other things we can name.
(Being a Christian means first of all that we have accepted Jesus
Christ as our Saviour]rhrough His power we have given our entire
life over to Him. Every part of our self--our talents, time, money,
intellect, strength-we put under the control of the Lord. As Jesus
said, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind'" (Matthew 22:37).
CObedience becomes totai1Everything we do or plan to do is done
with reference to the Lor~Jesus Christ. His commands, His life, His
teachings, we seek to fulfill. His spirit, mind, and attitude we wish to
embody. It of course does not mean that we become perfect, but it
does demand that when we fail, we do 110t laugh it off but rue the fact
. that we did so. But even then we know that if we do sin, we have an
advocate with our Father, Jesus Christ.
Christianity today is too nominal. Become a Christian, and then
what does one do? From that point the Christian life becomes too
amorphous. Fearful that a serious call to obedience will lead to
legalism, ministers too often become hazy and ambiguous about
what a Christian should do and be·:~-Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran no less,
warns that "the word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more
Christians than any commandment of worksJ (ibid., p. 46). The
The Final Judgment 145
words of Jesus make clear that He expects everyone to make a
serious attempt to obey His will. "For the Son of man is to come with
his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man
for what he has done" (Matthew 16:27).
Matthew 25 portrays it graphically in the para bie of the sheep and
the goats. Those on the right hand do not display a legalistic spirit
when they help the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, and
prisoner-"the least ofthese my bJ~thren." They did not even realize
that they had helped the Lord.ÎNevertheless they lived out their
religion-not to eam merits but to"hecome like their Lord{Even Paul,
the great proponent of righteousness by faith and the gn?"ăt opponent
of legalism, underscores the fact that when God reveals His righteous
judgment, "he will render to every man according to his works"
(R~mans 2:6).
We cannot escape the fact that judgment must be according to
what we do, and yet it is not legalism or salvation by works. Let us
consider what it would involve jf it were not by works. Does it mean
God judges us by our skin, our race, our social class, our education,
our looks, our talents, our strength, our membership in the church,
our mere profession of Christ? To ask such questions only points up
the ridiculousness of the idea. God can judge us only by our works,
our lives. They are either good or bad. How can we determine
which? Obviously, not ali "good works" are good. The Pharisee who
gave alms or prayed on the streets to atlract attention did not do good
works. Good works must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees,
nGt merely fulfilling the letter but also the spirit of God' s law. It is faith,
but "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6), unrequited love
directed toward an enemy. Judgment based on works does not point
to legalism. Rather, faithful obedience demonstrates that one has the
living faith in Christ by which we are justified. Unless the Christian
fulfills the will of God in a life of faithful obedience, he will stand
condemned.
The will of God involves much more than the observing of the
Ten Commandments. It includes the bearing of the fruit of the Spirit:
146 God Meets Man
"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22, 23). Nevertheless it
summarizes the Oecalogue in the word [ove. We need to emphasize
that it means more than the keeping of the letter of the law. The first
commandment comprehensively demands absolute loyalty above
any other person or thing. And surely the second commandment
involves far more than a physical, literal idol. And 50 on, including the
fourth commandment, which does not mean that we simply cease
from work on the seventh day. This commandment tests our loyalty
to God in an unusual way, since the week is an arbitrary period, and
50 is the seventh day, though tied in with the act of Creation.
Seventh-day Adventists' emphasis on the Sabbath com-
mandment does not result from a legalistic concept of the law, for
legalism has nothing to do with fulfilling the fourth commandment
any more than the first. This emphasis points up the seriousness and
eamestness that a Christian must manifest in his desire to do God' 5
will. Faith must express itself in love here as elsewhere. The arbitrary
nature of the commandment ali the more reveals whether our love is
genuine and directed by God rather than by self-will. The observance
of the Sabbath indeed fits into line with the meaning of the
investigative judgment in stressing the cost of discipleship.
\-The investigative judgment emphasizes the seriousness in which
we must consider every aspect of our life/No part of our life is hidden
from God. "Godjudgesthe secrets ofmen" (Romans2:16). He "will
bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the
purposes of the hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5). We can regard no word,
act, or thought lightly. "1 tell you, on the day of judgment men will
render account for every careless word they utter" (Matthew 12:36).
In a small measure we saw this illustrated in the Watergate trials when
the tcwes became evidence against the defendants.
rSmce being a Christian involves the totallife, we can only expect
tha'f even the smallest thing is not exempt. Every part of our life,
including our thoughts, must come into line with our profession. The
books and magazines we read, the music we listen to, the shows we
The Final Judgment 147
watch, the games we play, the food we eat or drink, the c10thes we
wear, the way we drive, play football, make love, pay bills, and spend
our money-all fali under God' s scrutiny. The investigative judgment
te Ils us that the Christian must be serious about his Christian Iife in its
totality, in every sphere of activity~7'
;Also, the investigative judgmenrshows us that we cannot hope to
cofrceal any sin, no matter how secr~ Though committed in the
darkest night and without any witnesses, such a sin will eventually
surface. It means that we must confess and repent of every sin. We
dare not deceive ourselves in thinking that it will remain hidden, that
it will somehow escape God' s attention(' In God' s sight there are no
secret sins. We must bring them to Iight now, or they will come up
later in great embarrassment."The investigative judgment pulls the
wool from our eyes so that we can see c1early what the only safe path
is--for us to face up to our sins now and by God' s strength to
overcome them.
On the other hand, a wrong conception of the investigative
judgment can produce disastrous results" Because the final verdict
cannot occur until the end of a person's Iife, some have interpreted
this to mean..ţhat the judgment weighs the merits against the demerits
in one' s Iife. Only at the end of one' s Iife can he sum up the good and
the evil that he has done. lf at the end the good outnumbers the evil,
the verdict is salvation-and if the evil outnumbers the good,
condemnation.
Such a conception has its basis entirely upon salvation by works.
It compWely sets the merits of Christ aside. One is left entirely up to
himself.l.This view follows that of Maimonides, a Jewish medieval
teacher who taught that one whose merits exceed his sins is a
righteous man, and one whose sins predominate is unrighteous]
Such teaching fails to consider that Christianity deals with a
relationship to a Person and that our Christian Iife is not a matter of
outweighing the bad with the good but with the complete
reorientation of our way of Iife. The Christian no Ion ger Iives
"according to the f1esh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4).
148 God Meets Man
"He is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5: 17).
Another result from a wrong conception of the judgment leads to
complete insecurity about our relationship to God.Since the final
verdict is known only at the enfl.....some conclude that they can never

