Biblical Essays III

By James D. Quiggle

Most Christians just want to sit with someone, ask questions about the Bible, and get reasonable, accurate, and understandable answers. In today’s world of short attention spans, forgotten text messages, and blogs that are here today, lost in bytes and pieces tomorrow, the essay may seem an old fashioned way to communicate vital truths to the media generation. But it works.
The essays in this volume were written during May 2019–2020. They originated in questions I was asked or statements I felt needed a biblical response. They comment on a wide variety of biblical subjects, from first order doctrines to those of lesser importance.
If you have wanted to sit and discuss the Bible with someone, sit and talk with me for a bit. Most of these essays are between 1,000 to 1,500 words, a lunch-time read. Here is bread, meat, and drink for those hungry and thirsty to understand the spiritual things of the Word of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James D. Quiggle
• Release date: May 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463981924

James D. Quiggle

James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

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A Calvinist Dispensational Baptist Statement of Doctrine

In Biblical Essays, 2018, I included a doctrinal statement. When writing my book, Understanding Dispensational Theology, I had reason to expand on that statement. These statements summarize the biblical background from which I have written these essays.

The Bible presents the following propositional truths.

Bibliology. The verbal inspiration, plenary inspiration, and inerrancy of the Bible in the whole and in the parts. In the original writings every word was inspired (verbal inspiration), every word was equally inspired (plenary inspiration), and every word accurately presents the authentic words (inerrancy) of God, holy and fallen angels, men and women. The Bible is therefore God’s credible revelation to humanity concerning himself and his purpose, plans, and processes for the things and beings of the spirit and material domains (the Universe) which he created. God preserved his Word such that copies descended from the original writings are completely sufficient as the rule and guide of personal faith and practice. In every respect the Bible Christians possess today is authentic, accurate, and credible on any and every subject it addresses. (John 15:26–27; 16:13–15; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20–21; 1 Pet. 1:10–12; Heb. 1:1; Eph. 2:20; 3:5).

Theology Proper. The tri-unity (Trinity) of the One God, whose personal name was revealed in the Old Testament as YHWH, and in the New Testament as Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Godhead is one essence/substance with three personal subsistences/persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is a unity, not a union, meaning each Person in the Godhead is consubstantial, coequal, and coeternal with the other Persons, being the same one substance or essence: God. (Matt. 28:19; 3:16–17; John 10:30; 16:16–18, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14). The demonstration of this unity is seen that the acts of one person of the Trinity are the acts of every person of the Trinity. For example, at the creation, Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16; Gen. 1:2; the incarnation, Heb. 10:5; Php. 2:7; Luke 1:35; the baptism, Matt. 3:16–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; the propitiation, Isa. 53:6, 10; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 9:14; the resurrection, Rom. 6:4; John 10:17; Rom. 8:11.

Christology. God the Son is a genuine Person in union with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, being of the same one essence/substance with them, consubstantial, coequal, and coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. God the Son joined in union with himself a human nature and a human body—the incarnation—by a super-natural, non-sexual act which procreated a genuine male human being—Jesus of Nazareth—through the virgin Mary, in whom Jesus was conceived by the omnipotent power of God and from whom he was birthed. Jesus the Christ is one Person with two natures: genuine deity and a genuine rational sinless human soul. He is immaterial deity essence and immaterial sinless human soul united with a genuine material sinless human body. In the Person Jesus the Christ, the attributes of deity were communicated to the humanity in such a way that, without adding to the humanity or subtracting from the deity, the humanity became an instrument through which the deity could exercise its power. The deity perfected the humanity, without elevating it to deity, so that his humanity possessed all things perfectly. He is, therefore, the God-man who will be for eternity Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, God the Son. (John 1:1; 1 John 5:20; Heb. 2:14, 16-17; Luke 1:27, 31, 35.)

