I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? - John 5:43-47
On the topic of Creation and "Theistic Evolution", I've come to understand there is a kind of spirit of unbelief in the church. It involves the way that professing believers tend to 'naturalize' everything, or view it through the lens of materialism, or what is commonly held as an enlightened, intellectual, rational view of the universe, past, present, and future. (e.g. Theistic Evolution)
The apostle Peter connected this disbelief in Biblical history with a disbelief in the coming judgment of the Day of the Lord, when Christ returns to Earth, not as a suffering servant but the conquering King of Kings.
Here is what Peter had to say about it:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. - 2 Peter 3:1-7
Interesting how Peter connects these elements of denial.
It seems that the many professing believers who deny Biblical history... (creation, the fall, the flood, the historical Exodus, etc.) ... these same individuals also tend to deny the prophetic "Day of the Lord" (a prophecy of the Messiah's return that makes up roughly a THIRD of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, spoken in detail of by the ancient prophets, Jesus himself, and the apostles...)
This kind of disbelief that Peter outlined seems to have the effect of cutting off the truth of both the past and the future, the beginning and the end, the root and the flower, and replacing it with an amorphous, disconnected belief in a Jesus that is not found in scripture.
Isn't this what we see today? Don't those who deny the historicity and the actuality of the past judgment of the worldwide flood, also deny the actuality of the coming judgment in the Day of the Lord? Don't they tend to allegorize both? (this is where you tend to see a lot of Amillenialism and Post-Millenialism beliefs popping up in people's eschatology)
I do not think it is a coincidence that Peter linked these two bookends of unbelief. It is the same scoffing, disbelieving spirit that denies the narrow way of the truth.
The Jesus of the New Testament repeatedly attested to the history of Moses, and spoke in great detail on his future return that would mark the end of this present age. (See Matthew Chapter 24)
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. - Matthew 24:37-39
Jesus believes in both the days of Noah, and the coming Son of Man.
Why don't we? Why do we bow to the altar of human reasoning and the Evolutionist creation story? Does it make us feel like we have more control over our reality?
Even the Israelites that bowed to the molten calf, claimed to be worshipping the God almighty who brought them out of Egypt. (Nehemiah 9:18) But it wasn't really God the Father. It was something they made with their own hands, because instead of obeying the true God of all creation, they wanted to seize the kingdom for themselves.... not wander through the wilderness under God's complete authority.
I think when we deny both scriptural past, and scriptural future prophecy, we are removing the knowledge of the full dominion that God has over creation. When we allegorize the actual, and reduce it into mere symbolism and metaphor, we inwardly reclaim some form of perceived dominance over our reality. We get some perceived authority back, and we like that, because the Bible teaches us that man has been rebelling against his Creator since the beginning. It's essentially what human civilization is. Rebellion.
Is denying the actuality, the historicity of scripture not some form of rebellion?
"Did God really say?" ....
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? - John 5:46-47
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. - Revelation 19:9-10
For ears to hear.
Psalm 111:10
On the topic of Creation and "Theistic Evolution", I've come to understand there is a kind of spirit of unbelief in the church. It involves the way that professing believers tend to 'naturalize' everything, or view it through the lens of materialism, or what is commonly held as an enlightened, intellectual, rational view of the universe, past, present, and future. (e.g. Theistic Evolution)
The apostle Peter connected this disbelief in Biblical history with a disbelief in the coming judgment of the Day of the Lord, when Christ returns to Earth, not as a suffering servant but the conquering King of Kings.
Here is what Peter had to say about it:
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. - 2 Peter 3:1-7
Interesting how Peter connects these elements of denial.
It seems that the many professing believers who deny Biblical history... (creation, the fall, the flood, the historical Exodus, etc.) ... these same individuals also tend to deny the prophetic "Day of the Lord" (a prophecy of the Messiah's return that makes up roughly a THIRD of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, spoken in detail of by the ancient prophets, Jesus himself, and the apostles...)
This kind of disbelief that Peter outlined seems to have the effect of cutting off the truth of both the past and the future, the beginning and the end, the root and the flower, and replacing it with an amorphous, disconnected belief in a Jesus that is not found in scripture.
Isn't this what we see today? Don't those who deny the historicity and the actuality of the past judgment of the worldwide flood, also deny the actuality of the coming judgment in the Day of the Lord? Don't they tend to allegorize both? (this is where you tend to see a lot of Amillenialism and Post-Millenialism beliefs popping up in people's eschatology)
I do not think it is a coincidence that Peter linked these two bookends of unbelief. It is the same scoffing, disbelieving spirit that denies the narrow way of the truth.
The Jesus of the New Testament repeatedly attested to the history of Moses, and spoke in great detail on his future return that would mark the end of this present age. (See Matthew Chapter 24)
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. - Matthew 24:37-39
Jesus believes in both the days of Noah, and the coming Son of Man.
Why don't we? Why do we bow to the altar of human reasoning and the Evolutionist creation story? Does it make us feel like we have more control over our reality?
Even the Israelites that bowed to the molten calf, claimed to be worshipping the God almighty who brought them out of Egypt. (Nehemiah 9:18) But it wasn't really God the Father. It was something they made with their own hands, because instead of obeying the true God of all creation, they wanted to seize the kingdom for themselves.... not wander through the wilderness under God's complete authority.
I think when we deny both scriptural past, and scriptural future prophecy, we are removing the knowledge of the full dominion that God has over creation. When we allegorize the actual, and reduce it into mere symbolism and metaphor, we inwardly reclaim some form of perceived dominance over our reality. We get some perceived authority back, and we like that, because the Bible teaches us that man has been rebelling against his Creator since the beginning. It's essentially what human civilization is. Rebellion.
Is denying the actuality, the historicity of scripture not some form of rebellion?
"Did God really say?" ....
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? - John 5:46-47
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. - Revelation 19:9-10
For ears to hear.
Psalm 111:10