-
be sure of where they stand:i And if one thinks of merits versus
demerits, he can never really know: Even when he comes out in the
black after he makes his own reckoning, he worries that he might not
have taken into consideration every evil deed that he has done!Did
__ O) -

he forget a couple of insignificant ones that God might count()\t any

rate he is never sure that God is adding things up the same way that
he does. He has great fears and anxiety, and he never considers
himself ready for death.
Sometimes, especially when the sun shines and the flowers
bloom, he feels good, but it lasts only till the next cloudy day. Such a
person needs to hear the Good News that "he who believes in him is
not condemned" (John 3:18). Jesus says, "1 give them eternallife,
and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my
hand" (John 1f):28, 2~}:_~
As 10ng as he believes in Christ, he has no need of uncertainty
and anxiety. As long as he is in Christ, he can shout triumphantly with
Paul, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
perii, or sword? . . . No, in ali these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else
in ali creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39).
A mistaken view of the judgment can cause us to ascribe an
undue severity to God. Since God judges "every idle word"
(Matthew 12:36, KJV), we think of Him as a tyrant ready to strike us
down at the slightest deviation from His strict standards. We begin to
conclude that God is without mercy, that He is ali justice, and we look
to Him with fear instead of love. Soon we conceive of Him as the
The Final Judgment 149
cruel father who has fiendish delight in punishing his children. True,
God will condemn some, and some have a "fearful looking for of
judgment," but what we need to keep in mind is the fact that this
group consists of only those who have stubbomly refused God's
gracious offer, His continuous appeal in the words of Paul: "We
beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled tii God. For our sake
he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:20, 21).
When we think of the severity of God in judgment, we need first
to consider how He has dealt with us before then. "For God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16). "He who did not
spare his own Son but gave him up for us aII, will he not also give us
aII things with him?" (Romans 8:32). His love is measured not only
by the gift He gave but also by the recipients of the gift. It is easier to
give to the deserving and to someone who has a winsome, gracious
character, especially if he is one of higher rank and from whom one
can expect as much again.
Paul wrote, "Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man [only
correct in behavior without other attractive qualities]-though
perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die" (Romans 5:7).
One can measure his love by the distance in status between him and
the object loved. The focus of God' slove is not even a "righteous"
man but a rebel, a sinner. The gulf between God and man is infinite.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us" (~Qmans 5:Ş). While we were yet enemies, God
"through Christ reconciled us to himself' (2 Corinthians 5:18). He
takes the initiative, offers up His Son, reconciles us to Himself. Then
He waits patiently for us to turn to Him. The Lord is "forbearing
toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that aII should
reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
It after aII of this we continue to turn our back on Him, what else
can we expect a righteous, holy, just God to do but to bring His
judgment to bear upon us? No wonder the author of the Book of
Hebrews, in chapter 2, verse 3, cries out, "How shall we escape if we
150 God Meets Man
neglect such agreat salvation?" And at the end aII such must confess:
"Salvation and glory and power belong to ... God, for his judgments
are true and just" (Revelation 19: 1, 2).
When God pronounces His judgment upon us, no one will have
any doubts about its justice and truth. Even in the U.S., with its
excellent court system, no one really knows how many innocent
people stand behind bars)fn February, 1974, William Depalma, a
(-

Whittier, California, father of three, was released after spending more