Pneumatology. God the Holy Spirit is a genuine Person, being of the same one essence/substance with God the Father and God the Son, consubstantial, coequal, and coeternal with God the Father and God the Son. His work in the world is to testify of salvation in Christ, effect saving faith according to God’s sovereign will, and restrain the works of sinners. His work in the Church is: seal the believer in salvation; indwell the believer as his temple; empower the believer to worship, fellowship with, obey, and serve Christ; join believers together spiritually into one body; administer the Church to evangelize sinners, disciple believers; and in all its ways and works glorify Christ. (John 14:26; 15:26; Rom. 8:16; Psalm 139:7; Gal. 5:22; Gen. 1:2; Titus 3:5; Eph. 1:13–14; 1 Cor. 12:1–11, 13; Eph. 2:22; 4:3; John 16:8–11). The Holy Spirit does not testify about himself, he testifies about Christ; he does not glorify himself he glorifies Christ (John 15:26; 16:13–15).

Anthropology. Adam was created sinless, but afterward self-originated a sinful desire to rebel against God, thereby adding the principle of rebellion, sin, to his otherwise perfect human nature. Adam procreated his sinful human nature, Gen. 5:3. As a result, all human beings are conceived in a sinful state, Gen. 5:3, Rom. 5:12–14, and remain in that unsaved sinful state unless saved from the penalty of sin (spiritual death) during the time of their mortal life by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone, Rom. 6:23a; Heb. 9:27. A person dying unsaved is eternally unsaved because the power of physical death is to seal a person’s spiritual state for eternity, Heb 9:27. Unsaved human beings are morally guilty of failure to be in God’s image and legally guilty of failure to believe and live according to God’s commandments.

Hamartiology. The guilt of Adam’s sin is imputed to all human beings and Adam’s sinful human nature is procreated in them, Rom. 5:12–14. Unsaved persons are personally guilty of sin, culpable for their sinful actions, and liable to sin’s eternal punishments. Sin affects every part of the unsaved person’s human nature, creating the inability to comprehend spiritual issues, 1 Cor. 2:14. Unsaved persons are inclined to sin and unwilling to change that inclination, willing rather to be in rebellion against God and act in disobedience toward God.

Election. The choice of a sovereign God, 1) to give the gift of grace-faith-salvation to effect the salvation of some sinners, and 2) to take no action, positive or negative, to either effect or deny salvation to other sinners. The decree of election includes all means necessary to effectuate salvation in those elected. God’s decree of election ensures the salvation of the elect, but does not prevent any non-elect sinner from coming or willing to be saved. God will act savingly toward any who choose to seek him and come to him for salvation (Rom. 10:13; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 22:17).

Predestination. God’s decree to conform the believer to be like Christ according to certain aspects of Christ’s spiritual character and physical form (Rom. 8:29–30; 1 John 3:2), and to place the believer in the legal position of God’s son and heir (Eph. 1:5, 11), so that the believer has an inheritance from God and is God’s heritage.

Propitiation. Christ alone propitiated God for the crime of sin. Propitiation is the satisfaction Christ made to God for sin by dying on the cross. Christ’s propitiation fully satisfied God’s holiness and justice for the crime of sin. Christ’s propitiation was of infinite merit, because his Person is of infinite worth (unlimited atonement/propitiation). The application of Christ’s merit to overcome the demerit of sin and save a soul is applied through the election God decreed before he created the universe, and is personally applied by each sinner through saving faith in Christ in response to God’s gift of grace-faith-salvation (limited redemption). Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the saved sinner so that he/she eternally stands uncondemned before a holy God, Rom. 8:31.

Soteriology. For human beings to be saved God must convict the sinner of his/her sin and give the sinner his gift of grace-faith-salvation, Eph. 2:8. For a person to be saved he/she must respond to God-given conviction of sin and believe God and God’s testimony as to the means by which God’s grace in salvation is to be accessed. Every salvation is by grace through faith, without personal merit (works) but Christ’s merit alone, Eph. 2:8–9.

Salvation is when God rescues a sinner out of the state of spiritual death and delivers him or her into a permanent state of spiritual life. Salvation is the remission of sin’s guilt and penalty by the application of Christ’s infinite merit, which is gained by receiving God’s gift of grace-faith-salvation through the means of personal faith in God’s revealed means (way) of salvation. In this New Testament age salvation occurs when a sinner repents of his or her sins and believes on Christ as their Savior: Acts 2:38; 3:19–20; 11:18; Rom. 3:22–26; 10:9–10, 13; Gal. 3:22; 1 Pet. 1:21; 1 John 3:23.

