Vol 66 Issue 13

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Congregational Activities I thank Bethel P.R.C. in Elk Grove, IL for supplying the following information. On March 29, 1990 Bethel P.R.C. will have completed its first year of existence. It is with great joy and humble gratitude to God that she can report a year of rich blessing. First, they are thankful that it was God’s will that their missionary pastor might become their pastor. It has meant much to all, but especially to the new elders and deacons, that Pastor Ronald Van Overloop continued to labor...

THE NATIONS, ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH IN PROPHECY, by John F. Walvoord; Zondervan Publishing, 1988; 497 pp. (no price available) (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko) The author of this book is the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, the leading Seminary in pre-millennial thought. The book was originally published as three books: “The Nations In Prophecy,” Israel in Prophecy,” and “The Church in Prophecy.” These three books are now published in one volume by Zondervan. The first book, “The Nations in Prophecy,” gives a brief summary of the whole history of the world from the viewpoint of the prophetic writings...

Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Although it is true that “to err is human,” this statement is a truth with which the unbelieving sinner agrees. However, it makes a world of difference whether by the words “to err” you mean sinning against God, or simply doing something of which your fellow men do not approve. To err can simply mean to make a mistake in your writing or typing, for which you need an eraser then in order to put down the correct spelling. Besides, although it is true that to err is human,...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Why a Teacher Shortage? Because of a teacher-shortage problem the League of Canadian Reformed School Societies in Ontario commissioned a study “to examine those factors which influence men and women to enter into and to remain in, the teaching profession in our schools.” The results of this study are interesting indeed! The study found that the teachers have a “deep commitment to teaching in a Christian manner and setting, but that there are some major obstacles to having a true sense of satisfaction while performing this demanding task.”...

Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. The biblical teaching about Antichrist, who will come in place of Christ and against Christ, is that he will be both a political and an ecclesiastical power. His reign of terror for the people of God will be a reign over both the “church” and the “world.” One horrible result of the reign of the Antichrist will be a persecution of God’s people. Even though some do not believe that there will be a great persecution (some postmillennialists) and others believe that, although there will be a...

Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. A reader from Burnie, Tasmania asks whether the speaking in tongues in I Corinthians 12 and I Corinthians 14 is the same as in Acts 2. This is a very interesting question. Before Christ’s ascension into heaven, Jesus promised His disciples that “they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17). Here Jesus speaks of “new tongues” in distinction from the Hebrew spoken by the church of the old dispensation and still by the disciples in Jesus’ time. This obviously refers to the speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost....

Response to “The ‘Other Side’ of Postmillennialism” There are a couple of misunderstandings which ought, perhaps, to be cleared up before I enter the substance of Rev. Jones’ article. The purpose of my article was not to refute the error of postmillennialism by means of a thorough exegetical study. If Rev. Jones is interested in such a refutation, he may consult an article I wrote earlier for an Officebearers’ Conference and which was subsequently published in the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal. The purpose of this article was to demonstrate that the biblical position, sometimes called “the Amillennial position,” is not a...

On March 6, one hundred men and women gathered in South Holland, Illinois for a day-long conference on preaching. The conference was arranged by a committee of Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches in connection with the spring meeting of Classis in South Holland the next day. Classis West and its committee—Rev. Ron Cammenga and Rev. Ron Hanko—deserve the thanks of those who attended for a profitable, well-structured conference. The theme of the conference was expressed in the keynote address: “Preaching in the Reformed Tradition.” The structure of the conference was different from that of similar conferences in the...

The covenant is not a contract consisting of the mutual obligations of God and the believer. Although earthly marriage includes the mutual duties of husband and wife, these duties do not define the marriage. Marriage is not the duties, but the one-flesh union. The covenant is not a treaty (much less a treaty modeled after the profane Canaanite treaties), any more than the relation between a believing father and his children is a treaty. Nor is the covenant a promise, although God establishes the covenant with His people by promise. Ezekiel 16:8 clearly distinguishes between the promise by which the covenant is...

Rev. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;...