COME AND SEE

October 1974

Volume 1 – Issue 2

THE FUTURE (2)

— H. L. Heijkoop

The Method of Prophetic Study

Before embarking on a study of the contents of prophecy, the question could be raised, 'How do you explain that the results various students arrive at are so conflicting?' We find for instance some who claim that the first beast in Revelation 13 stands for the sum total of all governments of all nations of all times, taken as a whole. Others maintain it to be an allegory for the Anti-Christ. Still others claim it to be Popery. Yet we will see in the following articles that in reality it is a symbol of the revived Roman Empire.

The answer to the above question is, that two essential points of faith are pre-requisites before we can understand God's thoughts in prophecy:

1. The Word of God is perfect,

2. God Himself has given the key for the interpretation.

Yes, the Word of God is perfect. This means that nothing is lacking in it and that, therefore, all that is necessary for understanding it can be found in the Word itself. We do not require archaeological studies to understand, for instance, the spiritual meaning of the day of atonement, or the utensils of the tabernacle (Lev. 16; Ex. 25:40). The epistle to the Hebrews and other letters give us the divine explanation.

So it is also with prophecy. In the prophecies we find God's thoughts about the future, as He has been willing to reveal them to us. We don't need any human science to understand them. On the contrary, by using human aids there is a distinct danger that the true significance of prophecy will be obscured. Time after time the prophecies have been twisted, and are still being twisted, out of a desire to interpret them with the help of history books or in an effort to reconcile them with a pre-conceived theological system. The only way to arrive at a true understanding is to look for the explanation in the Word of God itself. If one still desires to use the human history books then it should only be to judge those books by what God has told us in the prophecies.

This, however, can only be done if prophecy has been studied with the God given key. "Knowing this first, that the scope of no prophecy of Scripture is had from its own particular interpretation, for prophecy was not ever uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spake under the power of the Holy Spirit" (1 Pe. 1:20, 21).

There is therefore no prophecy that explains itself. For, although that prophecy was spoken by a holy man of God, yet that man was not the actual author. And all those other men of God that spoke and wrote prophecy, have not done so from themselves. Behind all of them stood the One Author, the Holy Spirit, Who prompted all prophets to utter these prophecies. Therefore, Scripture says that the prophets frequently did not understand the meaning of their own prophecies. Daniel was even told not to inquire, since his prophecy was closed till the time of the end, and not meant for him (1 Pe. 1:10; Dan. 12:8, 9).

All prophecies form one entity

From the above it is clear that all prophecies are given by the Holy Spirit and that together they form the whole of God's counsels as to the future which He wanted to communicate to us. When we desire to understand the thoughts of God, we cannot be satisfied with one verse or one chapter or by taking one book only, for no prophecy of Scripture has the complete interpretation contained within itself. What would you think of a man who wants to tell you what a house will look like after receiving one drawing showing a single detail of a house? You would no doubt say that he has quite some fantasy but not much else. The architect alone knows how he wants to build the house. It will only be possible for you to get a reasonable impression of what the building will look like, after he has put his thoughts on paper in a plot plan with all the necessary details and specifications. Even then you must have studied all of these documents, and by experience be able to understand them. Are you able to tell what the picture of a jig-saw puzzle is going to be from only seeing one piece? You might take a guess at it, but that is all. And how often do you make an error when you are trying to fit the pieces together? But as soon as you know what the final picture is all is greatly simplified. Now you see much sooner where each piece has to be laid.

It's just the same with prophecy. All the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments together give God's designs for the future. Not until we know the outlines of these counsels can we compare several prophecies with one another and see each in connection with the whole scheme. Comparing Scripture with Scripture we will be able to understand the thoughts of God. If everyone who studies prophecy followed this pattern, there wouldn't be so many different views.

The very first question is, 'How can we find the outlines of prophecy?' The answer to this is not difficult, for God indicates them very clearly in His Word. "The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 19:10). "The Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets pointed out, testifying before of the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these" (1 Pe. 1:11). "He purposed in Himself for the administration of the fulness of times; to head up all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth" (Eph. 1:9-10). "Sit at My right hand until I put Thine enemies as footstool of Thy feet" (Heb. 1:13). "Then the end, when He gives up the kingdom to Him Who is God and Father; when He shall have annulled all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He put all enemies under His feet" (1 Co. 15:24-25).

The Spirit of Prophecy is the Testimony of Jesus

That is indeed the purpose of God: to glorify the Lord Jesus, that glorious Person Who became Man to do the will of God (Heb. 10:7): Who, when He was on earth could say, "I do always the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29), and "My food is that I should do the will of Him that has sent Me, and that I should finish His work" (John 4:34). Who could say at the end of His walk on earth, when in Spirit He looked ahead beyond the cross, "I have glorified Thee on the earth, I have completed the work which Thou gavest Me that I should do it" (John 17:4).