Justification. A believer is permanently positionally justified in Christ: declared not guilty in Christ, Rom. 8:1. In salvation the believer is freed from the penalty of sin, the dominion (power) of sin, the desire for and pleasure of committing sin, and at death (or rapture) from the presence of sin, for eternity. At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the believer’s soul, John 14:17; Acts 10:44–48; 1 Cor. 6:19, regenerating human nature. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to the now-believing sinner, and a new principle of life, holiness, is added to the believer, Eph. 4:24, becoming the dominating principle in his/her human nature, 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Cor. 3:17b; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 1:15–16. The believer has been empowered to say No, to temptation to sin, and enforce that choice.

Sanctification. A believer is permanently positionally sanctified in Christ: declared holy in Christ. A believer is called experiential sanctification: to personal holiness of life, and to perform and maintain good works which God has prepared beforehand (Eph. 1:4; 2:10; 2:21; 5:26; Rom. 12:1; Titus 2:14; 3:8). He/she is empowered to resist sin’s temptations, live a holy life, understand the Scripture, worship, obey, fellowship with, and serve God. God hears and answers his/her prayers, and he/she perseveres by faith in the faith to lead a holy life, looking toward resurrection and eternal life in God’s presence.

Perseverance. The saved are kept eternally saved by the merit of Christ in the covenant between the Father and the Son that formed the New Testament church, Heb. 2:11–13; 10:9, 14, 17–18. God gives the grace of perseverance to overcome all spiritual and physical obstacles to faith and thereby believers continue by faith in the faith all the way through the end of physical life and into eternity. Believers are those persons who receive and use the God-given grace of perseverance. Those who do not persevere in the faith by faith were never saved. (Heb. 10:12, 14; Eph. 2:8–9; John 10:9, 27–29; Rom. 4:22–25; 5:1, 10–11, 18–19; 8:1; Heb. 10:17–18.)

The unsaved. Sinners who reject Christ throughout their mortal life are eternally lost. (Rom. 5:12–21; 1 Cor. 2:14; Rev 20:15). Their location after physical death is hades, there to wait in constant torment until the Great White Throne judgment (Luke 16:23; Rev. 20:11–15).

Ecclesiology. The New Testament church has not replaced, superseded, or become the continuation of national ethnic Israel in the proposes, plans and processes of God. God will fulfill his promises to the New Testament church (e.g., John 17:24) and his covenants with national ethnic Israel (e.g., Gen. 12:2–3; 15:4–16; 17:2–8).

A local church is a body of baptized believers, joined together upon a credible profession of saved by grace through faith in Christ the only Savior, regularly meeting together under the leadership of elders and deacons, participating together in a common purpose to worship God, to propagate the Gospel locally and worldwide, to make disciples, to observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, to present a common witness of faith and doctrine centered on the Word of God, and to encourage one another in the daily practice of the principles, precepts, and values of God as expressed in his Word. The local church is an organism composed of individuals joined together so that each can make vital contributions to the work and welfare of the whole body, a community of persons who strive to please God in celebrating his worship. The proper order in the local church are the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; the offices of elder and deacon; the works of evangelism and discipling; and ecclesiastical separation from those teaching false doctrines. (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 23–26; 1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9; 2 Tim. 4:5; Acts 8:4; 10:42; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Cor. 6:14–18; 1 John 4:1–3; Jude 3, 16–23).

Rapture. The Rapture is the imminent, pretribulational, premillennial, bodily return of Christ for his church to resurrect the dead in Christ, transform the living and the resurrected to be fit for God’s presence, call the transformed church up to himself in the air, and take the church to heaven, John 14:2–3; 1 Thess. 4:13–18. Christ’s return for his church is not preceded by any signs but may occur at any moment, 1 John 3:2-3.

Second Advent. Christ will return bodily to the earth at the end of the Tribulation, bringing the church and the host of heaven with him, to destroy his enemies and reign over the earth on the throne of David for 1,000 years. After this he will conduct the judgment of the lost and effect their eternal punishment. (1 Thess. 4:13–18; 5:1–5; 2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rom. 5:9; Rev. 20:4–6, 11–15).

