General Articles

Victors, Never Victims, Part 6: Story of You & I :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR7

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

“Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

Over the past 6 weeks, we have taken a journey through the Old and New Testament to show the majesty of our great God and King. He is the Sovereign that reigns over the affairs of all people, and none more so than His people, we the redeemed in Jesus. We who are His children (1 John 3:1) and are secure in Jesus, no longer slaves but friends of our Master and Saviour (John 15:15). God is ALWAYS, according to our text in 2 Corinthians 2, leading us in Triumph.

This Triumph was a procession that was given most often for returning Generals who had won some decisive battle for the Roman Empire. The whole city would cry out and form a welcoming party for him and his soldiers. The defeated enemy would be marched into the capital and displayed, the spoils of war displayed, and then at the end of the procession, the General often carried would enter the city to the cries of his name. It was a spectacle. It was loud, and for many Generals, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen how God can bring Triumph from any circumstance and situation no matter how that matter started; God is in control and able to bring great victory.

We explored the life of Joseph, who was sold as a slave by his brothers. They first wanted to murder him, but God intervened and rescued him, so to speak. Joseph endured more trouble than most of us have, and yet he could see that God was superintending everything for His glory, and in the meantime, preserving Joseph.

Job was in the crosshairs of Satan for what seems like a long period of time. He lost family, wealth, health, and there was even a dispute with his wife that was thrown at him. Then he came face to face with friends who accused him of being a horrible man. Yet, God was on his side, and in the end, Job received children back, twice the wealth, and an apology from his friends.

Later, we looked at Samson and discovered that he was his worst enemy. He was a womanizer, a man who put himself in precariously dangerous situations, and eventually, a man who had to learn the hard way that God is not one to tolerate pride; and so, Samson lost his strength for a season. But God still used him to deliver the nation of Israel from the Philistines, and then God spoke well of him in Hebrews 11:32.

Last week we looked at Jesus, persecuted by the religious folks, betrayed by his friend, and denied by one of his close friends; yet, He died to save the world, and we have not been the same since.

Today, we will look at what God can do with you and me. We, like these other men, are just that – men and women in Jesus, children of God, set here for His purposes and His glory.

In our text, Paul goes on to tells us that we are a ‘fragrance’ that is diffused for His knowledge. This fragrance was a reference to the incense that was often a part of the Triumph procession. It covered the whole parade, the smell letting everyone know what was going on. Smell, we are told, is one of the most important senses for memory. A smell can trigger a memory even as far back as our childhood.

Some smells bring back good memories, and others, bad memories. In the Triumph procession, the fragrance of the incense would mean different things to different people. If you were the victor, that General and his army, the fragrance was one of joy, promotion, victory, recognition, seeing one’s family after a long war, the end of the fighting, and many other good memories. But, if you were the defeated army, this same fragrance meant loss, death, the end, horror, and pain. The same fragrance, yet two very different memories and ends. Paul explores this about our lives when he talks about the fragrance of our life in Jesus.

  • The Fragrance of Our Lives to the saved, verses 15-16

How do you smell? What does the scent of your life leave as a memory for the people around you? Paul tells us that our lives should leave the scent of life to those that are saved and a scent of death to the lost. Our lives should build up the saved and convict the lost. Our lives should be a sweet savor, a sweet smell to those that know Jesus. We should be kind and loving to each other, serving and honoring each other. We should serve each other as Jesus served us, and we should be merciful and gracious as He is to us. We should be courteous and gentle, understanding and simply uplifting to all around us, especially to our family in Jesus (Galatians 6:10).

All too often, we do not treat each other with love. We can discourage our very brothers and sisters from following Jesus because we are mean and unloving to them. We destroy and hurt; we cut and consume each other rather than honor and lift each other up. We point out other’s failures to make ourselves look good, and we secretly hate the ones that Jesus called His own. This is not the fragrance that we need to leave, and it is not the fragrance of Triumph in Jesus.

Joseph left a fragrance from his life that lasted over 400 years of direct benefits to the Jews in Egypt, and it continues some 4000+ years later to be a sweet fragrance of God’s Triumph over human nastiness.

Job is still the standard of faithful endurance to this day. His influence thousands of years later is still a fragrance of God’s faithfulness and God’s loyalty.

Samson reminds men like me that God is greater than my own failures and that God can use fallen men who humble themselves before Him. His fragrance of God’s greatness is still being made into movies today in 2021.

Of course, no one left a sweeter fragrance than Jesus – a fragrance of love, compassion, kindness, meekness, and grace. No matter what the world says, there is no comparison; He is still the standard of love and sacrifice. His fragrance has changed millions if not billions of lives around the world for the last 2,000 years and will affect billions more for eternity.

We should be a sweet fragrance to each other, a fragrance of help and encouragement, a fragrance of love and forgiveness, a fragrance of joy and peace, a fragrance of mercy and grace, a fragrance of prayer and consideration, a fragrance of refuge and compassion. How do you smell to your brother and sisters in the Lord? Does your fragrance bring back loving memories, or do they bring back horrible memories?