Who can fathom the joy God finds in the Lord Jesus? — He Who increased in favour with God and with man! (Luke 2:52); Him above Whom heaven was opened at the start of His service and to Whom a voice from heaven spoke, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I have found My delight" (Luke 3:22). The Father could say of Him when He had come to the end of His service, "This is My beloved Son: hear Him!" (Luke 9:35), and He could say, "On this account the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life" (John 10:17).

What must it have been to God when this glorious Person went voluntarily to the cross to glorify God, when on the cross He restored that which He had not taken away! (Ps. 69:4). Then He glorified God to the highest degree in all His attributes: His righteousness, His holiness, His truth, His love; all what Adam had denied (Gen. 3:5). Then He, the guiltless One, was stricken and deserted by God in the place of lost sinners, because God desired to save those sinners (Ps. 22; Zech. 13:7; Rom. 5:8). Can we possibly imagine what a desire there must be in the heart of God to glorify this Person?

And does the Lord Jesus not have a right that the creation be subjected to Him? Has the Creator no right to the creation? (Col. 1:15, 16). Has God not appointed Him to be Heir of all as the Son of God (Heb. 1:2), and subjected all things under His feet as Son of Man? (Heb. 2:6-9). And in Revelation we find His fourth right, His right as Redeemer (Rev. 5:5). The Lamb that was slain has redeemed the inheritance which Adam had handed over to satan, through which satan is now the ruler of this world. He paid the price, His blood. He is the true Redeemer, Who is entitled to take the deed of the purchase (Jer. 32:7-12).

The essence of Revelation (indeed of all the prophecies) is: The Father, Who gives the Son possession of the inheritance. Christ is the Center and the Subject of all the counsels, ways and acts of God. The sufferings of Christ have been made known, but the revelation of His glory to the world is still entirely a future event (1 Pe. 1:11). The last the world saw of Him was when He was taken from the cross and laid in the grave (1 Co. 2:8). And since the world rejected and murdered Him, the revelation of the glory can only be in conjunction with judgment.

During the Lord's walk on earth the disciples thought only of the glories (Mat. 16:22) but not of the sufferings. They expected that the Lord would chase the Romans out of the country, crush their enemies, make Israel the head of all the nations, and establish His throne in Jerusalem. And certainly these things will take place; the glories of which the prophets spoke will come (1 Pe. 1:11). But the disciples never thought that they would come after the sufferings.

And therefore the Lord had to tell them that He had to suffer and die. But in order that their faith in the prophecies would not fail, God gives them a beautiful confirmation on the mount of transfiguration (Mat. 17).

The Mount of Transfiguration

This event is actually not a prophetical communication. It is more like a painting, depicting the glory of the kingdom of the Son of Man and all groups that will share in it. First of all, we see the Lord, the Head and Center of all blessing and glory (1 Co. 15:51). Then we observe Moses, a type of the saints that have died but which are raised (1 Th. 4:17). Finally we notice Elijah, a type of those saints which will enter heaven without dying. But besides them also the believers who are still on the earth and are not yet glorified, the faithful remnant of Israel typified by the three disciples, are present.

What an impression this must have made on Peter! He writes, as an old man, that the prophetic word has been confirmed, made surer, thereby (2 Pe. 1:19). Yes, the glory will come, the kingdom of the Son of Man will be established upon the earth (Dan. 7:13, 14; Mat. 24:30). Once the Lord Jesus Christ will remove the authority of darkness so that it can no longer be found (cf. Col. 2:15).

The devil wanted to destroy this testimony. First he has James slain by the sword and then he makes an effort to do away with Peter as well (Acts 12). This particular confirmation of the prophetic word would then no longer have had authority, for by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. But God watches over His testimony. Peter is delivered and is able to tell in his letters about the power and the coming and the glory of the Lord Jesus (2 Pe. 1:16). And in the Revelation John gives us a detailed description of the Lord's coming to establish the kingdom.

