As an explanation to the following, Bro. Plew writes: In my youth I was a member of the “Church of Christ,” my father was a prominent “Elder”, my older brother became a minister as did one of my nephews. They all thought I had fallen to infidelity when I left them and became a Christadelphian. I have received a lot of artillery during my 67 years as a Christadelphian. Nearly all of the original critics are dead, but my nephew continues his opposition to our views. He is the minister of a large congregation in Nashville, Tenn. He is in demand to hold “Gospel meetings” all over the country; and when in my neck of the woods, he goes out of his way to spend some time with me. We, through it all, have maintained a congenial uncle-nephew relationship.
To my dear nephew:
By your knowledge of my past, you know that I am able to separate from sacred religious family traditions when I am convinced their views are mistaken. I want information — I want plain answers. I think you will agree with the Christadelphian method of interpretation:
Nothing is to be received as proof that sets the Old Testament against the New, or any text of these against another.
Scripture Speaks Plainly
I read that the “seed of the woman” will crush the serpent-sin power. Then I read that a “virgin” would conceive and bear a son — a Jewish virgin did conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son. He was to be born in Bethlehem – -he was. The nation of Israel was to reject him — they did. He was to be crucified — he was. They were to cast lots for his garments — they did. He was to be raised again the third day — he was.
“There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” Jesus appeared to the disciples in a spiritual body. He possessed mysterious powers yet he had flesh and bones with scars in his hands and side. He invited them to handle him and see that “it is I myself.” This was the physical person that had hung on the cross suffering and dying three days before. It was really Jesus. “Jesus” was the name of the man; “Christ” was his office.
A Flesh and Bones Body
It was that same Jesus (the flesh and bones body) that ascended into heaven as they beheld and it is that same Jesus who will return and display the same scars to the Jewish people (Zech. 12:10; 13:6). As the apostles were told, he shall “so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Now in these things, God has given me a pattern as to how He keeps His word. Then I come to the statement “and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.” Am Ito shift gears here and take the lead of “St.” Augustine (4th century) who was the first to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was the church? Or should I follow Whitby (17th century?) who reached the same conclusion and called it a “New Hypothesis” — new because he, himself, admits the early church believed in the pre-millennial advent of Christ?
Are there any plain Scriptures that say the “house of Jacob” is the church? If no Scripture says so, you should not say so: because we both try to “speak where the Bible speaks, and keep silent where it is silent.”
Col. 1:13
I notice you find proof that you are now in the Kingdom of God by using one word that is translated in a variety of ways. You feel you are supported by Col. 1:13: “translated into (Gk. EIS) the kingdom.” As I pointed out in another letter, the word EIS is translated “toward” 32 times and “against” 25 times (Young’s concordance). It is found in Acts 2:38 as “for” the remission of sins. You are grabbing at straws in using that passage.
Acts 3:36
God hath made that “same Jesus” both Lord and Christ and you argue that means he is reigning now. Jesus was “born King of the Jews,” but he was not reigning at that time. Jesus was Lord and Christ during his whole ministry; the faithful recognized him as such. Was he reigning then?
In Heb. 1 and 2, Paul puts the quiet on your claims. The gospel of the Kingdom of God is called the “great salvation” that was confirmed by signs and miracles (2:3-4). At verse 5, Paul says it has reference to the future dispensation (he says that after the church is well-established); it referred to “the world to come, whereof we speak” when all things will be put under the feet of Jesus (God, of course, being excepted I Cor. 15:27). But it hasn’t happened yet: “But now we see not yet all things put under him” (Heb. 2:8).
“All Things” are Material
The apostle is quoting from Psalm 8 which identifies some of the “all things” to be put under him: “all sheep and oxen … beasts … fowl … fish.” This alludes to Genesis 1 and the very things that the first Adam lost.
Why do you want to do away with material things God has used material things from the beginning. Adam and all things over which he was given dominion were material, tangible things. He lost them by transgression, but the “last Adam” has been promised that he will recover those very things lost by the first Adam: even “the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psa. 2:6-9).