  • The Fragrance of our lives to the lost, verses 15-16

How do you smell to the lost of this world? All too often, the smell that Christians leave is not a nice smell to the saved, and it is a repugnant smell to the world. Make no mistake; Satan makes sure that the lost know how we should behave. They can see our hatred and indifference, they can see our hypocrisy, and they can see our fruitless lives.

How we should smell is that of conviction. When the lost of this world interact with us or see us interact with others, it should make them wonder why we are the way we are?

Just a few weeks ago, I was in a fast-food restaurant, and when I was done, the lady behind the counter says to me, ‘Sir, I wish all of our customers were as courteous as you; I like it when you come in.’ All I said was please, thank you, called her ma’am, and smiled. I am not tooting my horn; what I am telling you is that it does not take much effort to make a difference in someone’s life. Do people look forward to seeing you or seeing you leave?

We should interact with the lost in such a way that it convicts them about their relationship to and with Jesus. We should be a fragrance of judgment to them. We let them know that we live the way we do because of who we are in Christ. We let them know that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. There is a difference between the children/friends of God and the children of the world. They should want to cross over or regret not making the trip. How do you and I smell to the lost? Do we leave them wanting and missing Jesus?

  • The Fragrance is not for sale, verse 17

You can’t buy the fragrance of Christ in your life. You have to get it from God, and it is only for those in Jesus. Our victory is only in Jesus. There is too much money-making in what is promoted as the ministry of the Kingdom here on earth. The Gospel is free to us; it was expensive for God and Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit is free to those in Jesus. The image of Christ in us is formed by the Holy Spirit freely as we surrender to Him. But there are too many that seek to monetize the Gospel. Stop it.

The scriptures allow a pastor to be paid and paid well if a church can afford it. The Old Testament priests were well cared for financially. But if money is the only reason you minister, you are not ministering. And if everything you do has a price on it, then you should be careful. Those of us that are called in the ministry need to be careful not to make money the end all and be all of it. It is not. For many of us, myself included, we live very well here in North America. Don’t sell to people what God gives them, or at least offer them freely. Let us not make merchandise of God’s Gospel, God’s Triumph, and God’s grace.

I pray that – like Joseph, Job, Samson, Jesus and countless others that let God be God in their lives, who trusted Him in the darkest times and glorified Him in the victories – we will leave a fragrance of His love, kindness, mercy, grace, peace, service, salvation and faithfulness long after we are gone from this mortal coil.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

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Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

 

Four Views on the Book of Revelation: Book Review :: By Alexander Major

Published on: by RR7

Introduction

Stanley N. Gundry is an American theologian, author, and seminary professor. He earned his B.A. from Los Angeles Baptist College, his B.D. from Talbot Theological Seminary, his S.T.M. from Union College of British Columbia, and his S.T.D. from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He became a professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute in 1968, where he would go on to teach for eleven years.

Marvin Pate served as a pastor throughout the last thirty-five years. Today, he ministers at Cedar Grove Baptist Church. He is currently a professor of biblical studies at Ouachita Baptist University.

Summary

Kenneth Gentry provides us with a preterist understanding of Revelation. Many of the events, personages, and judgments described in Revelation are analyzed using Josephus’s historical accounts of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66 AD – 70 AD). The seven seal judgments in Revelation 6, for example, are tied to strategic military exploits that Rome achieved during the war.

Gentry does not allow for any future fulfillment of these judgments of Revelation. The temple described in Revelation 11 is the second temple which was expanded by Herod the Great (22 BC) and destroyed by Rome (70 AD). The 42 months do not describe a future time period but describe the time between the Jewish revolt against Gessius Florus (66 AD) until the Romans breached the third city wall and burned the temple to the ground (70 AD). The millennium is understood allegorically to describe a time period much greater than one thousand literal years. Gentry contends that this period of time began with Christ’s first coming.

Sam Hamstra Jr. presents an idealist interpretation of Revelation. Hamstra understands Revelation through the lens of the genre of apocalyptic literature. All events, personages, and judgments described within the book are seen as pictures of the cosmic battle between good and evil that the people of God find themselves in between the first and second advents of Christ. The seal judgments are interpreted as non-literal and non-chronological. The rider on the white horse is understood to be Jesus Christ because it is consistent with the “Christus Victor” theme of the book. The other three horsemen of the apocalypse are understood to symbolically represent the disintegration of civilization as a result of the rejection of Jesus Christ.

The dragon of Revelation 12 is understood to be Satan, but the woman is identified with the church, who “gave birth to the Son” (103). The beast of chapter 13 is the monstrous and exceedingly wicked world system that seeks to destroy the church through any means it can. The trumpet and bowl judgments encompass the entire dispensation between the two advents of Christ, and Armageddon is “a symbol of every battle in which Satan gathers his troops against the church” (103). Hamstra ends his presentation with a coherent defense of idealism, arguing in favor of his designation of Revelation as apocalyptic literature. He argues against the presence of any literal unfulfilled prophecies in the book.