Eternity. There is an eternal judgment, eternal heaven, and eternal hell. The saved will be judged and rewarded for their works done as believers and then will enjoy eternal happiness in heaven in the presence of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:11–15; Rom. 14:10–12). The lost will be judged for their works as unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment and be cast into the lake of fire (hell) to suffer eternal punishment from the presence of God. These two judgments are separate events: the saved are judged at Christ’s return to the earth to reign. The lost are judged after the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 20:4–6, 11–15; 21:8, 27; 22:3–5).

Hermeneutics: Parables

A parable is a story—a word picture or an illustration—told to teach a single point. A parable is usually built with something literal (a farmer sowing seed, a man giving a banquet), but may also use figures of speech, idioms, slang, symbols, or types. Like a symbol, a parable is always based in something literal and always teaches something literal. Bear in mind, no parable is intended to describe every aspect of doctrine, but only to illustrate one point.

Before trying to interpret a parable, look for the reason for telling the parable, and there you will usually find the one, single, main point the parable is teaching. And do not try to interpret all the parts that were used to build the parable. The parts are the cart that carries the one main point.

One example, The parable of Luke 14:15–24. Why did Jesus tell this parable? Jesus is responding to the remark, 14:15, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God! What is the one main point? The one main point of the parable is to answer the question, who will be in the kingdom of God.

The times and culture were different from ours. There was an initial invitation, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many, so people could become prepared to attend. Then there was the notification everything was prepared, Come, for everything is now ready.

Then there is a contrast. In the contrast we will see the point of the parable, which is, who will be in the kingdom of God. The contrast is this: many are invited to the banquet, but only some come to the banquet. It is easy to see those who were initially invited. What is sometimes missed is that when the master of the house instructs his servants to, bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame, that is an invitation. And, when the master of the house instructs his servants to compel people to come in, that is also an invitation. All invited are free to refuse; some do, some don’t.

In the contrast between those who were invited but chose not to come, and those who were invited and did choose to come, we see the operation of the Gospel of salvation. Many are called to believe in Christ, but not all will believe. Only those who believe will be in the kingdom of God. Don’t be misled. Those who will be in the kingdom are not there because they are poor and crippled and blind and lame, or homeless (living in the highways and hedges). They are at the banquet—they are in the kingdom of God, they are saved—just because they accepted the invitation. So too with any unsaved person. Whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved, whether they are rich or poor, high-born or low-born, living in mansions, houses, shacks, or on the street. Social status doesn’t count. John 3:16, whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Now to discuss why there were two groups of dissimilar social status. There are two reasons for the two groups. Luke 14:15–24 takes place in the house of a Pharisee, Luke 14:1. The Pharisees thought they were righteous and had a relationship with God, and thought anyone who could not obey the Mosaic Law in the same way they did, was not righteous and did not have a relationship with God. They believed the poor and crippled and blind and lame and homeless had been rejected by God. After all, the Pharisees were property owners and business owners. God had obviously blessed them, not others. The problem was, the Pharisees (and the Sadducees, and the Scribes, and the priests and Levites) had rejected faith in Jesus. But those whom the religious leaders despised, they were believing in Jesus. The two groups in the parable are intended to represent those who thought they were not sinners and therefore didn’t need Jesus, and those who knew they were sinners and knew they needed Jesus. Social status doesn’t count. What counts is knowing I am a sinner and Christ is the only Savior for me! That is the first reason: a contrast between those who know they are sinners and believe, and those who reject sin and faith in Christ.

The second reason for the two groups looks to the near and distant future. The Jews, as a people group, believed they were God’s favored people, and the Gentiles were dogs who could not be saved. God had given the Jews the Scriptures, and sent prophets, and had sent his Son. But the Jews rejected God’s witness in the Scriptures, and from the prophets, and God’s Son. These are the ones invited but refusing to come. So the Christ whom they rejected would send the Gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, and they would believe. The Gentiles are represented by the second group.

Please remember that I said a parable is not intended to teach everything. In this age of grace both Jews and Gentiles are being saved, and both Jews and Gentiles are rejecting the invitation. The one point of the parable is, who will be in the kingdom of God. The answer is, anyone who accepts the invitation, John 3:16, whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Ruminations on Revelation

No, not the book of Revelation, but special revelation. Natural revelation is God revealing the fact of his existence through the things he has created, Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20. Special revelation is what God has revealed about himself in the Scripture. Natural revelation tells the world the fact of God’s existence, that he is powerful, and he should be worshiped. That is all natural revelation can do.

