Tag: judgment

Book Giveaway – “The Future of Everything” by William Boekestein

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment


Enter to win a The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times by William Boekestein from Reformation Heritage Books.

Need a primer on eschatology? Or better yet, want a devotional treatment of what the Bible says on the end times (and how it applies personally)? Look no further than this great book from William Boekestein. You can win a free copy of it here, by filling out the entry form below.

Read my full review of this new resource.

Check out this product detail page to learn more (and find help in earning a bonus entry in the form below).

Contest has ended. Congrats to Jonathan for winning the free copy.

“The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times” by William Boekestein

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Everyone knows what conversations to avoid at a family gathering: discussing religion or politics will surely cause trouble! When it comes to church potlucks, however, the surest path to controversy is to start talking about your view of eschatology (the study of last things).

In his new book, The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times, William Boekestein points out three ways that Christians typically go wrong when it comes to end times theology. They “are tempted to engage in speculative eschatology,” they champion “argumentative eschatology,” or they simply avoid eschatology altogether (p. 3-4). As for why people avoid thinking about the end times, many find it complicated while others fear contemplating such weighty matters as death and the hereafter. In contrast, Boekestein sees eschatology as a vital doctrine with very practical benefits:

With God’s help eschatology can chill our blood at the thought of sin and judgment, and it can warm our hearts with God’s gracious work of redemption… The way Scripture and the church’s historic confessions teach eschatology is much more like gazing upon a dazzling sunset than analyzing and describing the chemical properties of the sun. (p. 5)

The Future of Everything is an accessible study on the end times that provides a helpful introduction to eschatology and examines a variety of themes related to the topic. Death and the intermediate state, heaven and hell, the return of Christ and the millennium, the resurrection and the judgment — all these and more are covered. The book wraps up with an application of eschatology to the theme of God’s kingdom, and to the mission of the Church.

The book presents a Reformed amillennial position on the end times. Other views (particularly traditional dispensationalism) are interacted with but there is no extended argument or defense of the position. The bulk of the work offers a conservative evangelical position in its approach to hell, annihilationism and the resurrection.

Practical application abounds in this book, and a wide variety of helpful asides are also provided. Thought is given to contemporary funerals and the question of cremation, for instance. Boekestein also laments that people today don’t speak frankly about death (p. 31). A brief discussion of purgatory (and its roots in the Roman Catholic doctrine of penance) is offered (p. 40), as is a helpful explanation of the Hebrew word sheol. He also presents Warfield’s intriguing position that the saved will outnumber the lost, in his chapter on Hell.

The author is a pastor in a Reformed church and that comes through both in the volume of quotes from Reformed catechisms, confessions and authors, as well as from the quoting of several hymns that the typical evangelical would not be familiar with (p. 30). The following quotations provide a sense of what you will encounter in this helpful book:

[Our] view of the millennium is not our eschatology but merely an aspect of it. Our apprehension of the last things should be much richer and broader than how we understand the relationship of Christ’s return to this thousand years. (p. 57)

[We] must resist the temptation to hyperliteralize the Bible’s descriptions of hell, as if orthodoxy demanded a commitment to the most ghastly interpretation of the verses in question. (p. 91)

Any vision of an intangible heaven ill-suited to fully embodied humans radically underestimates the vision of Scripture. (p. 105)

In Scripture, wrote Richard Baxter, “heaven is set open, as it were, to our daily view” for our encouragement, that we might long for the city of God (Heb. 11:10) and enter therein. This longing for glory does not distract us from godliness but infuses in us the kind of hopeful disposition necessary to follow God and rejoice in the hope of His glory (Rom 5:2). (p. 111)

This book encouraged me to look at eschatology differently. It challenged me to apply the big, indisputable end-time truths to my soul rather than chase after the best arguments for my preferred position on the questionable points. The study questions included for each chapter would make the book ideal for use by a small group or Sunday School. Consider picking up a copy of this book for yourself or as a gift for others. I highly recommend it.

Book Blurbs:

“This is definitely a book I’d give my friends who want to understand the end times from a biblical perspective. Grounded in Scripture, The Future of Everything is immensely practical — at least for everyone who will die one day. I heartily recommend it!” ~ Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology, Westminster Seminary California

“A brief simple book on the end times? Is that possible? You have it in your hands, and with just a little effort you can soon have it in your head and heart. It will not only prepare you for the end
but also equip you to prepare others for eternity.” ~ David Murray, professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“William Boekestein’s The Future of Everything is a gem of a book. This is a ‘once-over’—a survey of the whole field of eschatology — yet it doesn’t treat the topics lightly. In addition to discussing our Lord’s return and the millennium, Boekestein addresses death and dying, the intermediate state, as well as the nature of heaven. He includes a very helpful discussion of the kingdom of God as well when he addresses how our views on eschatology should inform our understanding of the church’s mission. I highly recommend it for personal use (and even devotions) as well as church study groups interested in the topic. Well done, Rev. Boekestein!” ~ Kim Riddlebarger, senior pastor at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim (URCNA), co-host of the White Horse Inn, and visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California