The Morningstar

But Peter adds to this communication an admonition of great importance (2 Pe. 1:19). He says, "Ye do well taking heed (as to a lamp shining in an obscure place) until the day dawn and the morning-star arise in your hearts." This world is a dark place indeed (Rom. 13:12). It was night when Judas went out to betray the Lord (John 13:30) and the power of darkness reigns (Luke 22:53). When the lamb was slain, the sun went down (Deut. 16:6). In this darkness, however, a light is shining and he who knows prophecy can walk in the light of this lamp. In a world where unrighteousness reigns, in a world which has put itself under the power of the devil, where we can find nothing but sin, enmity against God, and suffering, there the prophecies show how God is above it all and how He will soon make an end to the darkness, when the Sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings for His people (Mal. 4:2, 3), but with a terrible judgment for those without God. Prophecy enlightens the Christian and separates him from the world because it testifies of judgment of the world and of the glory of the coming kingdom (Rev. 18:4). Would a Christian who knows that the judgment over the world will soon be executed, mix with this world or even make attempts to improve it?

Yet, prophecy is not the actual hope for the Christian. The apostle points to something higher than that, "until the day dawn and the morningstar arise in your hearts."

In the heart of the Christian, taught in his privileges, it is no longer night. He is called out of this darkness to God's wonderful light (1 Pe. 2:9). Before, he was in darkness, but now he is light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). And while it is day in his heart, the morningstar has risen there: he doesn't just know the Lord Jesus as the Sun of righteousness (Rev. 2:28), but also as the bright Morningstar (Rev. 22:16, 17), seen by them that are awake in the night before the break of day (Rom. 13:11, 12). He not only expects Him to judge this world, but to take His own out of this world before that time.

Consequently, when the bride hears His name mentioned as Morningstar, her heart is stirred and she cries out, "Come!" (Rev. 20:4; Gen. 24:67). Her part is in the intimate fellowship of the house of the Father, to be there the bride of the Lamb, although she will obviously, as being connected with Him, share the glory of His kingdom (Rev. 21:9-22:5). In Luke we find that joy in the house is the' portion of those who are awaiting their Lord during the night (Luke 12:36-38), although the inheritance is mentioned there as well, but in connection with responsibility in the service (Luke 12:42-48).

Could a heart that knows the Lord Jesus as the bright Morningstar, and in which the voice of Spirit and the bride have awakened the longing for His coming so that it joins the cry, "Come!", not be separate from this world while making every effort to bring sinners to the Lord in the little time that remains? He will call, "Let him that is athirst come; he that will, let him take the water of life freely!" (Rev. 22:17). The attraction of the Lord as the bright Morningstar, has the same effect as prophecy: to loosen our ties with the world and to try with fervour to win souls for the Lord. And everyone that has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure (1 John 3:3).

But some no longer gather souls for Christ in heaven, they work instead to improve either the world or their own position in the world. Is that the hope of the Christian? (Eph. 1:18). Others have the hope to be with Christ when they die, and this indeed is a beautiful fact (Phil. 1:23). But, no matter how beautiful it may be, we will only be there in an imperfect condition. Only our souls will be there and not our bodies (1 Th. 4:13-16). And although this is immensely more beautiful than our present condition in a world full of sorrows and failures (Rom. 5:3), it is not the hope of which God speaks. The Christian's hope is not: to die and be with Christ, but: to expect Jesus from heaven to take all those that belong to Him from this earth, so that they may always be with Him (1 Th. 4:17, 18).

Someone might say, "But that makes little difference, for in both instances it will be well with me!" But is our well-being the only point to be considered? Was not all made well for us by the cross? The blood of Christ washed us from our sins and made us a kingdom and priests to God (Rev. 1:6), Who has sealed us with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the earnest of our inheritance to the redemption of the acquired possession to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:13, 14). Have we not been redeemed to enter into His thoughts and His glory? And on whom does He shine with His glory? On you or on me? Thanks be to God, it is on Christ, the only worthy One (Col. 1:27b). And is it not infinitely better to look on Him than on ourselves, where we don't see anything but weakness, conceit, selfishness, and similar things? God hasn't called us to form our own hope, any more than He has charged us to determine the object of our faith. He has given us Christ — Christ is to be our hope, just as much as He is the object of our faith.

No it isn't true, as is frequently claimed and still more frequently thought, that the forgiveness of our sins, and our being redeemed for eternity, are the most important things, and that all other things are secondary. God's Word says that "in Him [the Lord Jesus Christ] all the Fulness was pleased to dwell and by Him to reconcile all things[1] to itself, having made peace by the blood of His cross, by Him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens" (Col. 1:19-21). No, there was never a time, nor will there be in all eternity, like that time on Golgotha, when the Saviour died for our sins! But what an hour will it be, when 'at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings, and when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to God the Father's glory!' (Phil. 2:9-11). Then the lost ones, and even the devil and his angels, will bow themselves for Jesus. Then sin will have been removed from the world (John 1:29), and righteousness will dwell on the earth (2 Pe. 3:13), Then all things will be reconciled to God. That will not diminish the glory of the cross, it will rather be the crowning of it (Rev. 5:6-14). Only then will the full power and blessing of the precious blood of the Lamb be revealed. At the present time God has recognized this value, He has raised His Son from among the dead and glorified Him at His right hand (1 Pe. 1:19-21). By faith we know this too, and we rejoice in it (Rev. 1:5). But the return of the Lord Jesus will be the first act whereby God in heaven and on earth, yes, in every part of His creation will manifest the atoning power of the blood. And could that be an event of inferior significance, an incident of secondary importance?