than two years in prison for a crime he didn't corn mit. Federal judge
Charles Carr said, "1 think it' 5 unfortunate he has had to serve time,
but the system is such that it is not designed to be absolutely letter
perfect.'j'And yet six years before, the Orange County jury had felt
no reasonable doubt in their minds that Depalma had robbed the
Buena Park, California, Mercury Savings and Loan of $2,046.
Fortunately the court of Heaven will make no wrong judgments.
Those convicted will always agree with the verdict and confess that
God has not only been just but merciful and long-suffering.
/ Another bad result from a warped perception of the judgment is
the morbid concern for little things that leads to spiritual
hypochondria) A person with such obsession loses his perspective 50
that he cannot evaluate between the insignificant and the "weightier
matters of the law." Uttle things are vital, but when one's attention
focuses completely on them, when he sees no distinction between
the unim portant and the important, the latter gets slighted, damaging
the person' 5 spiritual health. His judgment becomes unbalanced,
and he tends to become judgmental.
Such consequences are not inherent in the doctrine of the
investigative judgment but result from a wrong understanding of it.
They distort the truths in the teaching, such as the fact that the
ultimate permanent judgment can be pronounced only after one has
completed his Iife; that the judgment is a necessary part of God' 5
being, since He is just, holy, and righteous; and that every aspect of
our Iife falls under the dominion of Jesus Christ.
After the investigative judgment must come the executive
The Final Judgment 151
judgment. When Christ returns, He raises the righteous dead and
translates the righteous living to receive their reward-"those who
have done good, to the resurrection of life" (John 5:29). After the
millennium, all the wicked come up in the second resurrection: "And
I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the
book of life. And the dead were judged by what was writlen in the
books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by
what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if anyone' s
name was not found writlen in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire" (Revelation 20: 12-15).
The final judgment is the result of our choices and decisions.'Fc.
S. Lewis says in The Great Divorce that the condemned are those to
whom God finally says after much patience, 'Your will be done' ';J
(citedinBerkhof, p. 50). God'sverdictwillsurprisenoone. Everyone
will acknowledge that what he receives is the judgment he deserves.
In the present world we have been free to choose or reject God' s
grace and mercy. "We have received the great gift of being able to
say yes to him, but with that we also have the mysterious power to say
no to him" (ibid., p. 51). While we have the responsibility to choose
for ourselves the way we shall go, with it we clearly mark out our
destination. Thus "unbelief ... really judges itself, by choosing death
in preference to Christ" (Kiinneth, p. 284). By allowing us to decide,
even though in choosing we might reject Him, "God fully respects our
humanity as being responsible. We ourselves must answer to what
we have heard from him, ]d we ourselves must face the
consequences of our resp()?se. Hell is the consequence of God' s
respect for our humanity': An we, who are so proud of our
responsibility, must have the courage to think and digest the thought
of the eternal consequences of our atlitude to life" (Berkhof, p. 51).
People do not like to think about this dark aspect of judgment,
and thus many cannot bear the thought of the final extinction of any
152 God Meets Man
man. Some doctrine of universalism must finally rescue every one
from doom. "Those, however, who shudder at the thought of
condemnation may remind themselves of the fact that these and
similar words occur everywhere in the New Testament in the context
of invitation and exhortation. Condemnation in the coming
judgment-that is exactly what God does not want and from which
the preaching of condemnation is intended to save us. But when we
take away this dark undertone, we violate the seriousness and
respect with which G.d in his love associates with his human
creatures" (ibid., p. 52).
 THE NEW EARTH

