The Nicene Creed – Big Problem for Eschatology :: By Ron Ferguson

[A]. INTRODUCTION

Recently, I spoke to a man in a church who was from England, and he told me he was raised as a Baptist – the most notable Baptist in England, of course, was Charles Spurgeon. He told me that he was a-millennial and opposed to all dispensationalist teaching. What surprised me was his next statement that all Baptists in England are a-millennial, but when I mentioned that to a friend of mine in my Bible study, who is also English, she said she knew some English Baptists who believe in the Rapture, so I suppose the jury is out on that one. Maybe there is a RaptureReady reader from England who can inform me better about this.

I don’t know about you, but I have seen some more YouTube videos of discussions on the Rapture, and there is a growing hostility on the part of those who oppose the Rapture. For some reason, they seem to think that the Rapture believers must be attacked. Is this just another sign of the decay of modern-day orthodoxy?

All the old chestnuts are raised – the attack on dispensationalism; the attack on the Scofield Bible; the attack on J N Darby; claims that Rapture teaching is only very recent; even an attack on the Brethren (Open/Plymouth/Exclusive). That sets me on the defensive, for I was saved in a Brethren assembly, and that association formed several years of my development.

[B]. THE PROGRESSION OF ANTI-RAPTURE IN THE DENOMINATIONS

Going back to the English Baptists, it is no surprise that the early Baptists were a-millennial or Covenant Theology people because their roots go back to the Reformation. So then, what was wrong with the Reformation?

Luther did not want to leave the Catholic Church; rather, he wanted to reform it. A lot of its theology he held on to, and one of the worst of these was the faulty end of the Nicene Creed. The Reformation never did go far enough. It held on to Roman Catholic ideas about many things that I won’t cover in this article, but one thing it did hold to was Catholic eschatology.

Those of you who have gone deeper into the seven churches of Asia Minor and their relationship to church history since the first century will know that the Reformation period was represented by the church at Sardis. And to that church, the Lord said, “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain which were about to die: for I have not found your deeds, completed in the sight of my God” (Revelation 3:2). Sardis means escaping, and that is what the Reformation was –escaping from the clutches of godless Popes and Cardinals and priests.

The Reformation was good but did not go far enough. Too many trappings of the Catholic Church were held on to, but I want to focus on eschatology in this article.

Out of the Reformation came the Lutheran church, hand in hand with the Reformed churches (and there are many brands of them, such as the national churches, for example, the Dutch Reformed Church). The Baptists also came from the Reformation (Original Baptists); as did the Anglican Church – the Episcopalians to the Americans; as did the Presbyterian Church; and from the Anglicans came the Methodists.

All the denominations represented by those major church groupings are many. However, they all have one thing in common. They subscribe to the Creed.

[C]. THE NICENE CREED

The Nicene Creed was developed under Constantine, who, if you study it carefully, was a manipulative man. There are doubts he was a Christian. He declared himself Pontifex Maximus, the title claimed by all Popes. He saw to it that his own army was baptized and brought into the church (they were unconverted), and that gave rise to elements of paganism entering the church.

We come to 325 A.D. to the Council of Nicaea Chaired by this Constantine. By the way, harkening to those periods of church history we mentioned earlier with Sardis, this period from Constantine for the next several hundreds of years is represented by Pergamon. The word means twice married, and that is exactly what happened. The church and the world got married under Constantine, and paganism entered into the church.

The readers of RaptureReady and those who subscribe to the Rapture all know that the imminent return of the Lord for his Bride was the aspiring hope of the early church. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 “and to wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

As the years rolled on after the Apostolic period, two things happened: the first was the great persecution the church went through under 10 Roman emperors. The second was the rise of many dangerous heresies that caused enormous damage. These two movements really affected the church, and for some reason, their eyes were no longer on the imminent return of Jesus in the Rapture. It did not seem to be a priority to most.

I have often wondered why that happened. Perhaps just trying to survive took up their attention. Maybe heresies were too overpowering, but as time progressed, the Rapture was put on the back burner.

One of the most pressing heresies concerned the Person of Jesus Christ, and Arianism was dangerous. Jesus was not God manifest in the flesh, they claim. This Council of church leaders was convened to work out this problem, and it came up with the Nicene Creed. It is not my purpose this time to discuss that Creed except for one part. Note that there were some additions to this Creed with further Councils.

This is the part I want to look at:

And he ascended to heaven
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
HE WILL COME AGAIN WITH GLORY
TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
His kingdom will never end.

The ENTIRETY of biblical eschatology is contained in those 13 English words I capitalized. It is utterly deficient, and it could even be strongly considered as erroneous. There is an absolute omission of the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the glorious position of Israel that occupied earlier believers (Romans 10, 11; Thessalonians; Revelation). Unfortunately, people came to accept that Creed as scripture itself and believed that was biblical teaching and what would happen.

