A Warning about Rob Bell's False Doctrine

Rob Bell is pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan (not affiliated with Mars Hill Church in Seattle).  He's has been described as a "rock star" among evangelical pastors.  Not sure how many of you are reading any of Rob Bell's stuff, but his new book is #5 on Amazon.com right now, so here's a needed warning from Paul McCain's Cyberbrethren blog.

With apologies to those who who think I’m grinding a bit of an axe here, about Rob Bell, I’m going to mention him again. Lutherans who are somewhat sheltered from what’s going on in American Evangelicalism may not be aware of how significant Rob Bell’s influence has been on American Evangelical “emerging church” type thought, which has found its way into many Lutheran pastor’s studies. Rob Bell’s videos known as “Nooma” videos have been used because, well, they are cool and different and have a certain edgy modern appearance to them. But Rob Bell is a false teacher, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and we need keep in mind that often people in this position are not even aware of it themselves. His latest book is now out and is being soundly condemned and critiqued by any number of key American evangelicals. 

Here is a review that I found particularly helpful.

Excerpt:

Bell begins the book with surprising forthrightness: Jesus’ story has been hijacked by a number of different stories that Jesus has no interest in telling. “The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.” (Preface, vi)

"A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better…. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear." (ibid)

You may want to read that again.

It really says that. And it really means what you think it means. Though it takes time for that to become clear.

"The End is Near" (November newsletter article)

“The End is Near.” So says the proverbial sandwich board sign carried by the unkempt man wandering the streets of downtown … not to mention the hundreds of other prognosticators who have come down the pike over the years. The so-called Christian networks on television are rife with false prophets proclaiming their visions of what is to come. Now the internet and YouTube have made it easy for anyone to upload their wacky proclamations and bizarre interpretations of the Bible and claim to be the latest in a long line of “End Times Prophets.”

Our first reaction may be to laugh at these individuals and mock them for their foolishness. Perhaps a better response would be to pray for them … for the ones who are mentally ill that they would receive help, for the ones who are deceived that they would learn the truth, and for the shysters that they would repent of their hypocrisy and greedy deception.

Besides, the sandwich board sign guy is actually right. “The End” IS near. We must be prepared. Every second that ticks off of the clock is another second closer to the Last Day that is promised in the Bible, with all of its fire and wrath and judgment (see, for example, Matt. 25:41; Rom. 2:5; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:5-10; Heb. 10:26-27; 2 Pet. 3:7-12). And every beat of the “ticker” inside each of us means we are drawing closer to our own personal end … that is, if in death our souls are taken to heaven before the Last Day comes and wait to be reunited with our buried bodies in the resurrection of all flesh (1 Cor. 15:51-57; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Our Church Year calendar winds down to its end in November. As it does so, we are reminded that “The End is Near.” The assigned Scripture readings remind us about the culmination of all human history, the visible return of the Lord Jesus, and the final judgment promised in Scripture. This theme of the Second Coming of Jesus also overlaps with Advent, the beginning of a new Church Year, even as we consider the meaning of the First Coming of Jesus at Christmas.

We begin the month by celebrating All Saints’ Day on the first Sunday of November (transferred from November 1). On this day we give thanks for the mercy and grace God showed to the departed during their lives here on earth, most importantly for giving them faith in their Savior Jesus. At the same time, we look forward to the day when we will be reunited with them in the resurrection of all flesh when Jesus returns.

Unlike the prognosticators, we do not make any predictions as to when Jesus will return. After all, he made it clear that “you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13). Therefore, Jesus gave us plenty of instructions about the importance of being prepared (Matt. 24:42, 44; 25:13; Mark 13:33-37; Luke 12:35-40). The apostles of our Lord did so, too (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:1-6; 1 Pet. 4:7-11; 2 Pet. 3:8-13).