People think of heaven in childish and fanciful ways. A stereotype

of heaven has one f10ating on c\ouds while plucking a harp. Some
emphasize the material and physical aspects such as the streets of
gold and the walls of jasper. Others conceive of it as an unending orgy
to indulge in the good things one lacked here. While we should not
spiritualize away any of heaven's or of the new earth's reality,
nevertheless we need to focus on the spiritual aspect of the new
earth.
For example, everlasting Iife is not in itself desirable. Some
cannot bear even to Iive out to the full the short period here on earth.
Pain, suffering, misery, deprivation, are the lot of too many for whom
everlasting Iife would be endless torture. What we look for is eternal
Iife, that quality which comes from our relationship with God. John
Baillie says, ''The first thing to be noted is that etern al Iife stands
primarily not for a greater length of Iife but for a new depth of it. ...
The soul' s hope has not been for more of the same, but for something
aItogether higher and betler. ... Nobody ever wanted an endless
153
154 God Meets Man
quality of life until discovery had been made of a new and quite
particular and exceptional quality of life" (And the Life Everlasting
[London: Epworth Press, 1961], p. 158).
It does not mean that eternal life is not everlasting, for "this
higher kind of life appears to carry in itself the promise of its own
everlastingness. Its imperishableness is a corollary of its quality"
(ibid., p. 162). The new earth experience is not totally new, since
eternallife begins now. But because it is eternallife, the believer has
confidence that death itself cannot vanquish it. ''The Resurrection in
all its heavenliness and unearthly elevation has begun within his soul,
and he knows as clearly as if he had demonstration, that it must be
developed in an Eternal life" (Frederick Robertson, Sermons,
Second Series, p. 282 [cited in Baillie, p. 162]).
The greatest heavenly blessing will be God' s presence among
men. Adam and Eve discovered this in the Sabbaths before the
entrance of sin when God carne to visit man as he lay aside his daily
pursuits. Each Sabbath was a day of blessed fellowship.
Unfortunately sin entered to break the fellowship, and though the
Sabbath remained to remind man of its future restoration, continuing
to be a type of fellowship, it was not as it had been before. The
incarnation of Christ was a short time of God' s presence among men,
and the Son' s death assured the promise of the restored fellowship.
The Sabbath points to this promise. In the new earth we will see it
realized when one continuous Sabbath fellowship of God and His
people begins.
"Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people and God himself will be with
them" (Revelation 21:3). Here again it must be a continuation of the
earthly experience. Unless we have fellowship with God here on
earth, we cannot expect to enjoy it in heaven. "If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live
according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son
cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:6, 7). Now we see a dim reflection,
The New Earth 155
but then we shall see God face-to-face.
The fellowship with the Father and the Son brings us into
communion with the saints of all ages and from all over the world. In
our present life we enjoy only a limited fellowship with our
contemporaries in our locale. But in the new earth it will extend to
those who lived before us, the patriarchs and prophets, apostles,
martyrs, reformers, pioneers, from every age and clime. The symbol
of this fellowship is the great heavenly banquet. Ellen White speaks of
a table many miles in length (Early Writings, p. 19). "Blessed are
those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb"
(Revelation 19:9).
We have mentioned that the new earth will be a continuation of
our present experience-but not of everything in it. Sin with its results
and effects will cease. In this sense God says, " 'Behold, I make all
things new' " (Revelation 21:5). Thus "he will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mouming nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have
passed away" (verse 4). Here men can accomplish their God-
inspired goals, without obstacles and hindrances, without the threat
of death or sickness. In our present life death cuts down many in the
prime of life. Many because of sickness have not accomplished what
they should. But in the new earth everyone will have the opportunity
to achieve to the fullest.
Life will not be idle. Anyone who has made a specialized study of
any subject knows that in reality he has only begun to scratch the
surface. The more one knows, the more he realizes how much more
there is to know. No danger exists, then, to think that there will not be
enough to occupy our atlention in the new earth. "There, immortal
minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of
creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no
cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulnessof God. Every faculty
will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of
knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There
the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest
156 God Meets Man
aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will
arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to
comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul
and body" (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 677).
Thus God brings to fruition His desire for man. Sin and death
have temporarily delayed its fulfillment, but ultimately God will
accomplish His plan. The glorious appearing of Christ is a necessity if
life is to have any meaning at all. Only with His coming will judgment
and reward and final fruition take place. Then will all creatures say,
" 'To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and
honor and glory and might for ever and everl' " (Revelation 5: 13).
SELECTED BIBUOGRAPHY