[D]. THE APOSTLES CREED

There were so many Creeds doing the rounds in those early days, and it is believed the Apostles Creed began around 450 A.D. and took a couple of centuries to become established. I will not pursue that. Today, many of the traditional churches hold to this Creed, memorize it, and cite it in some services. It is substantially the same as the Nicene Creed.

The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
FROM THERE HE WILL COME TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

Churches and people religiously adhere to the substance of the Creeds, even if individuals are not aware of it. That is the battle we face when trying to get the Rapture message over. Of course, there are other reasons, such as unconverted people in the pulpits and the whole socialist reform agenda in churches, a lack of genuine biblical examination, and the abhorrent neglect of Old Testament Scriptures if we bring Israel into the discussion.

THE MODERN VERSION OF THE APOSTLES CREED

In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has produced a new version of the Apostles Creed. Our relevant portion is this:

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. HE WILL COME AGAIN IN GLORY TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, and his kingdom will have no end.

“If it is not in the creed, then it is not in the Bible!” – unfortunately, that is the internal teaching that these Creeds promote, and it is a curse on biblical prophecy. Hence my title.

The glorious hope is destroyed by the Apostles’ Creed. We have an uphill battle trying to establish the correct prophetic and eschatological positions of the Bible. Those who attend Second Coming and Prophetic Teaching meetings and conferences are the “converted.” Somehow we need to reach the great church numbers who are ignorant of this scriptural teaching.

[E]. WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST:

What is moving through the contemporary church in these days? Maybe I can give three quotes that sadly find more acceptance among churchgoers than they would have in previous generations.

QUOTE 1 – from Joshes Riviera: “In this, the Rapture has become a new uniquely American fear and a uniquely American hope. It’s both a widely known bit of Christian mythology – religious and secular pop culture alike have frequently depicted some manner of supernatural event that would cause many to suddenly disappear from the earth – and the controversial often-misunderstood topic of theology. It’s a fairy tale used to frighten children and a lullaby for grown adults, including my own parents. I’m no longer waiting for the Rapture, and yet I see it everywhere.”

Once you begin disparaging something, the trend tends to catch on. I fear this is happening.

QUOTE 2 – Parnell Weathers, basketball coach: “If you are a Christian and you read your Bible regularly, you will come to the conclusion that there is no Rapture in the Bible! There will be a lot of Pentecostals and some Baptists that will disagree because they had grown up with that doctrine, and they won’t read the Bible for themselves, always taking man’s false teachings over the inspired word of God!

{John 14:15 “Jesus said if you love me you’ll keep My commandments!”} {Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says unto Me ‘Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he that does the will of my Father!”} The book of Revelation is filled with so much figurative language that you have to really dig deep to understand its meanings. Revelation can be summed up in two words: “GOD WINS!” Will you let God win today and obey his commandments? The choice is yours to make.”

So much of that reveals the growing ignorance in Christian circles, and ignorance used by the failure of Bible Seminaries/Colleges to teach the truth, and the increasing laxity of churchgoers to thirst after the truth.

QUOTE 3 – Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research: “Most people want their pastor to preach about the book of Revelation and the end of the world,” he said. “But that’s a complicated task. Pastors and the scholars they cite often disagree about how the end times will unfold.”

I guess what he is saying is that you leave sleeping dogs lie, and if some are likely to disagree, then don’t go near it. Just maintain the status quo. The Rapture to that writer is a hot potato.

[F]. MAYBE THE GREATEST CHANGE AWAY FROM PRE-TRIBULATIONISM AND PRE-MILLENNIALISM

One of the most prominent figures in the history of the Christian Church is Augustine. This part biography is taken from Britannica:-

Augustine was born 13 November, 354, at Tagaste, Numidia (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) and died 28 August, 430 at Hippo Regius (now Annaba, Algeria), and was the bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430, one of the Latin Fathers of the Church and perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after Paul. Augustine’s adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological system of great power and lasting influence. His numerous written works, the most important of which are Confessions (c. 400) and The City of God (c. 413–426), SHAPED THE PRACTICE OF BIBLICAL EXEGESIS and helped lay the foundation for much of medieval and modern Christian thought. In Roman Catholicism he is formally recognized as a doctor of the church.

In spite of everything he did, Augustine is responsible for the mess we are in regarding biblical prophecy. He rejected the literalness of much of scripture and applied allegory and spiritualizing to wipe prophecies away, making them symbolic. Augustine was hugely influenced by Platonic philosophy.

Medieval scholar, Dorothy deF. Abrahamse further explains the situation when she notes, “Augustine had declared that the Revelation of John was to be interpreted symbolically rather than literally, and, for most of the Middle Ages, Church Councils and theologians considered only abstract eschatology to be acceptable speculation.”

