"And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Rev. 6: 11)
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." (Rev. 14: 13)
Clearly the "rest" of these verses designate a place, which is Heaven. Those Christians who have died are resting. Their bodies are "resting in sleep" (John 11: 13), in their graves, and their souls are resting in Heaven.
The latter verse is so similar to the words of the Apostle in Hebrews in teaching about entering God's rest. Paul said:
"For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his." (Heb. 4: 10)
Those who have died in Christ "rest from their labours" or "cease from their works." In both verses the works are good works. It is rest from good and honest work. It is rest that is deserved.
Because Christians have traditionally interpreted Canaan's land as a symbol of Heaven's rest they have also traditionally viewed the crossing of the Jordan River as a symbol of Christian death. Christians sing - "I am bound for the promised land." And, they sing about "crossing chilly Jordan."
Even Hardshells sing these songs, and yet, as we have seen from Jason Brown's rebuttal to my writings on God's rest, they must do so in contradiction to their stated beliefs. To Hardshells, entering Canaan's land is equated with entering a Hardshell church! They sing - "to Canaan's land I'm on my way, where the soul of man never dies," but they sing what they consider to be error!
Clearly the two verses from the Apocalypse (cited above) show that entering into God's rest occurs at death for the Christian. He enters the promised land and crosses over the symbolic river of death. I also dare say that this is the predominant usage in Scripture. Rest comes after death. While we are in this world, we are in the wilderness. The world is a wilderness and we will not leave it till we die or till the Lord returns.
Crossing Jordan has traditionally been interpreted by Christians as a "decease," the time of death, when Christians are removed from earth to Heaven. The word "decease" (departure) is appropriate for it speaks of a change of place. From the wilderness to the promised land!
Certainly there is rest enjoyed by Christians even in the wilderness. They rest in the finished work of Christ. Their hearts and minds no longer toil in anxiety. They enjoy mental rest. This is seen in these words from the Psalms and two leading prophets.
"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him..." (Psa. 37: 7)
"Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee." (Psa. 116:7)
"To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." (Isa. 28: 12)
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." (Jer. 6: 16)
This rest is rest for the soul, mental relaxation. It is enjoyed in this life by all the faithful. Jesus said:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matt. 11: 28, 29)
On this verse Dr. Gill wrote:
"And I will give you rest; spiritual rest here, peace of conscience, ease of mind, tranquillity of soul, through an application of pardoning grace, a view of free justification by the righteousness of Christ, and full atonement of sin by his sacrifice; and eternal rest hereafter, in Abraham's bosom, in the arms of Jesus, in perfect and uninterrupted communion with Father, Son, and Spirit."
Gill believes that the promise of rest, for those who come to Christ in faith, includes present mental rest and future complete rest.
"For we which have believed do enter into rest..." (Heb. 4: 3)
In my last entry I cited A. T. Robertson who stated that the present tense of eiserxometa (do enter) is to be seen as an example of what is called in Greek emphatic futuristic present indicative. Jason Brown thought that this was not possible, though he gave no evidence to refute what Robertson said. Perhaps he knows more Greek than Robertson? Jason is apparently ignorant of the "futuristic present" as used in Scripture. So, let me enlighten him.
The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament says this of the futuristic present:
"Present is used to refer to the certainty of the future event..."
It is used by the New Testament writers when they wished to make a confident statement about a future event, and, in many cases, will be translated with an English future tense. The present tense is often used to make confident assertions about what is going to take place in the future. The event, although it has not yet occurred, is looked upon as so certain that it is thought of as already occurring. The futuristic present is often used in prophecies. It is a way of "calling things that are not as though they were." (Rom. 4: 17) It is a way of speaking about future things in present or past tense. Use of the futuristic present typically adds the connotations of immediacy and certainty. Most instances involve verbs whose lexical meaning involves anticipations.
The present tense may describe an event that is wholly subsequent to the time of speaking, as if it were present. In John 4:25 the text says "Messiah is coming." In Mark 10:33, Jesus said "I am going up to Jerusalem," and yet he clearly is referring to what he will do in the near future. We do the same thing in English. I say to my wife - "I am (present tense) going to the store" when I really mean "I will be going to the store imminently." If I said this before I actually began to go, I would be using an instance of the futuristic present. If I said this on the way to the store, using my cell phone, I would be giving what is called a "descriptive present," affirming what I am actually doing in the present. We use the futuristic present in English when we say "The President is coming to Atlanta," where we do not mean that he is on the way, but that he will definitely be coming in the future.
In John 14:3, when Jesus used the futuristic present to say, "If I go away, I am coming again (present tense) and will receive you to myself," he did not mean that he was currently in the process of coming.
There is also a futuristic use of the present seen in Luke 3:9 which uses the imagery of a tree being burned to describe the future judgment. The present tense is used here to make the future that much more vivid.
"And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
Notice these verses:
"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." Revelation 3:11 (NIV)
"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." Revelation 22:7 (NIV)
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." Revelation 22: 12 (NIV)
"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20 (NIV)
Certainly these are instances of the futuristic present. Another example is in these words:
"Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep (I keep - present tense) the passover at thy house with my disciples." (Matt. 26: 17, 18)
How does one determine the time of the present tense verb? Context! The context of Hebrews 3 & 4 shows that the writer focuses upon a future entering of the land of rest, as I have shown. He exhorts his readers to strive to enter this rest, which would not be the case if they were already viewed as being in the rest.
Further, it is an error of Jason Brown to attempt to make the entering a continual process or one of degrees. He says this in order to deal with the force of the future aspect of Paul's words about striving to enter. But, there are no degrees in this entering, as there is in sanctification. One is either in or he is out. He cannot be half in and half out. Just as the "ceasing" from toil is not progressive or linear, so neither is the "entering." If verse 3 is interpreted as affirming that believers have already entered the rest, it would make no sense to exhort them to enter. If Jason is already in my house, it would be foolish for me to exhort him to enter it.
Besides, even if we disallow the use of the futuristic present in verse 3, and allow for a normal present tense meaning, it still does not necessitate that the entering is to be connected with conversion or sanctification. If Christians enter God's rest when they die, and they are continuously dying now in the present, then it could be said that they are now entering God's rest (Heaven).
Gill, in his commentary on Hebrews 4: 3, said:
"...but this is not now, or at present enjoyed, unless things future may be said to be present..."
Gill allows that a futuristic present is possible in this passage. Further, though Gill gave a present fulfillment for Christian converts, he did not do so exclusively, as in Matt. 11: 28, 29. He felt like both aspects were in view.
Why is it that Jason Brown argues so intensely against the view that makes this entering to be Heaven? Is it not because he does not limit entrance into Heaven to only Gospel believers? Is it not because he rejects the idea that perseverance is necessary for being eternally saved?
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