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The Comfort of His Coming: An Exposition of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:10

Published: 14 September 2012
Written by Dean Davis
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Categories: Eschatology, Theology

This essay is an excerpt from a book in progress, entitled, The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Time Debate. In essence, it is an exposition and defense of the eschatology of the classic Reformation, according to which Christ will return once, at the end of the age, to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and bring in the new heavens and the new earth, the eternal Kingdom of God. Lord willing, the book will be published in mid-2013.

THE COMFORT OF HIS COMING

Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonians contain some of the New Testament’s richest veins of eschatological instruction. Written from Corinth around AD 50-51, they reveal that the apostle’s early ministry to European Gentiles was charged with a lively expectation of Christ’s soon return (1 Thess.1:10, 2:19, 3:11-13; cf. Acts 17:16ff, 1 Cor. 15).

They also reveal a problem among the Thessalonians: Paul’s Jewish opponents had forced him quickly to flee the city, with the result that some of his converts were left confused (or ignorant) about his teaching on the afterlife and the Consummation (Acts 17:1-9). These letters feature Paul’s painstaking efforts to clear up every such misunderstanding. As a result, they speak often, and in great detail, about the Last Things: the signs of Christ’s Parousia, the nature and purpose of his Parousia, the Resurrection, the Judgment, and the World to Come (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 5:1-10; 2 Thess. 1:3-12, 2:1-13). Accordingly, they are a vast treasure-trove of eschatological truth!

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All Things Subjected to Himself

Published: 30 August 2012
Written by Dean Davis
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Categories: Eschatology

Note: This article is an excerpt from a book in progress, called The High King of Heaven. It’s great goal is to show that the classic eschatology of the early Church and the Reformation is indeed the biblical one; that Christ will come again once, at the end of the age, to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and bring in the new heavens and the new earth, the eternal home of the redeemed. Our text from Philippians, like so many others in the NT, seems clearly to teach this very thing. 

All Things Subjected to Himself

(Philippians 3:17-21)

I have touched on this text several times, but want to linger over it here, seeing that in two short (and very inspiring) verses, the apostle marvelously encapsulates, reiterates, and confirms his entire eschatology.

In this brief paragraph, Paul is exhorting the saints to imitate him and their other leaders (17). In order to move them to do so, he brings before their eyes the final destiny of both sinners and saints. As for worldly, gluttonous, and licentious men, who walk as enemies of the Cross of Christ, their (final) end is destruction, by which Paul means, not annihilation, but eternal “tearing down” in Gehenna, rather than eternal “building up” in the World to Come (Mt. 7:13, Rom. 9:22, 1 Cor. 5:5, 2 Cor. 10:8, 1 Thess. 5:3, 2 Thess. 1:9).

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Chicory’s Christmas Gift

Published: 21 August 2012
Written by Dean Davis
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Categories: Devotionals

 To the seven churches . . . from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness . . .

(Revelation 1:5)

Once upon a time there was a mouse named Chicory Cheese. No one in his large family was very famous, except, perhaps, his uncle Chucky, who owned a big string of pizza parlors. But I can tell you this: Chicory was famous in heaven. Whenever the High King sent Chicory Cheese on a mission, all the holy angels quickly gathered round to watch!

One winter’s evening quite close to Christmas, Chicory was walking home after a hard day’s work. On his right, he passed Grandpa Adam’s field. Once again he paused to gaze at the old dead oak, standing all alone in the middle of the barren expanse. The sight of it always made him sad. Years back, Chicory’s uncle Isaiah, the village schoolteacher, had taken a hundred baby mice to play in that field. They never returned. It was the greatest mystery—and the greatest sorrow—in all Hickoryville.

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The Gay Marriage Debate: What’s a Christian to Do?

Published: 10 May 2012
Written by Dean Davis
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Categories: Apologetics, Christian Activism

Voters in North Carolina have just made theirs the thirty-first state in which marriage will be between a man and a woman, exclusively. President Obama has responded by endorsing gay marriage. Needless to say, an intensification of the national debate on this issue will ensue. In this post, I make a case for the affirmation of heterosexual marriage in law. Hopefully, these few thoughts will help my fellow Christians enter the public square and engage in this debate with wisdom, courage, gentleness, and respect.