PART 1.

THE MEANING OF THE SABBATH

A. Jewlsh Wrtters

Dresner, Samuel H. The Sabbath. New York: Buming Bush Press, 1970.
Frledman, Theodore. "The Sabbath: Anticipation of Redemption." Judaism, VoI. 16 (1967),
pp. 443-452. Reply: D. S. Shapiroin VoI. 17 (1968), p. 225. Rejoinder: in VoI. 17 (1968),
pp. 226, 227.
Grunfeld, 1. The Sabbath: A Guide to Its Understanding and Observance. Jerusalem /New
York: Feldheim Publishers, 1972.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young, 1951.
Hirsch, Samuel Raphael. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. 2 vols.
London: Soncino Press, 1962. VoI. 1, pp. 61-78, 95-109.
SegaI, Samuel M. The Sabbath Book. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1942.
Tsevat, Matitiahu. "The Basic Meanlng of the Biblical Sabbath." Zeitschrijt fur die
Alttestamentliche Wissenschajt, VoI. 84 (1972), pp. 447-459.
157
158 God Meets Man
B. Protestant Wrtters

1. Seventh Day Baptlata

Saunders, Herbert E. The Sabbath: Symbol of Creation and Re-Creation. Plainfield, New
Jersey: American Sabbath Tract Society, 1970.

