The Best Case for the Pre Trib Rapture, Part 1.

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever".

(Revelation 20:7-10)

The Dispensationalist concept of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture has fallen on hard times throughout contemporary American Evangelicalism. Throughout the Evangelical Christian Church in the North American Hemisphere, fomerly staunch Dispensationalist Evangelicals are jettionising their previously held doctrinal understanding and belief that the Rapture of the Christian Church will most definitely occur before the seven year Tribulation Period. Many Evangelical Pastors and Scholars such as John Piper, Al Mohler Jr and Wayne Grumen maintain a Posttribulational eschatological postion.

As I reflect upon over two decades of personal faith in Jesus Christ and Evangelical Commitment, I have come to maintain some serious reservations about the commonly held Dispensationalist conviction that the church will be raptured before the start of the Tribulation period.

The rapture ("harpazo" in Greek) is the event in certain systems of Christian eschatology (the study of the end times) in which it is stated that all born-again Christians will be taken from Earth into Heaven by Jesus Christ. While almost all forms of Christianity believe that those who are saved will have eternal life, the term "rapture" is usually applied specifically to the event in which all Christians on Earth are simultaneously transported by some manner of physical bodily ascension to join Christ. Everyone else on Earth will be left to wonder where they went. The concept has been popularized recently by proponents of the dispensationalist or futurist interpretations of scripture. According to these theories, current world events indicate that the fulfillment of prophecies of the end times is imminent.

The timing of when the rapture will take place is a key point often discussed and debated between denominations and individuals who accept the notion. The most common is that the rapture will take place immediately prior to or during the great tribulation, a seven-year period preceding the second coming of Christ. Others propose that the rapture will take place after the events of the tribulation, as Christ comes to Earth to establish a kingdom here, taking over rulership of the world. An alternative viewpoint is that Jesus will return when all on Earth have come to worship Him as their savior.

Three major views on the timing of the rapture

There is considerable debate among Christians who believe in the rapture in regard to the
timing of it relative to the seven-year Tribulation

Pre-tribulation

The Pre-Tribulation rapture, or "Pre-Trib", is the belief that the rapture will occur at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. Christian believers will be translated into immortal bodies in the rapture before the great persecutions by the Antichrist as he comes into his Beast role midway through the final seven years. According to this view, the Christian Church that existed prior to that seven-year period has no vital role during the seven years of Tribulation. Those people who accept Christ after the Rapture will be martyred for their faith during the Tribulation. The apostle John is seen in Revelation 4:1 as representing the Church caught up to Heaven. John hears the Trumpet and a voice that says, "Come up hither", and he is translated in the Spirit to Heaven and then sees what will happen for those left on earth. The pre-tribulation rapture is the most widely held position among Evangelical Christians. It has become popular in recent years around the world and through the work of dispensational preachers such as Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey.

Post-tribulation

The other main view is termed the Post-Tribulation rapture (or "Post-Trib"). This view admits the concept of "rapture" from 1 Thessalonians, but does not see an intervening seven-year period (or three-and-a-half-year period depending on scholarship) between the rapture and the return of Christ. This viewpoint is that Christian believers will be on Earth as witnesses to Christ during the entire seven years and right up until the last day of this age. This includes the final three and a half years of the age believed to be the time period of the Antichrist in his malevolent role as the Beast. The post-tribulation view is supported by Matthew 24:29–31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect..." See also Mark 13:24-27 and Luke 21:25-27 for the parallel accounts from the other Gospels. Another account which lends support to the idea of a post-tribulation rapture is in 2 Peter 3:10-13 where the idea of a "thief in the night" comes from. In this passage, Christ's return is equated with the "elements being melted", and "the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up". Another key difference between the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulation lines of theology is the number of times that Jesus Christ must return. Although it is not directly referenced, in both the pre- and mid-tribulation raptures, Christ must then return a third time, at the end of the Tribulation period.

Both views hold that Christian believers will be either removed from, or protected from, the judgement when the wrath of God falls and the wicked are carried off at the end of the age.

Mid-tribulation

Others have proposed that the rapture will occur at the mid-point of the tribulation, dividing it into two periods of 3 1/2 years. At this point, the Antichrist commits the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple

Prewrath rapture

The prewrath rapture theory is that the tribulation of the church begins midway through the seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. The great tribulation, according to this view, is of the Antichrist against the church at this time. According to Jesus, this tribulation will be cut short by the second coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of rapture. The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of the seven-years.

The Strongest Case for the Pretrib Rapture

Argument coming soon....

Bye Bye Saddam Hussein

Barring a last minute save by the American Governement, Saddam Hussein will be executed in a matter of hours!

evangelical angst

I awoke the other day to the utterly bleak revelation that much of my time spent in American Evangelicalism over the last twenty years was dedicated to the exaltation of self -promoting and self appointed Evangelical mega church celebrity pastors who have erected temples to their own perpetual vanity. Electronic media superstars who live on beach front properties and live like royalty on the resources and good graces of their infatuated and star crossed parishioners...I bemoan the day I somehow became a keeper of the flame for contemporary Evangelical media celebrities and not Jesus Christ Himself...