St. Peter concludes his second epistle with these words: “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these [the new heavens and the new earth mentioned in the previous verse], be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Pet. 3:14) How do we do this? Not by our own efforts. Apart from Christ, we are soiled and stained by sin and at war with God. The return of Jesus fills us with fear, because we know we have disobeyed his commandments and offended his holiness. But in Christ, we are washed clean and are at peace with God. Now, we can await “The End” with joyful anticipation. Our diligence consists in this: in remembering our baptismal identity as those who have been united to Christ’s saving death and resurrection (Rom. 6) … in regularly hearing the word of absolution that declares the forgiveness of sins to us which is “just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself” (Small Catechism) … and coming often to the Table of the Lord where we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ for forgiveness, life, and salvation. These are all God’s Gospel gifts to the Church, the Bride of Christ. And on the Last Day, when Jesus our Bridegroom returns and the eternal wedding banquet begins (Rev. 21:2, 9), he will indeed “present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

And then, “The End” will only be “The Beginning” of eternity.

In Christ’s service and yours,
Pastor Onken

Cartoon HT:  David Sipress, The Phoenix

"The End is Near": November Newsletter Article

[Note: Some of this material appeared in a previous post, but wanted to share it again as it appears in this month's church newsletter. Plus, today's "9 to 5" comic at the left is a perfect complement.]

The End is Near!

You've seen the stereotypical image … a long-haired, shabby looking fellow, walking around the city streets wearing a sandwich board that reads, “THE END IS NEAR!” … people walking by, going about their business, shaking their heads at someone who is probably either a mentally disturbed individual or an extreme religious fanatic.

Yet every so often, there are predictions made about when “the end” of the world will be. That happened recently as the year 2000 approached. Currently, there's some unrest surrounding the year 2012. Part of the anxiety is due to the fact that the ancient Mayan calendar mysteriously ends in 2012. The poems of the 16th Century prognosticator Nostradamus have now been interpreted to predict some big events happening in 2012, as well … a comet striking the earth, the beginning of World War III, things like that. And contributing to the doomsday mania is a movie which is set to be released this month entitled … you guessed it, “2012.”

When you look around at our world today, you might come to the conclusion that “The End is Near!” Wars and the threats of war, earthquakes, famines, natural disasters, irrational rulers threatening to annihilate their enemies, not to mention our own nation's fragile economy … well, it's enough to make a person want to order a backyard bunker kit from a survivalist website.

People have been making predictions for centuries about when the end of the world would come. This is nothing new. But the dates have come and gone, and we're still here. I have a feeling that the same thing is going to happen with 2012, in spite of what the Mayan calendar says. Having said that, however, it's also true that Jesus could return in the next 5 minutes, if he so chooses. At that point, 2012 would be a moot point. In Matthew 24 Jesus speaks about his Second Coming, and he says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Over these last few weeks of the Church Year, we will hear more about our Lord's promises about his return and about the “Last Things” of which Scripture teaches.

I'll put my trust in Christ's words, not the words of any mere man or Mayan or mystic of the Middle Ages. We know Jesus is coming back. We don't know when. We are simply to be prepared by trusting in his work at the cross for us. And hearing his Word weekly with fellow believers and receiving his Body and Blood regularly is certainly good medicine to have that faith strengthened.

Helpful comment re: 90 Minutes in Heaven

Here's what my friend Jim Pierce commented over on the Wittenberg Trail about my review of 90 Minutes in Heaven:

I think the story of Lazarus and the Rich man holds a key biblical insight on this topic.

"And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’" —Luke 16:24-26 ESV

Jesus is pretty clear in pointing out that those who "pass from here" are not able to come back over once they have died. I don't see any way around our Lord's words. So, I think you are correct with your assessment that such stories are explained physiologically and/or psychologically. Since the soul may not "cross over" once it is in heaven, or hell, then that must mean this man didn't really die and we must find another explanation for his experience.

Thanks, Jim! Good stuff!

90 Minutes in Heaven … But How Do I Get There?

I just finished reading 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. It tells the story of a Baptist pastor who dies in a car accident, supposedly goes to heaven, and comes back again to tell the story.

It's not easy to argue about the subjective, personal experiences that people have, especially when they seem so real to the person who had those experiences. Piper himself admits that he is skeptical about the near-death experiences that some people have had. Yet, he asserts that he “knows” that he really went to heaven. My firm belief is that all near-death experiences can be explained physiologically and psychologically. I base that on the information in another book I have read entitled If I Should Wake Before I Die: The Biblical and Medical Truth about Near-Death Experiences, by H. Leon Greene. Greene is a cardiologist and professor of medicine who is also a Christian.