Instead of offering an overview of the historicist perspective of Revelation, the editors have elected to cover progressive dispensationalism as its own school of interpretation. Progressive dispensationalism recognizes an already/not yet eschatological tension in which the prophecies of the book have already been partially fulfilled but still await final fulfillment in the day of the Lord. The Messianic age is seen as already having begun with the ascension of Christ, albeit with a literal kingdom still future.

Marvin Pate draws heavily on preterism’s emphasis on the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Chapter 6 is compared with the Olivet discourse and tied back to the Jewish revolt against Rome. The beast of Revelation 13 is understood to be Nero, who was feared to have escaped death, fled to Parthia, and amassed a great army. The ten horns on the beast are thought to be the Roman Caesars of the first century AD. The harlot riding on the beast is interpreted to be Jerusalem acting in cooperation with the Roman imperial cult.

With progressive dispensationalism, the signs of the times began with the first coming of Christ. The Great Tribulation will usher in the final judgments that directly precede the coming of Christ in power and glory.

Robert Thomas gives a very thorough presentation of classical dispensationalism and explanation of the hermeneutical method that one employs to arrive at that school of thought; the literal, grammatical-historical method. Dispensationalism recognizes the prophetic focus of the book as outlined in chapter 1:19, along with the book’s own claim to be prophetic (chapter 1:3). The pre-tribulation rapture is a major component of dispensationalism. Christ promised the church in Philadelphia that they would be kept from (gk. tereso ek) the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole earth (3:10).

Robert Thomas understands the seals, trumpets, and bowls to be telescopic in nature: that is, the seventh seal contains the trumpets and bowls, and the seventh trumpet contains all seven bowl judgments. The thousand-year reign of Christ is understood to be both literal and occurring after Christ’s return to earth.

Evaluation

It is critically important that evangelical Christians become acquainted with the various hermeneutical approaches of Revelation in order to learn how they impact the conclusions that one arrives at when studying the book. This book does a remarkable job of summarizing four of the major scholarly approaches to Revelation. All of the major personages, events, judgments, and people groups are delineated and contrasted coherently.

Interestingly enough, the idealist interpretation does not interpret the seals as divine judgments on an unbelieving world, but “calamities that fall upon the children of God even while the provident God sits on his throne.”

The genre of apocalyptic literature is a major theme in all of the positions except for dispensationalism, where the book is understood primarily as prophecy. Preterism and progressive dispensationalism rely heavily on Josephus, and the editors incorporated much of his writings into their presentations. Historicism was not included, and this is a major weakness of the book. Historicism would seek to correlate parts of Revelation with major world developments such as the rise of Islam and the Middle Ages. If anything, progressive dispensationalism (as a synthesis of preterism, idealism, and classical dispensationalism) should have been omitted or incorporated into the dispensational section in order to allow for a section on historicism.

Robert Thomas’s defense of dispensationalism was impressive. His emphasis on Revelation’s continuity with Daniel 2 is a major component of dispensationalism. Four world empires will oppress God’s people, culminating in a fifth kingdom: the kingdom of Christ. These are understood to be four literal kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome (with Rome reviving itself during Daniel’s 70th week in an unprecedented ten-king formation). This gives us great insight into Revelation 13 and 17, where the world empire of the last days is described along with the wicked king who rules over it. Robert Thomas gives a stellar defense of the pre-tribulation rapture and utterly rebuffs the unbelievable preterist argument that Christ came in 70 AD.

In analyzing Thomas’s description of the events of the last days, however, a few elements could have been stronger in elucidating what most dispensationalists would teach.

The first seal judgment reveals the white horse with a rider who is bent on conquest. Robert Thomas identifies this horseman with a growing anti-Christian “movement” that will grip the world in the early days of the tribulation. Most dispensationalists, though, acknowledging the presence of many false messiahs during this time, would identify this particular rider with the antichrist, the deceptive world leader who will bring a pseudo-peace to Israel before turning on the Jewish nation and unleashing the final holocaust.

Robert Thomas correlates the rebuilt temple in Revelation 11:1-2 with the “future repentance of Israel.” Most dispensationalists, however, would teach that this temple (the third temple) will be built during a time of great apostasy for Israel when the nation still rejects Jesus as Messiah and has signed a deadly seven-year covenant with the Roman ruler (Dan 9:27). Israel’s repentance does not come until the end of the tribulation (Matt 23:39).

Ultimately, the authors have accurately represented the major tenets of each of the four approaches to Revelation. Four Views on the Book of Revelation should be required reading for any seminary student who wants a firm grasp of Revelation. In the editor’s own words, “The purpose of this volume is to help bridge the gap between the preceding responses; that is, to move people from being merely enamored with Revelation to engaging it through personal interaction.”

This book will give the student of Scripture the tools he or she needs to dissect the book of Revelation consistent with the hermeneutical framework that one presupposes (the only exception being progressive dispensationalism, due to it synthesizing multiple hermeneutical frameworks).

Alexander Major
Southern California Seminary, El Cajon, CA

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Four Views on the Book of Revelation. By Stanley N. Gundry, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Sam Hamstra Jr., Marvin Pate, and Robert L. Thomas. Counterpoints: Bible and Theology. Zondervan Academic, 1998. 225 pp.