REVISITING CHRIST’S MESSAGE TO TODAY’S EVANGELICALS

Part IV: Christ’s Offer To Wean Us From Evangelicalism’s Factions To Himself

B. Christ’s Cross-Before-The-Crown Solution Applied

3. Christ’s Offer To Use Past Opposition By The Factions To Position Us For The Crown

b. Christ’s Offer To Use Opposition’s WOUND For Victory Over Worldliness

(Revelation 3:21-22)

I. Introduction

A. In Rev. 3:18-20, Christ called a pastor to be weaned from Calvinist and Arminian factions, giving solutions to the spiritual needs of the last three and the first of Calvinism’s five errant points and parallel Arminian ones.

B. In Rev. 3:21, Christ addresses the fifth need of worldliness, which is Calvinism’s second errant point and its parallel Arminian error, and with it He offers the “crown” of an amazing influence that follows the “cross.”

II. Christ’s Offer To Use Opposition’s WOUND For Victory Over Worldliness, Revelation 3:21-22.

A. On the fifth problem of “worldliness,” Jesus in Rev. 3:21 calls a pastor to overcome as He overcame, and the only other verse where Jesus said He did THAT is John 16:33 where He said He had overcome the WORLD (Moult. & Ged., Con. to the Grk. Test., p. 665f). We thus view Rev. 3:21 for insight in overcoming the world:

1. Christ in Rev. 3:21 offers a pastor the reward of sitting “in” His throne, what recalls Jesus’ Luke 12:41-48 parable where a master rewards his faithful subordinate steward with rulership over all that he has.

2. In view of the Rev. 3:21 context and word use in Luke 12:41-48, the steward is promoted for having met the needs of his master’s other servants even if taxing trials have sorely tempted him to gratify his worldly lusts by hoarding his master’s food for himself and mistreating the master’s other servants under his care:

a. The word “sensible” KJV, from phronimos, describes the good steward in Luke 12:42, but elsewhere in Luke’s writings, it exists only in Luke 16:8 (Ibid., p. 995) where another steward wisely controls his response to a current severe crisis he faces and functions to produce the best long-term results!

b. The Luke 12 steward must faithfully ration out his master’s food to the other servants, but if the steward wrongly hoards his master’s food and beats his master’s other servants, the master severely punishes him!

3. In view of the Revelation 3:21 context, we apply all this information to a pastor’s situation today:

a. If a pastor who spiritually oversees God’s other servants in a church heeds Rev. 3:18-20 but is mistreated for it, Christ still holds him accountable not to indulge in worldly lusts and harshly react to his opponents, but gently to keep expounding Scripture for its eternal discipling value for God’s receptive hearers, v. 21a.

b. If the pastor then obeys Rev. 3:21a, Christ will make him sit “in” His throne (Rev. 3:21b), and we explain:

i. The similar Rev. 7:17 phrase “in the midst of the throne” in its context shows Christ will give the pastor a nurturing Bible exposition ministry in a troubled era akin to the Tribulation Period.

ii. Elsewhere in Rev. 2-3, the Rev. 3:21 phrase “as even I Myself” (hos ka’go) occurs only in Luther’s era, and the Rev. 3:21 phrase “with Me” (met’ emou) occurs only in Edwards’ era (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., p. 839-845), so Christ will cause a pastor to minister like they did, and worldwide, Rev. 3:18.

iii. The pastor will nurture people from the oppressive globalist, Marxist, religio-politico-economical world complex with which many Arminians and Calvinists are converging. We discern this since Christ seats a pastor “in” (en, Ibid., p. 845) His earthly Davidic throne like He sat “in” (Ibid.) His Father’s heavenly throne, which contrast in thrones COUNTERS Progressive Dispensationalism that fudges on interpreting Scripture literally to make both thrones the same, it dilutes Classic Dispensationalism with Calvinism’s Covenant Theology and backs Marxist social redemption! (George Zeller, “Progressive Dispensationalism,” middletownbiblechurch.org; Ryrie, Disp. Today, p. 183) [For added testimony that many Arminians are converging with the world complex, see R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “Evangelical’; What’s in a Name?”, p. 34, 36-37, as cited in John H. Armstrong, gen. ed., The Com. Evan. Crisis, 1996; Ibid., Brannon S. Howse, Marxianity, 2018, p. 225, 227. For added testimony that many Calvinists are converging with the world complex, see Ibid., Zeller; Ibid., Howse, Marxianity, p. 288, 301, 286, 158, 159, 160, 162-163, 251.]

B. In Rev. 3:22, Christ applies this Rev. 3:14-21 message to “the churches,” so every believer is to heed it!

Lesson and Application: (1) Christ calls today’s pastors to part with the Calvinist and Arminian factions and rely on Him to overcome worldly lusts and gently, faithfully expound Scripture for an edifying influence in a troubling era when these errant factions are converging with the oppressive globalist, Marxist, religio-politico-economical world complex! (2) Christ applies this message to “the churches,” so may every believer heed it!