The Dali Top Ramen

Postmortem , Postmodernity, Pop Culture and Pop Goes the Culture

Rethinking the Pre Trib Rapture

Rethinking the Pre Trib RaptureDoes the Bible Really Teach a "Secret" Rapture?

by Ed Enochs

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

As 2006 fast fades into the distant past, there are several things I am resolved to do in 2007.

1. I am resolved to watch and sell popcorn for Saddam Hussein's execution that is supposed to occur within the next month. (They had better show that thing live on T.V. lest we have to download it off the Internet).

2. I am resolved to watch and sell popcorn for the coming winner take all WWF smack-down, drag out cat fight between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump.

3. In the era of instantaneous credit checks and information retrieval, I am resolved to see the officials for the Miss America Pageant do a little better job at screening and doing background checks for its beauty queen contestants, lest it continue to select boozing and cocaine using Hooter girls as its pageant winners.

4. I am resolved to read my Bible on a daily basis, exercise and eat salads and or vegetables at least once a month. (You know you need to have major health issues and need prompt culinary intervention from an audience of your peers when the healthiest thing you have eaten all year is a Double Double Animal style with the secret sauce from In and Out Burger

5. I am resolved to actually bunker down and study to find out if the Bible really teaches a Pretribulational Rapture as I have been so forcefully indoctrinated throughout my twenty years as an Evangelical Christian.

On the subject of the Pretribulational Rapture, I have sat under some of the Evangelicalism's most staunch Pretriubulational and Premillenial Bible including David Hocking and my teachers at Biola, Moody Bible Institute and at the Master's Seminary and I am losing confidence that the Bible actually teaches that the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ are two distinct events in eschatological history.

Over the last year, I have been seriously challenged by a friend we call "Count Duku" a pastor back east and a couple of guys in Whittier California to call into question if the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are in all reality two distinct events and are not in fact one and the same event.

The difficulty I am experiencing in my understanding and acceptance of Pretribulationalism is that when I read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15: 52-54, I am just not certain any more if the Bible teaches that there will be a "Secret Rapture" and my eschatological confidence is seriously eroding in accepting that the "Rapture" and the Second Coming are two distinct events that occur seven years apart before and after the Tribulation Period.

Now, before any of you folks intend on sending me books and articles by John Walvoord, Hal Lindsey , Tim Lehay and other big time Pretrib and Premillennial teachers defending the Pretribulational Rapture, you have to understand that I have spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars in college and in Seminary (where I took five different upper division elective seminary courses on eschatology) and I am still not certain the Bible teaches that the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different events.Over the years, I have carefully studied the origin of the Pretribulational Rapture doctrine within Dispensationalist Premillennial Eschatology and understand that John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren Bible teachers including William Kelly taught based on 1 Corinthians 15: 52-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 taught that there will be a "secret rapture" wherein the Christian Church will be snatched away from the earth by God before the start of the Seven Year Tribulation Period and that the Second Coming of Christ is supposed to happen at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period.

I understand that Darby and the Plymouth Brethren Dispensationalists taught this and later influenced Evangelical Bible teacher James Brookes to adopt Dispensationalism and the Secret Rapture concept of Eschatology, and that Brookes influenced C.I. Scofield who in turn influenced a century of American Evangelicals to adopt Pretriublationalism as an unquestioned doctrinal tenet of Dispensantionalist Evangelicalism. I understand, I am questioning a major point of dotrine within Dispensationalist teaching, but I am still left uncertain that texts in 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, Revelation and the Book of Daniel really teach this Secret Rapture doctrine.

I could be wrong, I hope I am wrong, lest I be deemed a heretic by my dispensationalist die heart friends and the Dispensationalists teachers are right all along, but I am just not sure anymore and I plan on getting to the bottom of the issue

Evolution, a Bag of Doritos and the Existence of God

"On the other hand, it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God."

John Calvin

Institutes, Book 1, Chapter 1.

"Without the God of the Bible, the God of authority,the God who is self-contained and therefore incomprehensible to men, there would be no reason in anything. No human being can explain in the sense of seeing through all things, but only he who believes in God has the right to hold that there is an explanation at all.

"Dr. Cornelius Van Til

"Why I Believe in God"

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse"(Romans 1:20).

I grew up in a university town where the the theory of evolution was the religion of the land and where Charles Darwin was the patron Saint of science and human progress. I was always taught that all biological life forms were on a journey and a process in which everything that lives gradually changes into a more complex and better form. I was taught that a change in the genetic composition of a biological species produces a higher and more complex life form though an infinite succession of generations via evolutionary natural selection. I always believed that until I went on this journey.

On the road to Utah, I inevitably had to pass through Vegas. Despite my certain predilection for losing money via the one armed bandit, I was in search for pristine shrimp cocktails and superior prime rib from Sin Cities multiplicity of all night buffets. However, to my eternal chagrin, my car conked out square dab in the desert, several miles outside of Barstow near the base of the Soda Mountains.