To be cont'd

Every one that has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure.  1 John 3:3.

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

—J. van Dijk

A valid question that is likely to arise with most of our readers will concern the Bible translation we have selected for our quotations. Therefore, we feel obliged to share with you some of the considerations that led to this choice.

Since it is our aim to study the Bible, the Word of God, we felt it absolutely essential that we have the Word of God before us in a form that is as little marred by the hands of man as is humanly possible. As a matter of fact, we would like to use the original manuscripts. These, however, are not available any longer, and even if we did have them, they would be of little or no help to the majority of our readers (or to the editor for that matter), in that we just have no knowledge of the original languages, Hebrew and Greek. Some of our writers have this knowledge, as will be evident from their articles.

You see, we believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. God through the Holy Spirit had holy men of God write down word for word[2] those things God wanted to reveal to us (Matt. 5:18; 2 Ti. 3:16; 2 Pe. 1:21). A paraphrase is hardly in keeping with the inspired character, neither would it suit the Bible student in that the basic idea may have been approached, but certainly the many secondary meanings and relationships of the text have become unreliable at the least.

Any translation to be acceptable to us must have been undertaken with the desire to maintain to the largest possible extent the character of the original, which flows from the conviction that it is the verbally inspired Word of God.

Furthermore, only born-again persons can properly translate God's Word, only those that have the Holy Spirit indwelling. This to us seems rather obvious from 1 Corinthians 2:11 where it says, "The things of God knows no one except the Spirit of God." And in the verses 14 and 15, "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him; and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned; but the spiritual discerns all things." Is it reasonable to assume that any scholar would render something in a way that seems to make no sense to him, that seems folly to him? To do justice to a translation of any type of work, one must have insight into the subject matter. This is a prerequisite no intelligent person would deny. If this holds true in the world of science and philosophy, how much more valid is it when it concerns the Holy Word of God? All possible human qualifications, although they may be of immense importance to the task, still would not make an individual fit to give an acceptable rendering of the text. Many of today's translations from the hand of modern, liberal scholars bear out this point.

Yet it is not even sufficient that a person be born-again, one must also be spiritual, not carnal, to be able to understand the subject matter God's Word is conveying. In 1 Corinthians 2:12 - 3:3 we find born-again persons who nevertheless were carnal and consequently unable to understand the Word of God when it came to deeper things. How can one write down a requirement God sets before us in His Word when the willingness to obey and to subject oneself to the Word is not present? No, a willingness to bend in all things to the Word, even at a cost to ourselves, is absolutely essential for one who sets out to translate the Word of God.

On the above basis we could only consider three translations to be suited to our purpose,

1.  The Authorized King James version

2.  The New Translation by J. N. Darby

3.  The New American Standard Bible by the Lockman Foundation.

Since everyone is well acquainted with the King James version, we do not have to elaborate to any extent on its merits, the major one being its wide general acceptance. As a disadvantage we would have to list the fact that it is now some 300 years old. First of all this means that it is not based on the best Hebrew and Greek texts available to us now. Secondly its age is responsible for the many words and much of the terminology that is not readily understood or even misunderstood today. An interesting observation is contained in the Revised Preface to Second Edition of the New Testament (1871) by J. N. Darby.  After stating,

"Its value and beauty [of the King James version] are known, and I need not dilate upon... I have no wish to underrate it,"

he continues,

"There is one principle which the translators avow themselves, which is a very great and serious mistake. Where a word occurs in Greek several times in the same passage or even sentence, they render it, as far as they possibly can, by different words in English. In some cases the effect is very serious; in all the connection is lost. Thus in John 5 we have 'judgment' committed to the Son; shall not come into 'condemnation'; the resurrection of `damnation'. The word is the same in Greek, and every one can see that 'not coming into judgment' is a very different thing from 'not coming into condemnation.' The whole force of the passage depends on this word, and its contrast with life. Here the sense is wholly changed."

These remarks show why we would like to avail ourselves of a somewhat more accurate translation. Both the New Translation and the New American Standard Bible were considered. From the evidence available to us it appears that these last two translations would serve well, and we would certainly encourage anyone interested in up to date and good translations to obtain either one of them.