2. Seventh-day Adventlata

Andreasen, M. L. The Sabbath. Washington, D. C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association,
1949.
Andreasen, Nlels-Erik. "Festival and Freedom: A Study of an Old Testament Theme."
Interpretation, VoI. 28 (1974), pp. 281-297.
_ _ "JubUee of Freedom and Equality." Spectrum, VoI. 9, No. 1 (1977), pp. 43-47.
___ "Recent Studies of the Old Testament Sabbath: Some Observations." Zeitschrijt fUr die
Alttestamentliche Wissenschajt, VoI. 86 (1974), pp. 454-469.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. "A Memorial of Redemption." Spectrum, VoI. 9, No. 1 (1977), pp. 15-
20.
___ Rest for Modem Man: The Sabbath for Today. Nashville: Southem Publishing
Association, 1977.
___ "The Sabbath Rest: Its Meaning for the Christian Today." AdlJent RelJiew and
Sabbath Herald, March 27,1975, pp. 4-6; and Apru 3,1975, pp. 9-11.
Bransan, Roy. "Festival of Fellowship." Spectrum, VoI. 9, No. 1 (1977), pp. 37-42.
Ford, Desmond. "Rest Day-Blest Day-Test Day!" AdlJent RelJiew and Sabbath Herald,
November 13, 1975, pp. 30, 31.
Guy, Fritz. "Holiness in Time: A Preliminary Study of the Sabbath as Spiritual Experience."
Term paper, Andrews University, 1961.
___ "The Meaning of ilie Sabbath." Insight, February 5, 12, 19, 1974.
___ "The Presence of Ultimacy." Spectrum, VoI. 9, No. 1 (1977), pp. 48-54.
Heppenstall, Edward. "The Invitation." These Times, March 1973, p. 4.
Holland, Kenneth J. This Day Is Yours: Exploring the Many-Faceted Wonders of God's
Sabbath Day. NashvUle: Southem Publishing Association, 1969.
Jones, John R. "A Theological Study of the Sabbath In Relation to the New Testament
Understanding of Redemptive History." BD thesis, Andrews Universlty, 1%5.
Kubo, Sakae. "The Experience of Uberatlon." Spectrum, VoI. 9, No. 1 (1977), pp. 9-14.
Larson, David. "Celebrating the Sabbath in the Secular Seventles." Insight, March 23, 1971,
pp.4-8.
_ _ "Does ilie Sequoia Have Rights?" Insight, July 11, 1972, pp. 25, 26.
Mathews, Bob. "Entering Into God's Rest." AdlJent RelJiew and Sabbath Herald, September
4, 1975, pp. 4, 5; September 11, 1975, pp. 6, 7; September 18, 1975, pp. 10, 11;
September 25, 1975, pp. 7,8.
Maxwell, A. Graham. "The Sabbath and My Freedom." Signs ofthe Times, June 1971, pp.
18-21.
Dlsen, V. Norskov. "Theologica1 Aspects of the Seventh-day Sabbath." Spectrum, VoI. 4
(summer 1972), pp. 5-18.
Rosado, Caleb. "God's Solution to Man's Problems." These Times, March 1973, pp. 7-11.
Bibliography 159
Scriven, Charles. "Beyond Arithmetic: A Look at the Meaning of the Sabbath." Insight,
September 7, 1971, pp. 14-18.
___ "Day of Gladness," "What ilie Sabbath Asks You to Be," and "Things Will Turn Out
AII Right." Liberty, January-February, March-April, and May-June, 1977.
___ "Forgotten HoUday: Why We Should Buck the EstabUshment to Get It Back." Insight,
May 9, 1972, p. 5.
___ "The Sabbath: Day of Rest and Worship." The Demons Have Had It. Nashville:
Southern PubUshing Association, 1976, pp. 101-11I.
Shuler, John L. "The Sabbath-a Sign of Righteousness by Faith." Advent Review and
Sabbath Herald, August 5, 1971, p. 4.
Wheeler, Gerald. "The Day God Comes Visiting." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,
December 5, 1974.
White, EUen G. The Desire of Ages. Mountain View, California: Pacific Press, 1898.
___ Testimoniesforthe Church, VoI. 6, Mountain View, CaUfornia: Pacific Press, 1948.
Winslow, Gerald. "Moment of Eternity." Spectrum, VoI. 9,"No. 1 (1977), pp. 55-60.