Then, wiping some frenzied gnats from my face, out of the corner of my left eye I saw a rather decrepit and haggard looking coyote scurrying about and I kicked the dirt in disgruntled disdain as I contemplated making the heat drenched trek to the next semblance of civilization.

However, while standing around languishing in the arid desert, I had a momentary insight on the nature of reality and the existence of Almighty God.

A crumpled and empty bag of Doritos blew past my feet in the swirling desert wind, and beads of perspiration dotted my forehead as I introspectively looked past the cactus laden horizon, towards the formulation of the cosmos.As I stood in the desert for once, without the creature comforts of the technological media and consumer orientated American digital empire to drown out my cognitive thinking processes, my rationale for believing in the existence of God followed this line of thinking:

I believe that the existence of God is self evident to all and not illusions, since the Almighty has affixed via creation the nature of humanity and the Word of God, tangible and objectively verifiable evidences to substantiate the viability of faith in God in counter distinction to other epistemological and ideological options.

"For in him we live and move and have our being."

(Acts 17:28)

Take the crumpled bag of Doritos, (a product of the multi- nationalist Frito-Lay corporation by the way) I believe that discarded item of trash can demonstrate the existence of the God of historic Christianity.If a man finds himself alone in the desert with only the hollowing wilderness to his left and to his right and a crumpled bag of Doritos at his feet, the question must be asked; "How did that bag get here?"

One may postulate the existence of the bag of Doritos on exclusively naturalistic grounds, that the discarded bag of chips (if you call Doritos real food) was once petroleum that was extracted in liquid form the bowels of the earth, then manufactured into a disposable bag, in turn was filled with Doritos, then sealed, gathered and shipped off to a sore by a massive network of machinery.

Then the Doritos were purchased by a person who ate the chips and tossed the bag to the ground.The bag of Doritos in turn, blew in the wind, tumbled on the desert ground and ultimately arrived at his feet.All these basic facts are true enough, but they do not answer the essential epistemological and metaphysical questions surrounding the ultimate origin of the earth and it's reality that gave birth to the petroleum that was extracted to form the bag of Doritos. that blew in the wind and ultimately landed at his feet.

Some Observations Regarding the Bag of Doritos:"It is the function of the wise man to know order."-Aristotle

The existence of the bag of Doritos demonstrates as well, the existence of an objective reality guided by the universal and transcendent laws of logic.

The existence of the bag of Doritos demonstrates that reality has a definite form and order since one can identify that there is an actual bag of Doritos at his feet and not something else.The logical law of identity demonstrates Everything that exists has a specific nature. Each entity exists as something in particular and it has characteristics that are a part of what it is.The fact that we can identify that there is a bag of Doritos at his feet and not something else demonstrates self evidently that:We find ourselves in a physical world with an objective reality.

The fact that the bag of Doritos exists demonstrates that human beings exist and can differentiate its form from other objects.The bag of Doritos in turn demonstrates humanities existence, the existence of an external world and the existence of an objective reality that is guided by transcendent laws of logic.

There is a causal, complementary, parallel, or reciprocal relationship or correspondence between the bag of Doritos and the existence of a external and objective world and reality it finds itself in.

1) The bag of Doritos exists.

2) I can recognize the Doritos.

3) Therefore I and the objective world exist.

4) I can distinguish the Doritos from other things.

5) Therefore laws of logic exist.

The existence of the bag of Doritos demonstrates the epistemological certitude of:

1) My existence

2) The existence of an objective world that is real and not illusions and:

3) The existence of tangible and objective laws of logic from which I can differentiate the bag of Doritos from other things.

A skeptic may posit that that the bag of Doritos, the objective world and the laws of logic are illusions but will instantaneously contradict himself when he acknowledges the existence of the Doritos and in turn acknowledges his or her own existence and the existence of the external world wherein the Doritos finds it's existence in.

When the person distinguishes the Doritos from other things he will acknowledge a transcendent logical law demonstrating that such a body of laws exists as well.Thus skepticism of the existence of objective reality and logic will only lead to self contradiction.

For one cannot deny his or her own existence and the ability to distinguish themselves from it without at once acknowledging his existence thus leading to an contradictory infinite regress or absurd denials. (Ad Infinitum)The crumpled bag of Doritos leads to the existence of God and the truthfulness of the historic Christian faith in the following manner.

The bag of Doritos conclusively demonstrates The existence of the objective world and objective reality governed by three objective laws of logic:

1. The Law of Identity : If any statement is true, then it is true.

2. The Law of Contradiction : No statement can be both true and false.

3. The Law of Excluded Middle : Every statement is either true or false.However, the mere acknowledgment of objective reality and logic does not answer the question of how these things got here.Mere observation of the workings of the universe does not answer the question of origins and why all things grow old and die.

It is obvious to all that everything that lives shall eventually die.The Second Law of Thermodynamics shows us that all things in nature will deteriorate and a natural process always takes place in such a direction as to cause an increase in the entropy of the universe.Yet nothing within nature tells us "why" things grow old and die.

The question of "why" is a metaphysical philosophical question that I believe can only be really answered by turning our attention to the teachings of the only authority on the matter; the Bible, the Word of Almighty God, the creator of all things.

