The "lukewarm" Christian/'spasmodic attender' accomplishes the following things:

• They frustrate the elders in the obligation they have to feed the flock (Acts 20:28).
• They set a bad example for their children, neighbors, and members of their family who are not Christians.
• They illustrate that the joy of service is not theirs.
• They treat the building up of the local church as though it was nothing at all.
• They prove by action that they have not counted the cost of their discipleship.
• They think that the minimum constitutes faithfulness, disregarding the Lord's teachings on the subject (cf. Luke 17: 10).
• They show his lack of concern for the faithful brethren who "break their necks" to be consistent and faithful in the matter of attendance.
• They parade — for all to see — the price tag they put on the local church, the work of the local church, and the overall influence of the local church.

"Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far-gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:11-12)

A Corrupt World

by Rick Duggin

Though no one can predict the future of our nation, we can say with confidence that God is in control, His cause will triumph, and He judges nations. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

Gibbon's famous work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lists five reasons for the fall of Rome. There are several parallels between ancient Israel and Rome, and even more disturbing, between Rome and America.

1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. American families are under attack by humanists, homosexuals, and Hollywood. Some don't even know what a family is any more (Matthew 19:4-9).                                                                                                                                                        

2. Higher and higher taxes: the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses or the populace. America is on the greatest spending binge in history. Many have forgotten how to work; they expect the government to support them (2 Thessalonians 3:10; I Timothy 5:8).

3. The mad craze for pleasure: sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal. Many Americans are so obsessed with sports that they have no time for Bible studies (2 Tim. 3:4; Hebrews 11:25).

4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within — the decadence of the people. Babylon's wall, water, and wealth could not prevent the Persian invasion (Daniel 5). No armament can protect a nation that has rotted from within — not even America's.

5. The decay of religion: faith fading into mere form; losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Most churches have become social clubs, pursuing entertainment to attract bigger crowds. Many audiences no longer expect to hear book, chapter, and verse (2 Timothy 4:1-4). They have replaced the house of prayer with food, fun, and frolic (Matthew 2 1:12-14).Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

Eschatology is the study of Christ's final coming, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, and the new heavens and the new earth; some persons believe all these “last things” have already been accomplished. One small group of realized eschatologists have targeted ad 70 as the time of the end when the “last things” occurred. Michael Hill writes: “Christ's eschaton . . . began at the cross and ended in his parousia (presence/coming) at Jerusalem at the end of the 7-year war with Rome . . . Thus, true to Jesus' words, that old world ended, the dead were judged, the saved were resurrected, and a whole new realm of grace began” (The Cure for Millennial Madness, p. 3). Therefore, they say, the Bible teaches absolutely nothing about any event that will occur beyond ad 70.

The tension between the “now” and the “not yet” (Heb. 2:8), i. e., the events surrounding the cross and the coming of Christ, is the focal point of the debate with realized eschatologists. The OT viewed the history of the world in terms of “this age” and “the age to come” (see Matt. 12:32). The Messiah's presence would mark the end of “this age” and inaugurate “the age to come.” Realized eschatologists have correctly observed that the cross and the parousia are the two focal points of the “last things,” but they have incorrectly argued that biblical teaching about the Lord's coming is completely fulfilled in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem. The hollow rituals of Judaism that remained until ad 70 had lost their spiritual significance after Jesus nailed the law to his cross (Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 2:12-15).

The biblical theme of “suffering” and “glory” is much too broad for the narrow focus of realized eschatology. The culmination of Jesus' suffering ended when he died physically and was buried in the tomb, and he was glorified when he rose from the dead and was crowned king (Dan. 7:13; Acts 2:29-36; 1 Pet. 1:11, 21). Likewise, the Christian's suffering only ends when he personally dies physically, and he will be glorified when he is raised to live with Jesus forever (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17-18; 1 Pet. 5:10). However, the Christian currently lives in a spiritual time warp between what has already been realized “now” and what is still to occur in the future, having “not yet” been glorified.

Furthermore, Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death” (1 Cor. 15:25-26). At that time “he shall wipe away every tear from [the believer's] eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more” (Rev. 21:4). Realized eschatologists would have us believe that all of these things were accomplished in ad 70. Again, however, their focus is too narrow. The curse of physical death and corruption came not only upon the human race but also upon all creation. The ground itself was cursed (Gen. 3:17; see Gen. 4:11; 8:21); therefore, the whole creation yearns for its deliverance from the curse (Rom. 8:18-23) and to be free from the defilement of sin. Only then can there be “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13; see Isa. 65:17-25; 66:22-24; Rev. 21:1). Only then “there shall be no curse any more” (Rev. 22:3) because “death and hades” will have been “cast into the lake of fire” with the devil and his angels (Rev. 20:14).

The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is, perhaps, the greatest stumbling block to realized eschatologists. Despite the fact that they have reinterpreted everything about the resurrection, the continued presence of dead bodies in the tombs of the

earth stubbornly testifies against their position. Max King's The Cross and the Parousia of Christ devotes 285 pages to reinterpreting the doctrine of the resurrection. In fact, 35.6% of the book (pp. 429-666) focuses on a reinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 in an attempt to make Paul's subject the resurrection of the body of Christ (the church) out of the dead body of Judaism. Despite his effort to convince us otherwise, “all that are in the tombs shall hear [Christ's] voice, and shall come forth” — some, “unto the resurrection of life,” and others, “unto the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29).

Realized eschatologists do not understand the proper tension between the “now” and the “not yet” because they do not fully grasp the principle of time-compression in prophecy. Although they properly stress the near-at-hand perspective of many passages, they create confusion over the terms “imminent” and “remote” fulfillment. They argue that the first coming of Christ was “imminent” in OT prophecy, whereas his parousia, which they say occurred in AD 70, was “remote” despite the fact that these events occurred within 40 years of each other. However, most of the so-called “imminent” predictions were made 1500-400 years before the events took place (Gen. 32:25; 49:10; Isa. 56:1; Jer. 31:31), and one goes back to Eden (Gen. 3:15)_about as “remote” as could possibly be. Nevertheless, realized eschatologists refuse to admit that another coming of Jesus is “imminent” because 2,000 years have elapsed since the NT predicted it would occur.

If, as Max King concedes, prophetic time-compression blurs the distinction between the “limited” commission and the “great” commission in Matthew 10 (The Cross and the Parousia, p. 458), why not make the same thing between the coming of Christ to judge Jerusalem and his parousia to judge the whole world in Matthew 24. Indeed, the Christian's hope lies in his belief that the dead will be raised and judged at the parousia of Jesus, and that the righteous will be rewarded with “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not way, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4).