She goes on to observe, “Since the nineteenth century, however, historians have recognised that literal apocalypses did continue to circulate in the medieval world and that they played a fundamental role in the creation of important strains of thought and legend.”

Consistent with this conclusion, several important instances of pre-tribulational thought have come to light in recent years. The following quote is from “The Rapture In Twenty Centuries of Biblical Interpretation” by James F. Stitzinger, Associate Professor of Historical Theology:

Stitzinger summed it up this way – “The period between Augustine and the Renaissance was largely dominated by Augustine’s understanding of the church, and his spiritualisation of the Millennium as the reign of Christ in the saints. There were only “sporadic discussions here and there of a literal, future Millennium,” making examples of pre-tribulationalism very rare.”

It will always be a paradox how some men can be so good in the Church yet create such a bad problem as well. Augustine was one of these. No doubt he held rigidly to the Creed statement – HE WILL COME AGAIN WITH GLORY TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

[G]. STATISTICS–NOT ALWAYS THE GOSPEL TRUTH

STATISTICS–HOW ACCURATE ARE THEY?

With all statistics, they are to be taken as a guide. Some may be slanted one way or another, and the polling may not have been done scientifically. However, they are a guide, as mentioned. Let me clarify that almost all surveys are done in the USA as other nations just are not interested in doing a survey on Christian/religious things, or they don’t have the capabilities. These numbers from the USA are higher than in other nations. For example, in Australia, you’d be doing well if you got 10% of churchgoers who believe in a Rapture. One problem with statistics and polling is there can be quite a variance in the results.

NUMBER 1:

** Out of the 1,000 senior Protestant pastors surveyed, only one-third (36%) believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture where Christians disappear at the start of the Apocalypse and those left behind suffer tribulation.

** 36% of pastors say the Rapture is not literal, while almost 1 in five believe the Rapture happens after the tribulation – (18%).

** “End times theology is popular with churchgoers, but it is not an easy topic to preach about.” Scott McConnell, Vice president of LifeWay Research, explained. (From CBN)

** A large number of evangelical pastors do not believe in the Rapture. “This was a finding after our survey was conducted recently in the USA. This post is an excerpt of the survey as reported by the Christian Broadcasting Network.”

** End times theology is wavering in the Christian church, and a large number of Protestant pastors believe there is no Rapture.

** Whether Pre-tribulation or post-Rapture, a new study by LifeWay Research reveals that pinning down the details of the Apocalypse among a group of pastors is hard to do.

** Although the scriptures make it clear that Jesus is coming back, research has found varying views on three aspects of end-time theology: the Rapture, the Antichrist, and the Millennial kingdom.

** While it is difficult to pinpoint an exact percentage, a 2011 Pew Research Centre report indicated that 6 in 10 evangelical leaders believe in the Rapture, and a 2022 survey found that 47% of Christians believe we’re living in the end times, including majorities in historically Black and evangelical Protestant traditions.

[H]. BACK TO THE CREEDS

One problem with our lives is that things tend to get compartmentalized, and this can happen easily with Creeds, doctrinal statements, and statements of belief. They narrow the full picture because they are not inclusive.

That is the reason why the Rapture (Pre-tribulation) does not have a large support base, and even that is weakening. The Creeds have become our enemy, if you understand what I am saying – the enemy of prophetic eschatology. The Creeds suppress, even abolish, the correct understanding of the pre-eminent Rapture and become the mainstream teaching adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and left unchanged by the Reformers – very sadly.

I was reading last night Thomas Ice’s comment about the early church and its Rapture stance. Although I downloaded what I needed from the Internet, I feel sure it is probably on RaptureReady. I know there is a section dedicated to him. He is very good and helpful. Also, the papers on the Rapture Studies by James F. Stitzinger, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, are excellent.

[I]. A RAPTURE POEM. I will close this article with a poem of mine – A Rapture Poem:

HE COMES FOR ME – THE BLESSED HOPE – HE COMES FOR ME

By Jesus Christ my soul is owned.
Lift up your eyes to God enthroned.
I come to Him as his dear child,
Now spotless white, but once defiled.

To His presence the door is mine;
Communion sweet that’s so divine.
To You my eyes are lifted up,
Away from earth that is corrupt.

We wait for Him to shout the call;
To call the dead to stand up tall;
To change us all before His face;
The ones who have been saved by grace.

He comes for me, to take me where
All is lovely and all is fair.
The Lord Himself will come for me.
Then His glorious face I’ll see.

O, come, Lord Jesus, come to take
Your precious Bride for your Name’s sake.
The Blesse’d hope The Rapture is,
The blood-bought reward that is His.

R E Ferguson 12 February 2023 8-8-8-8

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