I will postulate here that without the existence and sustaining power of the God of historic Christianity then we are led to an infinite regress of questioning of our origins. The existence of Almighty God is of an epistemological necessity and can be argued for transcendentally.The transcendental argument for the existence of God , takes the position that it is impossible for any authoritative rationality (including an atheist's) to emerge from matter.Thus, the existence of God must be assumed in order to deny God's existence, which means that the atheist's position is self-contradictory.

The transcendental argument argument for God's existence shows the necessary preconditions for the possibility of rational thought or meaningful discourse, for God is the author of all rational intelligibility.

For God is the one who created the world and the reality that governs it.For without the God of historic Christianity humanity would be trapped in an infinite regress of questions regarding the origin and meaning of our existence. But God has spoken from the whirlwind of contradictory opinions and has demonstrated His existence due to the impossibility of the contrary.

For without God we cannot know how we got here, what our purpose is and where we are going. Fortunately God has revealed the knowledge of Himself and the meaning of human existence in His absolutely inerrant, inspired, authoritative, self-attesting and self authenticating Word, the Holy Bible.

God has revealed the knowledge of himself in His Word and differentiated Himself from all the false gods and ideas about truth held by unbelievers by giving evidences of the Bible's truthfulness such as the miracle of fulfilled prophecy and the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe in the existence of Almighty God because God's inspired and perfect Word declares so.

It is impossible for anything to be contrary to the truth of God's existence and He has differentiated Himself from all other religious and ideological options by raising His Son from the dead, declaring to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Two thousand years ago, a unique man named Jesus Christ of Nazareth emerged from the chaos of human existence with a profound message of hope and human redemption.

Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God, lived a perfect life, performed incredible miracles, proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God and ultimately died on the Cross for the sins of humanity and rose again from the dead to give anyone who would admit that they have transgressed the moral law of God as revealed in the Ten Commandments, sincerely turn from their sins and place their faith in Him eternal life.That is how a crumpled old bag of Doritos declares to me the glory and grandeur of Almighty God.

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).

Is Eastern Orthodoxy the One True Church?

A Letter to the Greek Orthodox Converts

by Ed Enochs

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them."(Romans 16:17).

I was recently forwarded an e-mail and subsequent attachment of an article on the subject of how the Eastern Orthodox are to view professing Christians outside of the Church by Peter Barnes entitled, "The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church."I am well aware that my Eastern Orthodox opponents view me as a Fundamentalist extremist, filled with hatred and with little knowledge of what Eastern Orthodoxy really is. I have heard these criticisms over the years and regret some of the violent reaction I have had over the Eastern Orthodox issue at Biola and at my former church Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.

I personally want to apologize to my Eastern Orthodox opponents for my conduct at times. Like Martin Luther, my hero, I can often display obnoxious behavior and I readily admit this and ask your forgiveness. If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken more of a serious approach to this matter, instead of a tongue in cheek, Rush Limbaugh style.

Having said this, I do not apologize or repent of the fact that I still believe with every fabric of my being that the Eastern Orthodox Church is unbiblical and is to be rejected as a viable ecclesiastical entity.I actually want to thank my Eastern Orthodox opponents for helping me return to the Reformed Faith and for helping me leave the Calvary Chapel movement.

I recently had a startling theological Epiphany, that has brought me to the conclusion that I have no business rebuffing the advance of Eastern Orthodoxy in Southern California if I attend and align myself with a Church that is semi Pelagian like the Calvary Chapel Movement.I have known for a long time that I probably should not attend a Calvary Chapel and defend the Augustinian and Reformation- Calvinist soteriological position against Eastern Orthodoxy.

I have attended a Calvary Chapel out of comfort and familiarity and not because of fidelity to the truth as revealed in Holy Scripture.I love the Calvary Chapel Movement with all of my heart, but I am a Calvinist and there is no room right now in the Calvary movement for Calvinism, so I have returned to the Reformed Faith.

So, I want to thank you Eastern Orthodox Converts from Biola and Calvary Chapel for forcing my hand, and compelling my conscience for me to align myself with the historic Reformed Faith.

But, for the present time, my beef is not with Calvary Chapel, but with this subject of the advancement and proliferation of Eastern Orthodoxy in certain segments of Evangelicalism here in Southern California.While it is not a huge problem through the Evangelical Church here in the Southland, it has made enough converts from Calvary Chapel , the Vineyard, and Biola for some Evangelicals to take notice.I am well aware that many of the Eastern Orthodox members in this area, regard us Evangelicals of incapable of understanding the true nature of what Eastern Orthodoxy is. I have often heard these types of slogans made to Evangelicals by the Eastern Orthodox, "You are from the West, you just don't understand the Eastern mindset" and, "The Eastern Orthodox Church has existed for 4,000 years, so we are the true Church."In reviewing these criticisms leveled against Evangelicals made by Eastern Orthodox converts in the Southern California area, I want to remind these converts that Eastern Orthodoxy that they do find themselves in the West, yet Eastern Orthodoxy itself does not claim to be a Gnostic religion whose teachings are unobtainable to the non-initiated and enlightened.

