SCRIPTURAL TEACHING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23514, 31 May 1938, Page 7

SCRIPTURAL TEACHING

IO nill EDITOR .

Sir, —The words of “De Facto ' are like the words of Pastor Bradley himself, ano I would thank him for his courteous and benevolent reply to my letter oi protest against the pastor’s teaching that during the millennium the earth will be depopulated—i.e.. the just will oe translated to the clouds and slay moll (I was not .n any way sneering riiy repeating as briefly as possible the speaker’s expressions) while all the remaining living persons on earth would be slain by God’s wiath. I have gone carefully through every point of his reply, and asked myself: " Can 1 be wrong, and Pastor Liadley right but am even more cer.ain now. having searched the Scriptures which he quoted, that his teach ing in the above matter is radically wrong. Again and again in the prophetic writings there are many and varied refeiences to the glorious conditions for man, beast, and plant that will pertain during the millennial period, when right and not might will prevail.

But “ De Facto' goes further in his reply, and twists the same Twentieth Revelation into another strange teach ing. He writes that “ the wicked following their resurrection at the end of the 1000 years will attempt to take the Holy City.” How fantastic thai an army of ghosts should carry bombs and other warlike things with which to destroy Jerusalem! Actually the Book reads. “ When the 'IOOO years are expired Satan will go and deceive the nations on earth to gather them to battle.’’ It does not say the people who have just come out of their graves,

nor does it infer such a thing in this verse or in any context. In his second letter (Friday’s issue) “De Facto,” quoting 2 Thess. ii. 8 as confirming his contention that all the wicked will be destroyed at the brightness of His Coming, forgets that the word “ wicked ” used as a noun is the same both singular and plural. _ Paul is speaking of one “ man of sin ” who claims to be equal with God; the same who in Revelation is styled the false prophet. The text is clear: “ wicked ” is printed in capitals—i.e.. Mr Wicked, not all wicked people. “ Berean,” who also replied, would more correctly have signed himself “Athenian,” for he worships an unknown god who fails at his first attempt. These are his words: “ The earth is to be remade or cast again into its Edenic perfection.” Evidently he is quoting Rev. xxi, 1 to suit his theory. He is grossly guilty of falling into Pastor Bradley’s error of appropriating Jeremiah’s prophecy of the deserted condition of Palestine after the Babylonian onslaught, to the condition of the whole earth during the millennium. “ Berean ” is quite wrong in stating that those who proclaim Christ’s early return will bring in the golden era and also proclaim at the same time that every one then alive will be automatically “ saved.” They do nothing of the sort. (Some single freak individual may do so.) It is clear that man must still earn his own salvation as always, but Pastor Bradley and his disciples will never succeed in making saints by inventing the alternative threat of being slam ' tomorrow ” if their followers do not mend.—I am, etc., G. Steel.

[This correspondence is closed. —Ed 0.D.T.l