The Master's Seminary Journal Volume Fourteen (2003)
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Volume 14, Number 1 (Spring 2003)
Jesus: A Preterist or a Futurist? (9-22)
by Richard L. Mayhue
This essay examines Dr. R. C. Sproul’s thesis in The Last Days According
to Jesus, that moderate preterism as it relates to Christ’s second coming is
convincingly proven by three time-indicators in the Gospels and the writing date
for John’s Revelation. The essay evaluates each of these four time referents
historically and/or exegetically in order to determine if Sproul’s claims can be
biblica lly substantiated. The three Matthean time-frame references have better
alternative interpretations (both before and after A.D. 70) in regard to time of
fulfillment than the A.D. 70 date, which preterism requires of all three. Also, the
late writing date for Revelation (mid-90s) has the preponderance of evidence on its
side; this one conclusion alone invalidates postmillennial preterism. Since these
time-indicators that are critically important to the preterist position do not support
the system’s foundational claim that Christ’s parousia occurred within the lifetime
of His disciples, this reviewer4 concludes that Scripture does not teach preterism,
moderate or otherwise, as claimed by Dr. Sproul. Therefore, Jesus was a futurist
in regard to biblical prophecies of His second coming.
Modern Linguistics Versus Traditional Hermeneutics (23-45)
by Robert L. Thomas
An emerging field of study among evan gelicals goes by the name modern
linguistics. Its terminology, self-appraisal, approach to language analysis, and
relationship to traditional exegesis furnish an introduction to a comparison with
grammatical-historical hermeneutics. Indispensable to an analysis of modern
linguistics is a grasping of its preunderstanding—its placing of the language of the
Bible into the same category as all human languages and its integration with other
secular disciplines—and the effect that preunderstanding has on its interpretation
of the biblical text. Its conflicts with grammatical-historical principles include a
questioning of the uniqueness of the biblical languages, its differing in the handling
of lexical and grammatical elements of the text, its differing in regard to the
importance of authorial intention, its lessening of precision in interp retation, its
elevating of the primacy of discourse, its elevating of the impact of stylistic
considerations, and a questioning of the feasibility of understanding the text in a
literal way. Such contrasts mark the wide divergence of modern linguistics from
traditional grammatical-historical interpretation.
Do We Need Messianic Synagogues? Biblical, Historic, and Pragmatic Issues (47-62)
by William C. Varner
An assessment of the Messianic Synagogue movement is difficult because
it exists in so many forms, but som e gen eral observations to cover all the forms are
possible. Early in the twentieth century, a Jewish Christian named David Baron
evaluated the Messianic Judaism of his day. In the movement he saw specific
dangers for the body of Christ, stressing how the movement tends to destroy unity
in the body of Christ by erecting a wall of partition between Jewish believers and
Gentile believers. Similar concerns about the Messianic Jewish movement prevail
in its revival during the last several decades. They touch on biblical-theological
matters, including the movement’s bringing into the present the Judaism that Paul
relegated to the past (cf. Gal 1:13-16), its tendency to promote divisions among
Christians (cf. Gal 3:28; Eph 2:11-22), its emphasis on the shadow rather than the
substance of NT fulfillments (cf. Col 2:16-17), and its tendency to redefine Jesus’
deity. Other concerns arise in historical and pragmatic matters: a return to the
Judaism of apostolic times is impossible; history teaches that Messianic Synagogues
are not more effective in witnessing to the Jewish community; taking Jewish
believers away from churches contributes to “Gentilization” of the church;
Messianic Synagogues may become an excuse for the church to transfer efforts in
Jewish evangelism; and emphasis on non-biblical Jewish observances is subject to
Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees’ Oral Law. The early church in Antioch of
Syria in its assimilation of Jewish and Gentile believers into one body offers a
suitable model for the contemporary church to follow.
Exegetical and Contextual Facets of Israel’s Red Sea Crossing (63-86)
by R. Larry Overstreet
If one accepts the inerrancy of the Bible, locating Israel’s crossing of the
Red Sea in Exodus 14–15 any place other than the northwestern arm of the Red Sea
(i.e., the Gulf of Suez) is practically impossible. Reasons for such a placement
involve direct references to yam sûph in Num 33:10-11; Exod 10:19; 23:31; Num
21:4; Deut 1:40; 2:1; Judg 11:16; 1 Kgs 9:26; Jer 49:21 and an indirect reference
to the body of water in Isa 11:15. The w ritings of Herodotus, Pindar, and Strabo
furnish further evidence that ¦DL2D¬ 2V8"FF" (erythr thalassa, “Red Sea”) was
the name correctly applied to the place of Israel’s crossing. From writers involved
with translating the LXX and The Genesis Apocryphon and from Josephus comes
even more proof of that location. In two instances the NT verifies the “Red Sea”
terminology as correct when referring to the exodus. Sûph means “end” or
“termination” rather than “reeds.” Details of the Red Sea crossing require a
supernatural intervention that created a substantial opening in the sea to allow so
many Israelites to cross in such a short time.