The issues that Eastern Orthodoxy brings to the table are pretty straight forward and clearly understandable.Eastern Orthodoxy claims to be the one true apostolic Church that Christ instituted. The Eastern Orthodox Church claims that it has existed unbroken for 4,000 years. Eastern Orthodoxy makes the claim that it is the Church that Christ vested His authority in. As I told an Eastern Orthodox friend recently,'Time after time over the years in dealing with this Old World, Byzantine ecclesiastical tradition, I have heard adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy say without any shred of Biblical and exegetical evidence that the Eastern Orthodox Church is the “true church” since it was the original church founded by the Apostles.

Earnest adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy often get worked up in making this point that since in their own minds, Eastern Orthodoxy has existed the longest and has directly descended from Christ and His ApostlesUltimately this is a Chronological Fallacy in that you postulate that since your church has existed the longest (a point that I would argue against) this, then necessarily makes it the true church. This is reverse chronological snobbery in that you are arguing that any ecclesiastical entity of a more recent vintage is somehow inherently inferior to your romanticized understanding of the pristine origins of Eastern Orthodoxy.Roman Catholics and Mormons, it must be noted, make this same appeal to historical authenticity and succession in that Roman Catholicism and Mormonism both argue that they are the true church since they descend from Apostolic times (Romans Catholics say there has been unbroken apostolic authority vested in Papal succession and Mormons say they are the restored Church of Christ that fell away, but whose divinely mandated practices were those practiced by Christ and His Apostles).

The point being, innumerable groups, sects and cults have made this same claim to apostolic succession and being the original church of Christ with dubious Biblical authenticity.Mormons, Catholics and many other religious groups argue that they are the true and original church of Christ, adhering to the traditions of the Apostles.

Yet mere antiquity of an organization and mere assertion does not necessitate the Biblical legitimacy and authenticity of ones religious truth claims.The claims of Apostolic authority and unbroken succession made by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox breaks down for example, in the case of Honorius I (died October 12, 638) was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius in his lifetime favored the formula on the nature of Christ proposed by the emperor Heraclius with the design of bringing about a reconciliation between the Monophysites and the Catholics, which bore that Christ had accomplished His work of redemption by one manifestation of his will as the God-man. For this he was, more than forty years after his death, anathematized by name along with the Monothelite heretics by the Council of Constantinople (First Trullan) in 680. The anathema read, after mentioning the Monothelites, “and with them Honorius, who was Prelate of Rome, as having followed them in all things."

This condemnation was subsequently confirmed by Leo II (a fact disputed by such persons as Baronius and Bellarmine, but which has since become commonly accepted) in the form, “and also Honorius, who did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of Apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted”Pope Honorious’ Apostasy demonstrates that there was not an unbroken succession of truth in the Catholic Church of which the Eastern Orthodox existed in until 1054. How can I trust a church that had an apostate leader? Did apostolic succession stop with Honorious?What matters is if ones claims to apostolic succession and overall ecclesiastical veracity can be proven from an infallible and unchanging authoritative source, namely the Bible which is the inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

Following the line of argumentation made by Calvin, Luther and the other magisterial Reformers, the ultimate authority of a believer in Christ is not vested in the often contradictory teachings of ecclesiastical tradition and the writings of the Ante Nicene and Post Nicene Patristic Fathers, but rather in the self authenticating nature and perspicuity of Holy Scripture. Ultimately a Christian’s authority comes from the Bible and the illuminating light of the Holy Spirit in understanding Scripture accurately and not in the fallible counsel of contradictory ecclesiastical tradition, irrespective of antiquity of these traditions.

I am well aware that the Eastern Orthodox Church argues for the seven ecumenical counsels and some canons of Church tradition as being on the same authoritative level as the Bible, yet it can be conclusively demonstrated that Church tradition and the Patristic Fathers often contradict each other and are by no means a sure source of legitimate apostolic authority and Eastern Orthodoxy’s claim of historical antiquity and apostolic succession does not preclude the possibility that the Orthodoxy has absorbed over the passage of time, unbiblical teachings and traditions that are in diametrical opposition to Biblical teaching.Ultimately it comes down to this, Eastern Orthodoxy argues for the authoritative nature of extra Biblical Church tradition and Protestants believe that God has vested His authority in the Bible alone and has given us the ability to understand the Scriptures in the way He intended with the promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 15:26 and 1 Corinthians 2).

While it is true that there are many different Protestant Churches with differing theological perspectives, this does not preclude them from agreeing on the essentials of the Christian faith, namely the Trinity and Justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.Eastern Orthodoxy is old, this is a given, but I want to go back to an even older and sure guide of Biblical authority, namely the Bible itself, therein rests the Authority of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

The arguments made by the Greek Orthodox that is the true Church that has existed for thousands of years is unconvincing. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5-6), Eastern Orthodoxy denies this, thus, irrespective of its antiquity, it does not possess the Gospel of Christ and thus cannot be considered a true Church at all. Church tradition and longevity does not constitute Scriptural authenticity. Thus, for me, I will side with the Evangelicals and the Bible alone. Church tradition often contradicts itself and I need a more sure foundation to base my faith.