“This volume succeeds admirably in presenting biblical teaching on the end times for a broad readership yet without sacrificing substance. It rescues ‘eschatology’ from becoming an abstract word by emphasizing throughout the relevance and practical implications of what will take place at Christ’s return for the present life of Christians and the mission of the church in the world. The series of questions that accompany each chapter make it ideal for individual and group study.” ~ Richard B. Gaffin Jr., professor emeritus of biblical and systematic theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

Where to Buy:

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

“IFBx”: A Definition

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Recently the question came up in a discussion group I’m a member in, as to what the term “IFBx” stands for. Defining that term is an interesting exercise and worthy of its own post.

I first heard the term from Ryan DeBarr, who was a regular at the FFF (Fighting Fundamentalist Forums) back in the day, and who had a blog back in the mid 2000’s. It stands for “Independent Fundamental Baptist extreme” or extreme IFB. I can’t remember all the details surrounding the use of the term, and I’m sure everyone uses it differently.

In my case, very soon after abandoning the IFB movement altogether, I came to realize that I was overstating things on my blog. I clarified my critique of fundamentalism to hone in on the IFBx part of fundamentalism more particularly. I have maintained since then (early 2006) that I do not believe everyone should abandon the IFB movement wholesale. There are healthy IFB churches and a positive trajectory to be found in many branches of the movement. Furthermore, Fundamentalism has much to teach Evangelicalism about the weightiness of truth and the importance of holiness. Far too often such matters are brushed off as “legalistic” without a second thought. That being said, there is much that is not healthy in IFB churches and particularly among those I would consider extreme fundamentalists.

To help flesh out more fully what I mean, I’m going to string together two excerpts from earlier posts that I think still capture the heart of what I believe should be understood by the term “IFBx”:

Fundamentalism describes the position of adhering to the fundamentals of the faith and also being willing to separate over these fundamentals. For independent Baptists, such separation usually extends to believers who cooperate with those who deny one or more of the fundamentals. And the movement dictates how such separation looks and around which personalities it centers.

Hyperfundamentalists, also known as IFBx, elevate cultural standards to the level of doctrine, and separate accordingly. Many leaders in this group exert an inordinate control over the lives of their followers, and demand an almost cultish loyalty. This group also maintains extreme positions, often holding to an almost-heretical KJV-only position.

Admittedly, the division between these two groups can be somewhat arbitrary. And we are obviously speaking in generalities. There are similarities between both groups, and that is part of the reason why I have left independent Baptist fundamentalism altogether. But the differences remain. And these differences can be very large and defining…

[excerpted from “Responding to Error: A Comparison Study between Fundamentalism and Hyperfundamentalism“]

The [branch of] fundamentalism I came from is often termed IFBx (extreme fundamentalism). I think the definition fits, although I tend to think an asterisk is called for. My alma mater, for instance, is not into the blatant man worship and ultra traditionalism which permeates those who rightfully own the IFBx label. They find Scriptural reasons (using sound hermeneutical methods, for the most part) for the standards and positions they adhere to. In fact, I am thankful for the emphasis on Scripture and a serious devotion to Christ that I inherited from this branch of fundamentalism.

It is the positions they hold and how tenaciously they hold them, which makes that branch of fundamentalism extreme. Some of the positions they hold, such as KJV onlyism and the teaching that women should not wear pants are extreme in the sense that there is so little clear teaching in Scripture which demands these positions. The few verses claimed to support them have other obvious interpretations available. Yet only one interpretation is allowed. Other positions which may have a larger Scriptural support, are held in such a way as to say that only their own interpretation is correct. If one is not pre-trib rapture, or if they hold to less than conservative music style, or if they hold to any form of Calvinism, they are not only wrong, but worthy of censure and separation. The broader movement of fundamentalism might limit fellowship to some degree over these issues, but they do not “write off” those who hold differing views to the extreme degree that IFBx fundamentalists do.

A further consideration here comes with regard to the extreme emphasis on loyalty and allegiance to personalities. IFBx fundamentalists view any departure from their list of required positions as compromise and disloyalty. This sector of fundamentalism also places an undue emphasis on authority. Any questioning of a position, however sincere and non threatening, is viewed as an attack and a threat to the leader’s ministry. Such a situation begs a complicit adherence to the authority’s list of do’s and don’ts and facilitates an unhealthy separation of external conformity and internal heart worship. With such a stress on outward conformity, it is easy to seek to gain acceptance by men while neglecting the matters of the heart. While the particular circles of fundamentalism I came from were not as extreme in this regard as other IFBx groups, they still hold an undue emphasis on loyalty and conformity, which again puts them as IFBx* in my book.