Now for a look at the New Translation. In "Translations of the Bible" by A. C. Brown, the following reference is made to the New Translation by John Nelson Darby,

"God has been pleased to enable this servant of His to translate His Holy Word most faithfully from the best Hebrew and Greek sources, not only into English but also into French and German (called the 'Elberfeld Translation'). All three are excellent, even though perfection in this field does not exist. Occasionally there appear words that technically might have been more correctly rendered…"

"Again we quote, 'A spiritual man is less liable to err than a great scholar,' as every passage has to be thoroughly examined by weighing all the witnesses and that in subjection to the general teaching of Scripture, in dependence upon God's gracious guidance. Nothing can outweigh the importance of a close walk with God in order to be well taught as to His mind in His Word, to enable one by its own internal evidence to determine aright just what is the true text."

Mr. Darby himself wrote in the previously mentioned Preface,

"My endeavour has been to present to the merely English reader the original as closely as possible. Those who make a version for public use must of course adapt their course to the public. Such has not been my object or thought, but to give the student of Scripture, who cannot read the original, as close a translation as possible."

Mr. R. K. Campbell quotes in "Grace and Truth" of November 1973, Mr. W. G. Turner as saying in "Words of Help" of July 1953,

"When the Revised Version of 1881 was being made, Darby's translation of the New Testament was critically examined and used by the company of revisers. Two of the best of them, as a result, felt moved to write to Mr. Wm. Kelly, who had himself revised Darby's Synopsis of the Bible, saying, 'They were astonished at an amount of painstaking research exceeding that of most if not all!' Darby sacrificed literary style to literal accuracy, resulting in a certain abruptness of style, but compensated by invaluable footnotes which, in the judgment of those competent critics, betokened true scientific scholarship."

From our personal acquaintance with Mr. Darby's writings we know that he was a spiritual man with great insight in the Word of God, a fact that was acknowledged by many in the evangelical circles of his time.

We might conclude, this translation would suit our purpose, but there are disadvantages to it as well. First of all, its English carries the mark of the date, it is about 100 years old. And the fact that many are not acquainted with this translation might be considered by some to be a second disadvantage. This last point, however, may be looked at again a little later.

Finally let us look at the third translation. Mr. A. C. Brown writes of this one in the previously mentioned publication,

"The New American Standard New Testament was translated by about 15 evangelical scholars." The publishers of the N.A.S.B. state in the Foreword that they are convinced that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the Hebrew and Greek were inspired by God. They express the desire to adhere as closely as possible to the original language of the Holy Scriptures and to make the translation in a fluent and readable style in current English. Their aim was:

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew and Greek.

2. They shall be grammatically correct.

3. They shall be understandable to the masses.

4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; no work will ever be personalized.

It may still be somewhat early to ascertain how this translation will be accepted by evangelical Christians; we expect it to do well. One thing however makes us feel hesitant about using this translation in COME AND SEE, the fact that it is copyrighted. But all in all it appears that this translation would be quite acceptable and possibly have the advantage over the New Translation of a more up-to-date English.

In Bible study there is merit in comparing good translations with each other to confirm for oneself to a degree the force of the original. (This practice is carried through by some to the extent of including poor translations in their reference material; this is a ruinous practice, in that a poor translation can only result in a poorer average understanding of the original).

At this point we would like to refer back to the consideration that not many are acquainted with the New Translation. If COME AND SEE were to adopt either the King James version or the New American Standard version the majority of our readers would have at best two good translations for comparison. If, however, COME AND SEE were to quote the New Translation most readers would have at least two good translations, and we believe a considerable number would have three. Another advantage of selecting the New Translation would be that more readers would actually open their Bibles to verify for themselves the text in their own preferred version. This we believe would be a great asset. You will remember that we want to say, 'COME AND SEE,' and when we stop talking (writing) we would like our readers to continue with considering the Word of God. Once their Bibles are open, this is just a little more likely to occur.

Well, our decision is made — COME AND SEE will quote the New Translation in articles authored or translated by the Editors. Although contributing authors will be advised of our policy, it will be left up to them to make a selection for their articles. May the Lord bless this decision.

QUOTE

Has the restorative power of the Lord's coming got possession of your heart?    G.V.W.

[1] All things are not all men! The doctrine that all men will ultimately be saved is completely opposed to God's Word and is in fact a subversion of the Divine Truth

[2] One example of such attention of the Holy Spirit to detail is referred to in Galatians 3:16, where the value of the singular versus the plural, which might (humanly speaking) have been used by Moses in Genesis 22:18, is shown.

Table of Contents

[1]

[2]