Is Eastern Orthodoxy the One True Church?

A Letter to the Greek Orthodox Converts

by Ed Enochs

"Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them."(Romans 16:17).

I was recently forwarded an e-mail and subsequent attachment of an article on the subject of how the Eastern Orthodox are to view professing Christians outside of the Church by Peter Barnes entitled, "The Non-Orthodox: The Orthodox Teaching on Christians Outside of the Church."I am well aware that my Eastern Orthodox opponents view me as a Fundamentalist extremist, filled with hatred and with little knowledge of what Eastern Orthodoxy really is. I have heard these criticisms over the years and regret some of the violent reaction I have had over the Eastern Orthodox issue at Biola and at my former church Calvary Chapel Saving Grace.

I personally want to apologize to my Eastern Orthodox opponents for my conduct at times. Like Martin Luther, my hero, I can often display obnoxious behavior and I readily admit this and ask your forgiveness. If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken more of a serious approach to this matter, instead of a tongue in cheek, Rush Limbaugh style.

Having said this, I do not apologize or repent of the fact that I still believe with every fabric of my being that the Eastern Orthodox Church is unbiblical and is to be rejected as a viable ecclesiastical entity.I actually want to thank my Eastern Orthodox opponents for helping me return to the Reformed Faith and for helping me leave the Calvary Chapel movement.

I recently had a startling theological Epiphany, that has brought me to the conclusion that I have no business rebuffing the advance of Eastern Orthodoxy in Southern California if I attend and align myself with a Church that is semi Pelagian like the Calvary Chapel Movement.I have known for a long time that I probably should not attend a Calvary Chapel and defend the Augustinian and Reformation- Calvinist soteriological position against Eastern Orthodoxy.

I have attended a Calvary Chapel out of comfort and familiarity and not because of fidelity to the truth as revealed in Holy Scripture.I love the Calvary Chapel Movement with all of my heart, but I am a Calvinist and there is no room right now in the Calvary movement for Calvinism, so I have returned to the Reformed Faith.

So, I want to thank you Eastern Orthodox Converts from Biola and Calvary Chapel for forcing my hand, and compelling my conscience for me to align myself with the historic Reformed Faith.

But, for the present time, my beef is not with Calvary Chapel, but with this subject of the advancement and proliferation of Eastern Orthodoxy in certain segments of Evangelicalism here in Southern California.While it is not a huge problem through the Evangelical Church here in the Southland, it has made enough converts from Calvary Chapel , the Vineyard, and Biola for some Evangelicals to take notice.I am well aware that many of the Eastern Orthodox members in this area, regard us Evangelicals of incapable of understanding the true nature of what Eastern Orthodoxy is. I have often heard these types of slogans made to Evangelicals by the Eastern Orthodox, "You are from the West, you just don't understand the Eastern mindset" and, "The Eastern Orthodox Church has existed for 4,000 years, so we are the true Church."In reviewing these criticisms leveled against Evangelicals made by Eastern Orthodox converts in the Southern California area, I want to remind these converts that Eastern Orthodoxy that they do find themselves in the West, yet Eastern Orthodoxy itself does not claim to be a Gnostic religion whose teachings are unobtainable to the non-initiated and enlightened.

The issues that Eastern Orthodoxy brings to the table are pretty straight forward and clearly understandable.Eastern Orthodoxy claims to be the one true apostolic Church that Christ instituted. The Eastern Orthodox Church claims that it has existed unbroken for 4,000 years. Eastern Orthodoxy makes the claim that it is the Church that Christ vested His authority in. As I told an Eastern Orthodox friend recently,'Time after time over the years in dealing with this Old World, Byzantine ecclesiastical tradition, I have heard adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy say without any shred of Biblical and exegetical evidence that the Eastern Orthodox Church is the “true church” since it was the original church founded by the Apostles.

Earnest adherents of Eastern Orthodoxy often get worked up in making this point that since in their own minds, Eastern Orthodoxy has existed the longest and has directly descended from Christ and His ApostlesUltimately this is a Chronological Fallacy in that you postulate that since your church has existed the longest (a point that I would argue against) this, then necessarily makes it the true church. This is reverse chronological snobbery in that you are arguing that any ecclesiastical entity of a more recent vintage is somehow inherently inferior to your romanticized understanding of the pristine origins of Eastern Orthodoxy.Roman Catholics and Mormons, it must be noted, make this same appeal to historical authenticity and succession in that Roman Catholicism and Mormonism both argue that they are the true church since they descend from Apostolic times (Romans Catholics say there has been unbroken apostolic authority vested in Papal succession and Mormons say they are the restored Church of Christ that fell away, but whose divinely mandated practices were those practiced by Christ and His Apostles).

The point being, innumerable groups, sects and cults have made this same claim to apostolic succession and being the original church of Christ with dubious Biblical authenticity.Mormons, Catholics and many other religious groups argue that they are the true and original church of Christ, adhering to the traditions of the Apostles.