The case begins with an assumption, namely, that both nature and conscience reveal the existence of an infinite personal Creator, a God who rules, blesses, and judges all nations according to his holy will. This was, of course, the faith of our Founding Fathers, who held these great truths to be self-evident and foundational to the good order of any society.

On this assumption, it is a matter of simple intellectual honesty to observe the striking physical and psychological complementarity of men and women, as well as the universal pattern of human behavior, and to conclude that God has a design for marriage. In particular, he clearly designs marriage as a permanent union of one man and one woman for the purpose of mutual support, enjoyment, procreation, the spiritual and physical nurture of children, and the resulting health of society at large.

Such conclusions, though resisted by some, nevertheless belong to the “spiritual common sense” of the entire family of man. This is why all world religions define heterosexual marriage as the norm, and why no culture in recorded history has ever defined it otherwise.

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Mitt Romney and the Evangelical Vote

Published: 3 May 2012
Written by Dean Davis
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Categories: Christian Activism

Barring the unforeseen, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will square off in the November presidential elections. As most of you know, the National Right to Life Committee and Massachusetts Right to Life have both endorsed Romney. His stated positions and track record on the life issues are far superior to those of President Obama. Yes, in recent years Romney has changed his views, but the movement has been in the right direction: towards a higher and higher regard for the sanctity of human life and the need of its protection in law. Hence, the NRLC endorsement.

But there is a problem. All political analysts agree that Romney can win, but that the election will be close. Romney will definitely need every vote he can get. For this reason, pro-life leaders are concerned; concerned that evangelical Christians, uneasy with Romney’s LDS faith, may sit out the election.

Such political passivity could be decisive and catastrophic. Therefore, as a former pastor, bush-league theologian, and long-time pro-lifer, I want to address this issue. In what follows, I am writing especially to my evangelical brothers and sisters. I want to explain why I do not believe it is wrong for an evangelical to vote for an LDS candidate, and why it may well be our duty to do so.

Let me begin at the end: In the end, every Christian must honor the voice of conscience. The apostle wrote, “Whatever is not of faith is sin.” If you sincerely believe that a vote for an LDS candidate is wrong, you cannot vote for him. But again, let me explain, biblically, why I think there is no sin in such a vote.

The crucial text is Romans 13:1-7. Here the apostle explains the purpose of the State. He tells us that earthly rulers—presidents, congressmen, judges, law enforcement personnel—are actually “ministers of God” with a unique calling. No, these ministers are not called to preach their faith or administer sacraments. Rather, they are called to one thing and one thing only: the administration of justice. In order to preserve peace and order in a sinful world, God calls temporal leaders to codify, promulgate, and enforce his moral law, a law that is written on the hearts of all people everywhere, whatever their faith may be.

This is why evangelical Christians living in a democracy may lawfully vote for a man whose faith they do not share. Is the candidate an evangelical Christian, a Roman Catholic, a devout Jew, a B’hai, a Mormon, etc.? No matter. We are not voting for a pastor or a priest. We are simply voting for someone who will faithfully and justly uphold God’s moral law.

Here, then, are the questions I believe evangelical Christians should be asking as the election draws near: Does this candidate follow the Declaration of Independence in acknowledging the existence of a divine Creator and Lawgiver, however well or poorly the candidate might conceive of him? Do his policy positions line up with God’s law as revealed in the Bible? Does he seem to be a person of sound character? Can he be trusted to do what he promises on the campaign trail?

When I examine Governor Romney with these questions in mind, I am comfortable with what I see. Yes, as an evangelical Christian, I wish he understood certain crucial doctrinal matters differently, and to this end I pray for him and his family. But again, at present I see nothing in his worldview or policy positions to disqualify him from public office. Moreover, I also see that Providence is giving me an opportunity to vote for him, and that a failure to do so will only increase the likelihood of another four years under the militantly anti-life Obama administration.

So then, speaking personally, my path is clear. And right up till November I will be praying for all my evangelical brethren that God will make their path clear, as well.