He tells the believer to “hold fast till I come.” When “I come” all those things will surely happen if God is still honoring his promises as He has in the past – a virgin conceiving a son born in Bethlehem, rejected, crucified, lots cast for garments, raised the third day, having flesh and bones and scars and ascending to heaven with them. Don’t scold us for believing all this because we are “speaking where the Bible speaks.”
Think of all those passages that you agree teach we will have a “new body.” You refer to the “new body” as an immaterial body. There is no such thing as an immaterial body — you might have a ghost or a “hant,” but not a body.
Spirit Can be Material
It seems to me that you are all mixed up on the word “spirit” and “spiritual.” We know the word “spirit” is used in a great variety of ways in Scripture: false prophets are called “spirits” (I John 4:1); the angels are called “spirits” (Heb. 1:13,14) but they have material bodies (they were often mistaken for men).
Paul says there are two bodies and cites Adam as an example of the “natural” and Christ as an example of the “spiritual.” But surely you have to admit (as pointed out above) that Christ had a physical body of flesh and bones and his overcoming of sin and his sacrifice was so that we might have hope that he “shall change our vile body that it might be fashioned unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21). And then “we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).
Paul is writing of physical resurrection when he says that the flesh and blood body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God because that body is corruptible and the Kingdom of God is not. Notice, it is that which is corruptible (the body) which must be changed to that which is incorruptible and that which is mortal (the body) to that which is immortal (I Cor. 15:50 and on). Where did you get the idea that “spirit” cannot be matter and have a corporeal existence?
II Peter 3
Read this chapter carefully! The physical heavens and earth that were “of old” are the same physical “heavens and earth which are now.” We know that for a fact. Gen. 9:11 says the flood “destroyed the earth,” but v.15 says it was to “destroy all flesh.” Peter has the same destruction in view — the “judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
In the last days, the “heavens” being on fire will be destroyed too, for the “works that are therein shall be burned up.” “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Now where is the “promise?”
Look at Isaiah 65:17: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”
Read on, for we must take the whole context in our interpretation. It is to be a time when sickness is mitigated and a man shall die in his infancy at 100 years. It is when Israel will build houses and inhabit them; it is when the ferocious nature of wild beasts is changed, when “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.” If that refers to the church, they have wasted a precious 2000 years in getting started.
God’s Promises Fulfilled
The Christadelphians believe these promises refer to the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached. A kingdom which will be taken from faithless Israel and given to others — namely the faithful of all generations. The 12 apostles will reign in it sitting on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets and, yes, the faithful of this era will have jurisdiction therein under the overall direction of the Lord Jesus.
The future inheritance of the righteous is mentioned in a lot of Scriptures and the terms used are earth, land, country, nations, under the whole heaven. If you lift those terms out and put “heaven” in their place, the Catholic and Protestant churches would refuse to discuss it with a Christadelphian. They would feel so sure of their position they would think we were something less than a religious movement.
Accept Plain Language
We read and understand the Bible by the plain language it uses to communicate with us. Spiritualizing makes plain language say something the terms used do not imply and is generally carelessly used to make the text agree with a preconceived doctrine.
So Christadelphians believe that the Catholic and Protestant churches have set themselves up for a catastrophic, unexpected and unprepared for event.
The Day is At Hand
Even men who profess no religion know this evil world is rapidly approaching a crisis. It cannot improve because those in charge of education are now in favor of a watered-down morality. Their teaching to teenagers is the same as teaching a thief how to avoid police detection.
World morality is surely near the condition it was in the days of Noah and Lot. Henry Cabot Lodge said: “The problems of the world are so multiplied and so serious that no one knows what to do about it.”
But God knows what to do about it; and when Christ takes unto himself his power (that has been his all the while), he will intervene and “break to pieces the oppressors” so that God’s glory will cover “the earth” as the waters cover the sea.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One