Yet mere antiquity of an organization and mere assertion does not necessitate the Biblical legitimacy and authenticity of ones religious truth claims.The claims of Apostolic authority and unbroken succession made by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox breaks down for example, in the case of Honorius I (died October 12, 638) was pope from 625 to 638.Honorius in his lifetime favored the formula on the nature of Christ proposed by the emperor Heraclius with the design of bringing about a reconciliation between the Monophysites and the Catholics, which bore that Christ had accomplished His work of redemption by one manifestation of his will as the God-man. For this he was, more than forty years after his death, anathematized by name along with the Monothelite heretics by the Council of Constantinople (First Trullan) in 680. The anathema read, after mentioning the Monothelites, “and with them Honorius, who was Prelate of Rome, as having followed them in all things."

This condemnation was subsequently confirmed by Leo II (a fact disputed by such persons as Baronius and Bellarmine, but which has since become commonly accepted) in the form, “and also Honorius, who did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of Apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted”Pope Honorious’ Apostasy demonstrates that there was not an unbroken succession of truth in the Catholic Church of which the Eastern Orthodox existed in until 1054. How can I trust a church that had an apostate leader? Did apostolic succession stop with Honorious?What matters is if ones claims to apostolic succession and overall ecclesiastical veracity can be proven from an infallible and unchanging authoritative source, namely the Bible which is the inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

Following the line of argumentation made by Calvin, Luther and the other magisterial Reformers, the ultimate authority of a believer in Christ is not vested in the often contradictory teachings of ecclesiastical tradition and the writings of the Ante Nicene and Post Nicene Patristic Fathers, but rather in the self authenticating nature and perspicuity of Holy Scripture. Ultimately a Christian’s authority comes from the Bible and the illuminating light of the Holy Spirit in understanding Scripture accurately and not in the fallible counsel of contradictory ecclesiastical tradition, irrespective of antiquity of these traditions.

I am well aware that the Eastern Orthodox Church argues for the seven ecumenical counsels and some canons of Church tradition as being on the same authoritative level as the Bible, yet it can be conclusively demonstrated that Church tradition and the Patristic Fathers often contradict each other and are by no means a sure source of legitimate apostolic authority and Eastern Orthodoxy’s claim of historical antiquity and apostolic succession does not preclude the possibility that the Orthodoxy has absorbed over the passage of time, unbiblical teachings and traditions that are in diametrical opposition to Biblical teaching.Ultimately it comes down to this, Eastern Orthodoxy argues for the authoritative nature of extra Biblical Church tradition and Protestants believe that God has vested His authority in the Bible alone and has given us the ability to understand the Scriptures in the way He intended with the promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 15:26 and 1 Corinthians 2).

While it is true that there are many different Protestant Churches with differing theological perspectives, this does not preclude them from agreeing on the essentials of the Christian faith, namely the Trinity and Justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.Eastern Orthodoxy is old, this is a given, but I want to go back to an even older and sure guide of Biblical authority, namely the Bible itself, therein rests the Authority of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

The arguments made by the Greek Orthodox that is the true Church that has existed for thousands of years is unconvincing. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5-6), Eastern Orthodoxy denies this, thus, irrespective of its antiquity, it does not possess the Gospel of Christ and thus cannot be considered a true Church at all. Church tradition and longevity does not constitute Scriptural authenticity. Thus, for me, I will side with the Evangelicals and the Bible alone. Church tradition often contradicts itself and I need a more sure foundation to base my faith.

The Westminster Confession of Faith

Of God, and of the Holy Trinity.

There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will, for his won glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek him; and withal most just and terrible in his judgments; hating all sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty. God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; he is the alone foundation of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom, are all things; and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature; so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them.

In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Chapter II.

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

See: Steven Curtis Chapman: Everlasting Love Comes From Above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzn6jAroMvM

Jesus Christ: The Anomaly of God

See Chris Tomlin Play, "Indescribable" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PTvr755V8s

"for in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28)


Anomaly: Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.


"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God and all things that came into being through Him and without Him nothing has come into being that has came into being" (John 1:1-3)."


He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:15-18).


God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" (Hebrews 1:1-4).


In the howling, swirling wasteland of spiritually bankrupt Postmodern Americana, Almighty God has spoken with final authority in His inerrant, infallible, inspired, self- authenticating and perfect Word and in the Logos of God: Jesus Christ, who was send by God the Father to die on the cross and rise again from the dead in order to give us eternal life.


From the moment of our conception until the point of our final expiration, we are being incessantly bombarded by secular society with two seemingly idiosyncratic contradictory ideologies or world -views. These beliefs or structural or behavioral characteristics peculiar to an individual or group, the German Philosophers classified by the lexical moniker, Weltanschauung, or the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world and the collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
The twin simultaneously contradictory weltanschauungs or world-views that both govern and permeate secular Western Civilization are Modernity with it's overt reliance on scientific progress and human ingenuity and Postmodernity, which postulates absolute ethical and propositional relativism have one thing in common: They both reject the Historic Christian conception of the uniqueness and exclusivity of Jesus Christ over all other ideological reference points and socio-religious options.Modernity, with its reliance on the scientific method, postulates the secularist / naturalist view that we live in a closed system of cause and effect and that nothing happens outside of the natural laws of physics. Thus, the miraculous and supernatural Jesus as found in Holy Scripture has no place in the modern mind, since miracles are an impossibility.