Understanding who God is, what God wants, what God requires of his creatures (us!), and details about God’s purpose, plans, and processes comes only through God’s special revelation, which is the Scripture. If all we can know about God comes only through God’s written self-revelation, then any other source claiming knowledge of who God is, what God wants, what God requires of his creatures, and details about his purpose, his plans, and his processes—that extra-biblical (not available in the Bible) source must be completely rejected.

The concept of extra-biblical revelation is dangerous to genuine Christianity. Mormonism is founded on extra-biblical revelation. So is Seventh Day Adventism. So is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Also Christian Science. Roman Catholicism (RCC) depends on extra-biblical revelation. RCC worships Mary because of extra-biblical revelation. The pope is infallible because of extra-biblical revelation. The mass is a propitiatory offering to God because of extra-biblical revelation. Adherents of the Roman Catholic Church must believe these things, and many more, in order to be saved—because of extra-biblical revelation.

I soundly, thoroughly, and unequivocally reject extra-biblical revelation. If you are reading this, you probably would say the same. Once you let extra-biblical revelation into the same room with God-given Scripture, you can justify any interpretation (so-called) of the Scriptures. And that brings me to one of the most egregious uses of extra-biblical revelation in Christianity, tolerated by millions who identify with Reformed theology: finding Christ anywhere and everywhere in the Old Testament.

Immediately a thousand swords spring up to defend Reformed theology. Wait, lay your swords on the table, let me continue. I’m not speaking of the legitimate use of New Testament revelation to understand how an Old Testament Scripture presents a foreshadowing of Christ. We know, for example, that the Old Testament sacrificial lamb as the believers substitute in atonement for his or her sins, illustrates Christ as suffering in the believers place and on the believer’s behalf. How do we know? Not from extra-biblical revelation, but from the New Testament revelation. One of many: Behold God’s lamb, said John Baptist, he who takes away the sin of the world.

Reformed theology, on the other hand, confesses the Old Testament believer understood the sacrificial lamb was a foreshadowing of Christ, and on the basis of that knowledge, believed on the coming Christ as his or her Savior. Now, a coming redeemer, messiah, or Jesus Christ is not mentioned in the Mosaic Law. Not anywhere, not anyplace, not any verse, and not by any word or words is the sacrificial lamb in the Law revealed to be a foreshadowing of a coming redeemer, or coming messiah, or the yet-future Jesus Christ. Yet, Reformed theology claims those who were saved knew that animal foreshadowed Christ.

There are seventy occurrences of lamb in the Old Testament. None forecast Jesus Christ as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You are probably thinking of the one use that foreshadows something about Jesus Christ, Isaiah 53:7—which we understand because of New Testament revelation (and which is not about Christ being the sinner’s substitute but about innocently and willingly suffering God’s wrath). No Jew thought Isaiah 53 was about the messiah, nor a coming redeemer, and certainly not Jesus Christ. Isaiah says, Who has believed our report, a rhetorical question framed so the answer is No one. See Acts 8:34 for the Jewish understanding of Isaiah 53:7.

Reformed theology unequivocally states every Old Testament person who was saved, was saved because they saw a coming redeemer, the coming messiah, or Jesus Christ. Reformed theology says Adam saw Christ in the prophesied conflict with the serpent, Noah saw Christ in the ark, Abraham saw Christ in the promise of an heir, those under the Mosaic Law saw Christ in the sacrificial lamb. Where did these believers get that information? Not from the revelation that had been given to them, but from extra-biblical revelation. Reformed theology proposes the Holy Spirit revealed something to them that gave them knowledge the Holy Spirit did not put into Scripture. That is extra-biblical revelation.

We, the people of the New Testament, understand Christ in the Old Testament because we have been given New Testament revelation that explains the Old Testament. But to teach that the Old Testament believers had the same understanding of Christ as the New Testament believer, without having the same written revelation that has been given to the New Testament believer, is to require that extra-biblical revelation was given to the Old Testament believer.

Lest someone think I am exaggerating, here is a quote from a recent work by a respected Reformed theologian. They [Abraham, David], like other Old Testament believers, were saved by looking forward to the work of the Messiah who was to come and putting their faith in him [Grudem, Systematic Theology, 519].