Matthean Priority/Authorship and Evangelicalism’s Boundary (87-103)
by Gary W. Derickson
Evangelicals’ experimentation with critical methodology has resulted in
questions being raised about long-held viewpoints regarding the priority of Matthew
as the first Gospel to be written and about whether Matthew himself actually wrote
the Gospel. Such questions recall instances in the recent past when what looked like
a minor departure from a traditional belief soon became an issue of questioning the
authority and inerrancy of Scripture. Historical-critical approaches to Scripture
have, over time, proven to be a threat to evangelicalism’s traditional view of
Scripture in both doctrinal and practical realms. The movement among
evangelicals to embrace Markan instead of Matthean priority appears to be another
first step away from the valued evangelical view of Scripture, because it assumes
that someone other than an eyewitness of Jesus’ life composed the Gospel of
Matthew. The church fathers were unanimous in naming Matthew as the first
Gospel to be written and in iden tifying the apostle M atthew as its author. Their
testimony indicates that it was the dominant Gospel in the early church and contains
nothing about any literary dependence between writers of the two Gospels. The
issue of apostolic authorship is at stake in one’s viewpoint on this matter. If at any
point a Gospel writer, be it pseudo-Matthew or any other Gospel writer, has
embellished eyewitness testimony to prom ote his ow n theological viewpoint, that is
a violation of biblical inerrancy that lies outside the boundary of evangelicalism.
Volume 14, Number 2 (Fall 2003)
An Issue
Dedicated to the Subject of Cessationism
Spiritual Gifts: Definitions and Kinds (143-76)
by James F. Stitzinger
Noncessationism has spread rapidly in recent years, being represented in three groups:
Classic Pentecostalism, the Charismatic Movement, and Third-Wave Theology. Cessationism
joins the three groups in representing the fourth position on spiritual gifts.
An examination of several Greek words is helpful in arriving at a definition of spiritual
gifts: charisma, pneumatikos, doma, dorea, merismos, diaireseis, diakoniai, and energemata.
Two positions on spiritual gifts exist today, one holding that all gifts are for today and
the other holding that some gifts were temporary and some permanent. The latter position
sees apostleship, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, miracles, healing, tongues, and
interpretation of tongues among the temporary gifts. Apostleship was a foundational gift
for the NT church. Along with the temporary gifts, the latter position sees a number of
permanent gifts: evangelism, pastors and teachers, and those with gifts of assistance,
administration, exhortation, giving, and showing mercy. The primary goal of all the gifts
is building up the body of Christ.
Cessationism in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (177-213)
by Donald G. McDougall
Looking at the setting of 1 Corinthians 13 first in 1 Corinthians as a whole and then
in the setting of 1 Corinthians 12–14 is the beginning of an investigation of
cessationism in 1 Cor 13:8-12. Next comes a study of 1 Cor 13:8-11 in the context of
1 Corinthians 13. The following step is an investigation of the terms used in
1 Cor 13:8-11, including prophecies, knowledge, and tongues. At that point the study
addresses the subject of the cessation of gifts spoken of in 1 Cor 13:8-10, followed by
attention given to “tongues shall cease.” The time of the cessation of the gifts in 1
Cor 13:10 is next for consideration, a time that depends heavily on the meaning of
teleios in that verse. The term means “mature” in that instance, referring to a
maturation that would come to the church. Then comes a tracing of the argument’s
progression in 1 Cor 13:8-11. The whole discussion of the gifts’ cessation is part
of the emphasis of chapter 13 on the supremacy of love, a factor that should always
be in mind in a discussion of cessation. First Cor 13:8-12 intertwines revelation,
cessation, and maturation with cessation and maturation coming at a related point in
time, but speaking of the cessation of revelatory gifts at the time the church matures.