In the Postmodern framework, Jesus has been reduced to just another irrelevant teacher amongst many religious leaders, gurus and shaman and His special role as the Son of God who was sent by God the Father to die for the sins of humanity has been rendered obsolete...However, the Jesus Christ of Holy Scripture is truly an Anomaly, who transcends the fallen and darkened schema of sinful and depraved men and has been send via the will of God the Father, into actual time-space history to accomplish the divine plan of salvation. Jesus Christ truly transcends and breaks into all our worldly systems, revealing to us the glory of God, culminating the grand divine historical-redemptive event: the Cross of Jesus Christ.The Cross of Jesus Christ is what brings us to God..."But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).


"For God made Him, who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21)


"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).




Chalcedonian Creed Circa 451 A.D.


Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

learning to avoid the metrosexual evangelical

See Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YykfDFEk3y8

When Being a Nice Guy in Women's Jeans is Not Enough

"Earnestly contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints."Jude 3

by Ed Enochs

Since becoming a Christian over twenty years ago, I have seen a lot of things come and go in the Evangelical Church here in Southern California.

As a very young man, the thing we had to deal with in the late 1980's and early 1990's was the backlash against Evangelicalism due to the Jim and Tammy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals that rocked America during that era. Almost every conversation I had with non Christians during that time period was directed back to the scandals of one too many big time electronic media pastors who gut busted fleecing their flocks or with one illicit affair or another.Yet, as I recall that era of American Evangelicalism, things were much different back then, truth was truth and most conservative Evangelicals had a conception of what was true and what was unbiblical.

We knew that Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Roman Catholics were unbiblical and many of us attempted to demonstrate from the Bible that these things were so.But we have reached darker times in American Evangelicalism...In our postmodern day and age, things have changed big time. Very few Evangelicals know the essential truths of the Christian faith and almost no Christian will take a stand for the truth if it will make him or her unpopular.In our pragmatic times, most Christians avoid controversy and confrontation as though it were worst than the AIDS virus. Most Christians I know these days have no convictions and tolerate the most wretched heresies and lifestyles to occur right under their noses.

Most Christians I meet these days have very little doctrinal conviction and even less ability to defend their faith if they should encounter a false teaching.As I survey the current milieu and culture of American Evangelicalism here in Southern California, I have seen many Evangelical Christians fall away into Eastern Orthodoxy and other false teachings because they were not grounded in the essential truths of the Christian faith and very few Christians around them would take a stand against these false teachings when it mattered.

Evangelical Churches and colleges are now moving away from Biblical verse by verse preaching to being proponents and Representatives of seeker sensitive, pragmatic and Emergent Church religion filled with sentimental falsehood. Formerly staunch Evangelical Churches and educational institutions have become bastions of Postmodern relativism where very few Christians know the truth let alone stand for the truth.In Southern California Christianity today, the type of man that is admired is the nice likable guy, the metro-sexual Evangelical, the good guy with the frosted hair, tight black t shirt and the tight faded jeans who is whimsical conversationalist and attempts to tolerate every-ones beliefs and lifestyle irrespective of how contrary to the Bible those beliefs and practices are.

Today's Church is filled with what I would like to christen the "Metro-Sexual" Evangelical. This is the type of Evangelical male who places more emphasis on his personal grooming and appearance than what the Bible teaches. The Metro-Sexual Evangelical is the rock star wannabe, the smooth operator with all the lady friends who tolerates everything and anything in the Christian Church because he does not the know the first thing about what Biblical Christianity is.

The Metro-Sexual Evangelical has risen to popularity and prominence in most Evangelical churches and colleges in Southern California because a generation of American Evangelicals have become pragmatic compromisers and distanced themselves from any semblance of authentic Biblical Christianity.

The real man and woman of God who cares about what is happening with American Christianity will learn what the Bible teaches and what is authentic and historic Evangelicalism is and will avoid the "Metro-Sexual Evangelical" who is destroying the Church with his compromised lifestyle and lack of Biblical knowledge and discernment.

The question is, are there any Biblical men left in American Christianity?The time has come to leave the women's jeans and Metro-Sexual Evangelical behind and return to the historic Evangelical Christian faith based on the authority of the Bible alone, that teaches that there is still truth and falsehood in the world today, that teaches that Evangelical doctrine matters, that teaches that Jesus Christ is still God the Son, that teaches that the Trinity is still true, that teaches that the Bible is still the inerrant Word of Almighty God, that teaches that men and women are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.Evangelical man and woman of God, let's leave the Metro-Sexual Evangelical behind and take a stand for Jesus Christ in our generation.

Let's know our God and know our Bibles and stand for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints even if its not the popular thing to do.