It is necessary to always judge everything we hear on the basis of Holy Scripture. When we do so with Piper's book, there are some things that make me uncomfortable.

For example, Piper tells about his friend Dick who happens upon the scene of the accident. As the story goes, God tells Dick to go pray for the dead man in the car. “Dick prayed me back to earth,” Piper asserts. However, nowhere are we told in Scripture that we are to pray for the dead. Certainly, we read accounts in the Bible of the prophets, the apostles, and our Lord himself raising people from the dead. But it is doubtful whether prayer for the dead is something that is approved of by virture of those accounts.

Piper's description of heaven is similar in some ways to St. John's vision in Revelation. However, the bulk of the book is a description of his recovery from the accident and the suffering he endured. I don't mean to downplay Piper's suffering. I'm sure it was a painful and depressing process. He writes of the ways in which the story of his recovery has been encouraging to others, and I can see how that would be the case. He also describes the diligent prayer and compassionate care that was offered on his behalf by so many people during his recovery. That part of the story is indeed inspiring.

Yet I was surprised that for all the talk about the author's suffering there was so little talk of Christ's suffering at the cross. Piper even says that during his time in heaven “[n]one of the hymns that filled the air were about Jesus' suffering and death. I heard no sad songs and instinctively knew that there are no sad songs in heaven.” Yet the vision that St. John saw and the hymns he heard are full of references to Christ's sacrifice: “I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6) … “you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God” (Rev. 5:9) … “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” (Rev. 5:12) … “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14) … “they have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 12:11). Piper assumes that hymns about Christ's death are sad songs, but those are instead truly joyful songs, for the death of Christ on behalf of sinners is the basis of our salvation.

What was also missing from the book was talk of the resurrection on the Last Day. The Bible has much more to say about the resurrection to eternal life for believers in Christ than it does about what heaven will be like. That is our Christian hope. Piper seems to place more emphasis on the reality of heaven than on the death and resurrection of Christ, and as a Christian pastor – even one who claims to have gone to heaven – you'd think he'd know better.

And that's my biggest beef with the book. Piper writes, “I now feel an urgency about helping people open their lives so they can be assured of going to heaven.” Yet he never quite gets around to telling people exactly how they can be assured of going to heaven. He does refer to Jesus as Savior, but a Savior from what? Christians who read this book can assume that the author means that Jesus is their Savior from “sin, death, and hell.” But non-Christians who read it (and as a New York Times bestseller you can bet many did) will not have a clear idea of why they need a Savior or how they can have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life from this Savior. I can only hope and pray that those who did read the book found their way to a church which clearly proclaims the Gospel message, something that 90 Minutes in Heaven fails to do.

So what's the big deal about 2012?

Evidently there's some unrest out there surrounding the year 2012. Part of the anxiety is due to the fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012. There are other factors contributing to the mania (you can read about some of them in the sites I've linked to below), not the least of which is a doomsday movie to be released later this year entitled...you guessed it, 2012.

A friend emailed me earlier with concerns over this, and here was my reply...

There have been all kinds of predictions over the years about when the end of the world would come. The dates have come and gone, and we're still here. I have a feeling that the same thing is going to happen with 2012, in spite of what the Mayan calendar says...although Jesus could return in the next 5 minutes, too, if he so chooses, then 2012 would be a moot point. In Matthew 24 Jesus is talking about his Second Coming, and he says, '“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." I'll put my trust in Christ's words, not the words of any mere man or Mayan. We know he's coming back. We don't know when. We are simply to be prepared by trusting in his work at the cross for us.

And hearing his Word weekly with fellow believers and receiving his Body and Blood regularly is certainly good medicine to have that faith strengthened.

Here are the links I mentioned...

Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse? (USAToday)

World to End in 2012: A Hoax Gone Too Far? (LiveScience)

And the following has an extensive list of questions and answers from NASA...

Nibiru and Doomsday 2012: Questions and Answers (NASA)