Does God Still Give Revelation? (217-34)
by John MacArthur
Strange private prophecies have been a noted characteristic of the charismatic movement,
prophecies such as those received by Oral Roberts, Linda Fehl, Jack Hayford, Larry Lea,
and Kenneth Hagin. J. Rodman Williams endorses such experiences, but Edward N. Gross
correctly dismisses such special revelations as erroneous and limits such revelations to
those resulting in the writing of the Bible. According to 2 Tim 3:16, inspired means that
Scripture is God-breathed, i.e., God Himself speaking. Some modern theologians such as
Dewey Beegel support the charismatic agenda by teaching that the canon of Scripture is
not closed and that God is still giving special revelation. Such teaching of progressive
revelation, supported also by J. Rodman Williams and Kenneth Copeland, creates great
turmoil in the church and is tantamount to violating the Scriptural injunctions not to
add prophecies to what has been written in its pages. The biblical canon closed after
the writing of Revelation and was popularly recognized soon after in the ancient church.
Jude 3 speaks of “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” and warns repeatedly
against tolerating false prophets. The early church applied tests of apostolic authorship,
content, and responses by the churches to determine which books met the criteria of
inspiration, resulting in uniquely inspired and authoritative set of books.
The Montanist Crisis: A Key to Refuting Third-Wave Concepts of NT Prophect (235-62)
by F. David Farnell
The Signs and Wonders Movement, also called the Third Wave, has made tremendous
inroads into evangelicalism since the early 1980's. After initial arguments against
it in the late 1980s and early 1990s, debate has mostly subsided. Current general
opinion has been acceptance, indifference, or tolerance of the movement and its view
of spiritual gifts, especially its form of “prophecy.” The prime justification for
the revival of what this group terms the “prophetic gift” has been the work of Wayne
Grudem. Many articles, including those of the present writer, have examined the
exegetical, theological, and doctrinal errors of his position. The present article
uses a unique approach to refuting Grudem’s viewpoint of non-authoritative
congregational prophecy by examining the earliest “charismatic” crisis in the early
church, the one caused by the Montanist movement. The earliest ancient sources to
refute Montanism reveal how the early church immediately after the apostolic period
understood the gift of prophecy. An examination of the ancient churches’ understanding
of prophecy and refutation of Montanism also supplies a striking condemnation of
Grudem’s viewpoint and strongly reinforces the argument that he has imposed a novel
as well as unorthodox interpretation of the NT gift of prophecy.
Cessationism, "The Gifts of Healings," and Divine Healing (263-86)
by Richard L. Mayhue
The study of divine healing must include the tragic abundance of false teachers with
false teachings and false practices, who claim biblical authority, but upon closer
examination are clearly not of God. Do “gifts of healings” mentioned in 1 Cor 12:9,
28, 30 still operate today as in NT times? This sign-gift ceased with the close of
the NT canon. Does God still heal as He did in both the OT and the NT? An inductive
study of the biblical record (including the OT, Gospels, Acts, and NT Epistles)
establishes unmistakable characteristics of genuine divine healing. The biblical
standards become the measure by which alleged contemporary divine-healing claims
should be judged, whether of God or not. Next, God’s ultimate healing promise of
salvation in 1 Peter 2:24 deserves attention. In context, the passage speaks of
spiritual healing (salvation), not physical healing. Finally, a series of theological
observations lead to the practical conclusion that Christians should focus on the
spiritual/eternal rather than the physical/temporal. When God does heal today, it
will not be through human agency, and it will be characterized as were His healings
recorded in Scripture.
The Hermeneutics of Non-Cessationism (387-310)
by Robert L. Thomas
The Master’s Seminary is noncessationist in regard to such gifts as teaching, helps,
and administration, but is cessationist regarding revelatory and sign gifts. Recent
changes in evangelical biblical hermeneutics that have accompanied comparable changes
in evangelicalism as a whole have opened doors of opportunity for nonecessationists
to defend their position in a new way. The new hermeneutical subjectivism has given
continuationists an opportunity that is nonexistant when following traditional
grammatical-historical principles of interpretation. Four examples illustrate this
use of revisionist hermeneutics. (1) Narrative-based interpretation takes its cue
from evangelical redaction criticism and its theory that narrative literature can
teach doctrine just as effectively as didactic type writings, a theory that has been
successfully refuted. (2) Community-based interpretation sees a contemporary
Christian community as playing an indispensable role in assigning meaning to a
biblical text. This too contradicts traditional grammatical-historical principles.
(3) Tradition-based interpretation allows for reading into a biblical passage an
interpreter’s own background and beliefs, but differences in defining how to limit
that tradition reflects the extreme subjectivism to which such a principle leads.
(4) Mediating-based interpretation theorizes the existence of a common ground between
cessationists and noncessationists and alters traditional hermeneutical principles
in a way to accommodate that preunderstanding. All four approaches illustrate the
growing sophistication of noncessationist hermeneutics and their continuing violations
of grammatical-historical hermeneutics.
Bibliography of Works on Cessationism (311-27)
by Dennis M. Swanson
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