Within this branch of fundamentalism, there is no liberty to contemplate changing one’s positon on a point or two. Any capitulation from any small point is seen as a departure from fundamentalism en toto, and in reality a departure from the faith! Thus, any break from this branch of fundamentalism (at least a break made by someone who was whole-heartedly embracing all of the points to begin with) is necessarily very dramatic and often final. It also results in much pain in the one leaving. When one emerges from extreme fundamentalism, they do so with a lot of disorientation and a feeling that they will never fit in anywhere ever again! More than doctrinal positions and standards are left behind, one’s very identity is left behind. In a lot of ways, it is very similar to leaving a cult.

[excerpted from “A New and Improved ‘About This Blog’“]

Feel free to chime in and give your thoughts on what IFBx should or shouldn’t mean. Where are you in your assessment of the IFB movement, and more importantly, in your journey of faith?

Achan’s Curse and the Cross of Christ

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

The stoning of Achan is one of the most horrific accounts in the Bible. Many Christians cringe when reading the account.

Let me quote it here at some length, and then point you to a very helpful meditation on this passage.

Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor. (Joshua 7:19-26 ESV)

The thought of being stoned for a crime seems barbaric. Stoning Achan’s family and servants, his flocks and possessions, and then burning them seems unconscionable. Is not this evidence that the God of the Old Testament, is not the Christian God of Love, presented in the New Testament Scriptures?

Some would say so. But our revulsion to this event is actually an important emotion for us to ponder. In fact, the wrath and fury of God against sin is bound up in the violent action taken against Achan. And when we think of this event from a redemptive historical perspective, when we look forward to how this story prefigures the work and death of Christ, a glorious picture comes into focus.

Christ’s cross was the place God poured out all his violent anger and fury, for God is a Holy God who cannot tolerate sin, even sin in his covenant people. Ultimately, no one could be completely holy and stay perfectly true to God’s covenant. This is why Jesus came to take our punishment for us. God’s just and holy anger against sin was meted out in full measure upon His own Son! What love and mercy, what amazing grace and pity!

My thoughts were turned in this Christ-centered direction by reading a meditation on Achan’s curse from my friend Nathan Pitchford of Psalm 45 Publications. Let me share his concluding paragraph and encourage you to read the whole thing.

Oh, that you would flee to this great Savior and Sacrifice, who was hanged on a tree as a curse, who was made a spectacle before all the people, and went to a bloody death for them, and suffered all the fire of God’s wrath, who was numbered among the sinners, and experienced all that an accursed sinner ought to experience, for no wrong of his own, but only that he might deliver his people from all their sins, and lead them in triumph over all their enemies! Oh, what a Savior is he!

Nathan goes through many Old Testament passages like this mining rich jewels for our meditation. He speaks with the heart and words of a true Puritan. Lately, he has been going through the book of Joshua. I encourage you to feast on his devotions on the Old Testament.

Along these lines, I did a post on the typological aspects of the Battle of Jericho some time ago, which you may also like to read.

Jack the Ripper and the King James Bible

~ Bob Hayton ~ 9 Comments

What does Jack the Ripper have to do with the King James Bible? Well, apparently he represents judgment on those of us who abandoned that old faithful translation of generations past. In 1881 the Revised Version came out and met with widespread approval. So seven years later, in 1888, 5 women faced a gruesome death at the heads of a maniac dubbed Jack the Ripper. Who’d have known this was retribution for abandoning the King James Bible?

Here’s the comment we received at the KJV Only? debate blog yesterday which alleges this very thing, that Jack the Ripper was judgment on Britain for abandoning the King James Bible.

I would think 1881 is a good year to note as a line of demarcation of overlap and underlap of the Church of the Laodiceans and the Church in Philadelphia because after all, that is when the Laodiceans started to accept the old/new Bible which after 7 years were rewarded for their deeds by being visited by Jack the Ripper (by their fruits ye shall know them). The Philadelphian Church Age will continue as long as the Rapture because there are going to be those who stand for the faith once delivered to the saints until that time. Revelation 3 says (well at least it does in my Bible) …

Re 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Now of course, the 2001 ESV is to blame for America’s tragic terror incident of 911. But we could turn the tables on the KJB. In 1607 the translation work for the KJB was being done in earnest. That’s also the year that the England’s Bristol Channel flooded, killing over 2,000 people. (That’s a lot more than 5.) Then around the time the King James Bible was finally gaining or surpassing the place of the Geneva Bible as the most used English Bible, there was the Great Plague of London which killed over 100,000 people (1665-1666). Surely that was judgment on England for abandoning the old Geneva Bible.

This comment illustrates that sometimes, people will see connections where they want to see them. It’s hard reasoning with this mentality. For those on either side of the KJB debate, let us work toward a careful and calm interaction, not a conspiracy theory-driven mentality that frankly doesn’t edify anyone.

**Illustration by Henrik Rehr, taken from the Danish comic Slim nr. 7 (Slime no. 7), used by permission.

–cross posted at the King James Only? debate blog