The problem with Grudem, and other Reformed theologians, is there are no scriptures that told Old Testament sinners to place their faith in the redemptive work of the Messiah, or be saved through trusting in Christ, or have a forward-looking faith based on God’s word of promise that a Messiah or a Redeemer would come (all quotes from Grudem, same page.) From Adam to David, Christ is not mentioned in the Scriptures. David speaks of a king who will rule the nations, Psalm 2, not one who will redeem from sin. There is no Old Testament verse that tells sinners to place their faith for salvation in the promise of a yet-future messiah or a yet-future redeemer. The only way sinners could be saved by the means Grudem proposes is through extra-biblical revelation.

Both Dispensationalism and Reformed theology (post-Adam’s sin), agree salvation is by God’s gift of grace-faith-salvation (Ephesians 2:8). Both theologies agree the basis of salvation was, is, and always will be the propitiation made by Christ. Both agree the requirement of salvation in every age is faith. Where Reformed soteriology and Dispensational soteriology disagree is the object of saving faith and the content of saving faith.

Dispensational soteriology: the object of faith in every age is God.

Covenant soteriology: the object of faith in every age is Christ.

Dispensational soteriology: the content of faith changes in the various dispensations.

Covenant soteriology: the content of faith is always Christ, either coming (OT), or arrived (NT).

Dispensationalism does not depend on extra-biblical revelation for salvation. What you read in the Old Testament Scripture is what Old Testament sinners believed to be saved. Noah’s faith was in God, for no other object was presented to him in which his faith could rest. The content of his faith was judgment is coming, get into the ark to be saved. The object of Abraham’s faith was God. The substance or content of Abraham’s faith was the promise of an inheritance and an heir *conceived by his sperm* (Hebrews 11:11), a promise fulfilled for Abraham in the heir God gave him, his son Isaac, Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:18, in Isaac your seed shall be called. The content of faith under the Mosaic Law was faith in God and his testimony that repentance of sin with confession of sin and a proper sacrifice for sin would result in forgiveness of sin. Mechanically bringing a sacrifice did not save. What saved was faith in God through his testimony, faith which was accepted by God’s grace, faith that was revealed by doing the things God said to do by faith.

Dispensational soteriology teaches the means of salvation is the same for everyone, beginning with Adam: saved by grace through faith by the merit of Christ’s propitiation. Dispensational soteriology recognizes that salvation is always accessed by faith, and that God is the only proper object for saving faith, because it is God who has given testimony in his written Word, not in extra-biblical revelation, as to the content of saving faith. The content of faith changes in the various dispensations, as I have demonstrated through Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The content of faith today is Believe that Christ propitiated God for your sins. This is stated in several ways, e.g., Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9; Acts 3:36–39; 4:12.

Dispensational soteriology does not depend on extra-biblical revelation, but precisely on the inspired revelation God gave the sinner in his Word within the sinner’s specific historical-cultural context.

When Will the Next Elijah Come?

Eschatologically speaking, prior to each advent of Messiah, an Elijah will come. Prior to the first advent, YHWH caused John to be born to Zecharias and Elizabeth, to be raised by them, and taught by them, until that day he entered into the wilderness to await God’s call to come, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to preach that message of repentance toward and reconciliation with YHWH, in preparation for messiahs’ first advent (Matthew 17:12–13). Before the next advent of messiah, God will raise up another in the spirit and power of Elijah, to preach a message of repentance toward and reconciliation with YHWH, in preparation for messiahs’ second advent.

To understand Elijah’s role toward both advents, we must look at Malachi 4:1–6. Elijah will come before (not during) the great and awesome day of the Lord. His ministry will be to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, thereby preventing a curse on the land, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction, the prophesied Day of the Lord. Elijah’s prophesied ministry would not herald that day, but prevent it, if Israel unites under the Mosaic Covenant, Malachi 4:1.

To understand how Elijah’s prophecy will prevent the day of the Lord, we must look to the context set by 4:1–2. "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble (ESV, my emphasis). But believers who remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel (Malachi 4:1) will not experience destruction from YHWH: Malachi 4:2 (ESV), But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings."

And therein lies the