3. Other Prote8tant8

Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics, VoI. III. Eds. G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance. Edinburgh:
T. & T. Clark, 1958, 196I.
Brown, James. "The Doctrine of the Sabbath in Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics." Scottish
Joumal of Theology, VoI. 20 (1967), pp. 1-24.
___ "Karl Barth' s Doctrine of the Sabbath." Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 19 (1966),
pp. 409433.
Jewett, Paul K. The Lord's Day: A Theological Guide to the Christian Day of Worship. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: WilUam B. Eerdmans PubUshing Company, 197I.
Kelman, John. The Sabbath of the Scripture. Edinburgh: Andrew ElUot, 1869.
Leitch, James W. "Lord AIso of the Sabbath." Scottish Joumal of Theology, VoI. 19
(December 1966), pp. 426433.
Mathys, FeUx. "Sabbatruhe und Sabbatfest: Oberlegungen zur Entwicklung und Bedeutung
des Sabbals im A1ten Testament." Theologische Zeitschrijt, VoI. 28 (1972), pp. 241-262.
Meserve, Harry C. "The Creative Pause." Joumal of Religion and Health, VoI. 3 (October
1963), pp. 3-6.
Rad, Gerhard von. ''There Remains Still a Rest for the People of God: An Investigation of a Bib-
Ucal Conception." The Problem of the Hexateuch. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.
Richardson, Herbert W. Toward an American Theology. New York: Harper and Row, 1967.
See review in Andrews University Seminary Studies, VoI. 7 (1969), pp. 1-16, by Roy
Branson, Fritz Guy, and Earle Hilgert.
Rordorf, Willy. Sunday: The History of the Day of Rest and Worshlp in the Earliest Centuries of
the Christian Church. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.
Unger, Merrill F. "Slgnlficance ofthe Sabbath." Blbliotheca Sacra 123 (Winter 1966), pp. 53-
59.
Wolff, Hans WaIter. "Day of Rest in the Old Testament." Lexlngton Theological Quarterly,
VoI. 7 (July 1972), pp. 65-76.
160 God Meets Ma!l

PART II.
THE MEANING .F
THE SEC0N. A.VENT

"
A. Seventh-day Adventlst Wrlters

Branson, Roy. "Adventlsts Between the Tirnes: The Shift in the Church's Eschatology."
Spectrum, VoI. 8, No. 1 (1976), pp. 15-26.
Butler, Jonathan. "Are You Afraid ofthe Second Cornlng?" These Times, July 1975, pp. 26-
29. .
_ _ "When Prophecy Fails: The Valldity of ApocaIyptlclsrn." Spectrum, VoI. 8, No. 1
(1976), pp. 7-14.
Cottrell, Rayrnond F. "The Eschaton: A Seventh-day Adventlst Perspective of the Second
Cornlng," wlth responses by Paul Mlnear, Eugene H. Maly, and Jack W. Provonsha.
Spectrum, Voi. 5, No. 1 (1973), pp. 742.
Douglass, Herbert E. "Men of Falth-the Showcase of God's Love," in Perfection: The lm-
possible Posslbllity, pp. 13-56. Nashville: Southern Publishing Associatlon, 1975.
_ _ "Why God Walts." These Tlmes, July 1975, pp. 8-11.
Hoit, Russell. "Are You Afrald ofthe Second Corning?" These Tlmes, July 1975, pp. 26-29.
_ _ "Why 'Must' Jesus Corne?" These Tlmes, July 1975, pp. 4, 5.

B. Other Protestant Wrlters

Berkhof, Hendrikus. Well-/ounded Hope. Rlchmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1969.
Berkouwer, G. C. The Return oi Chrlst. Grand Raplds, Michigan:' William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1972.
Brunner, H. EmU. Eternal Hope. Trans. Harold Knlght. PhUadelphia: Westmlnster, 1954.
Ftson, J. E. The Christian Hope: The Presence and the Parousia. New York: Longmans, Green
and Co., 1954.
Minear, Paul. Christian Hope and the Second Coming. PhUadelphia: Westminster, 1954.
White, Ellen. The Great Controversy Between Chrlst and Satano Mountaln View, CalIfornia:
Pacific Press, 1888.