The Covenant With Noah
We believe that the different covenants of the Old Testament are, in fact, only different revelations of the one covenant of grace. If the covenant is everlasting, there can be only one covenant (Gen. 17:7).
In each of these revelations, God showed something new and wonderful about His covenant of grace. Thus in the first revelation of the covenant to Adam, God showed that his covenant was a covenant of friendship.
After Adam, the next great revelation of the covenant was to Noah. In that revelation of His covenant, God showed its universal character, that the covenant would embrace the whole of the world he had created. The covenant, you see, is made not only with man, but also with “every living creature of all flesh” (Gen. 9:15). It is a covenant with the day and with the night (Jer. 33:20, 25). The universality of God’s covenant, therefore, is not a universality that embraces all things or all men without exception, but it does embrace all things without distinction, so that in the end, all kinds of created things will be renewed and represented in the new heavens and earth.
That covenant is well symbolized by the rainbow as it arches over the whole of God’s creation. It is a covenant that will finally be consummated in the new heavens and new earth. It is a covenant in which even the creature “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21).
That revelation of the covenant was given in the days of Noah because it was then that God destroyed the earth. He made it clear, however, both in His judgments and in the covenant with Noah, that the destruction of the earth then or in the future would not be the end of the earth, but only its cleansing and the beginning of its renewal. It will be the same at the end when God destroys this present world with fire.
This, we believe, is one of the reasons why the Bible, in speaking of God’s purpose, speaks of the world (the cosmos) (John 1:29; John 3:16–17). The whole of God’s world finally will be redeemed and saved, though not every single creature or person.
This must be so. God will not allow His purposes to come to nothing. He will not allow man, by his sin, to steal away from Him the world that He created for His own glory. He saves His world.
All of this is very important in understanding a passage like Isaiah 11. Reading such a passage, many conclude that there will be a future earthly kingdom before Christ’s return in which some of the effects of sin will be overcome, but Scripture promises no such thing. It is speaking of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness will dwell—a kingdom in which the wolf will indeed dwell with the lamb, a kingdom in which “the creature itself also shall be delivered … into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Isa. 11:6; Rom. 8:21). What a glorious day that will be! Rev. Ron Hanko
The Authority of Key Power (1)
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).
As one of our readers points out, this same passage appears in very similar form elsewhere in the gospel narratives (cf. Matt. 18:18; John 20:23). The reader asks for an explanation of the passage in light of the claims of the Romish Church.
We must be sure, first of all, that we understand what is meant by “binding” and “loosing.” The Reformation creeds correctly teach that this power refers to Christian discipline, which Christ gives to the Church.
The Westminster Confession states: “To these [church] officers the keys of the kingdom of heaven are committed; by virtue whereof, they have power respectively to retain and remit sins; to shut that kingdom against the impenitent, both by the Word and censures; and to open it unto penitent sinners, by the ministry of the gospel; and by absolution from censures, as occasion shall require” (WCF 30:2).
The Heidelberg Catechism treats this question beautifully. It asks: “What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? The preaching of the holy gospel, and Christian discipline, or excommunication out of the Christian church; by these two the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers, and shut against unbelievers” (Q. & A. 83).
There are two additional questions and answers which we cannot quote here, but which are worth consulting. Thus, there are two keys of the kingdom: the preaching of the gospel and the exercise of Christian discipline.
A few observations about these keys should be made. The expression “keys of the kingdom” is a metaphor. It pictures the kingdom of heaven as a walled city with great gates that can be opened and shut. The King of that city is Christ, for the kingdom of heaven is emphatically heavenly. It is not an earthly city in any sense.
Christ has entrusted the keys of that city to His servants, insofar as the kingdom is manifested on earth in the church. This is not surprising, for the church has the calling to gather the citizens of the kingdom from the nations and prepare them for heaven.
The gates of that city must be opened and closed for four reasons. 1) Some citizens of the kingdom are born outside the city and must be brought in; for this the gates are opened. 2) Some, though not citizens, attempt to enter; for this the gates are closed. 3) Some born within the city prove not to be true citizens; when this becomes evident, they must be led out and put outside. 4) Some true citizens, still sinful, are tempted to leave because of the lure of the world; they must be restrained and the gates kept shut so that they do not depart.
These two keys—the preaching of the gospel and the exercise of Christian discipline—correspond to two of the marks of the true church: the pure preaching of the gospel and the exercise of discipline according to the word of Christ. This is important, for article 29 of the Belgic Confession, in describing the true and false church, teaches that the Romish Church no longer preaches the pure word of God and persecutes God’s people instead of exercising the keys of the kingdom. Rome is therefore the false church.
It must also be remembered that only Christ Himself truly exercises the keys of the kingdom. Only He knows who are citizens of that kingdom. Only He brings into the kingdom and casts out. Though the church is called to perform this work, it is Christ who performs it through the church.
This is suggested in the text by a more literal rendering: “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” The church does on earth what Christ has already done in heaven.
At the same time, what the church does on earth is truly done in heaven. It is not tentative, nor subject to revision. According to Christ’s words, what is done on earth is indeed done in heaven. In that sense, the church cannot err in the exercise of the keys.
This requires some explanation. The church cannot err when she faithfully preaches the gospel as it is contained in the Scriptures. But when she departs from the truth and proclaims something other than the gospel, her preaching no longer functions in its key power. History bears this out. A church that does not faithfully preach the truth will soon cease to exercise discipline, and the ungodly will remain within her.
It is also true that those who have been cut off from the church sometimes return. This does not mean that the church erred. It means that she carried out her calling faithfully by excluding the impenitent. If Christ later grants repentance, such a person is restored. Yet the excommunication was real, for during that time the person was, as far as his life and experience were concerned, outside the church and outside the kingdom. Christ in heaven confirms what the church binds on earth.
All this does not yet address the difference between Rome and us, but that must be reserved for a future discussion. Prof. Herman Hanko
Will We Recognize Loved Ones in Heaven?
One of our readers has asked: “Do we assuredly recognize our loved ones who are now ‘with the Lord?” This is not an easy question to answer.
We believe that there is some evidence in Scripture that we shall know not only family members and friends in heaven, but other saints as well. The evidence, however, is not conclusive.
What evidence is there that we will recognize others?
It is found in those instances in Scripture where someone appeared from beyond the grave. Of these, there are especially four: the appearance of Samuel to Saul (I Sam. 28:7-20), the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-3; Mark 9:2-4; Luke 9:28-31), the appearance of those whose bodies were raised at the time of Jesus’ death (Matt. 27:52, 53) and the appearances of Jesus Himself after His resurrection (Luke 24:13-43; John 20:14-29; I Cor. 15:5-8).
At different times, therefore, Samuel appears to have been recognized by Saul, the disciples evidently recognized Moses and Elijah and on several occasions the disciples recognized the Lord after His resurrection.
There are, however, difficulties in drawing firm conclusions from these passages. The appearance of Samuel is so unusual that it is difficult even to determine exactly what took place, and therefore difficult to draw conclusions from it. Likewise, in the case of those who appeared after Jesus’ death, Scripture does not say that they were recognized. In the case of Moses and Elijah, we are not told how the disciples knew them.
The fact that Jesus was usually recognized in His resurrection body does lend some support to the idea that we shall recognize others. Yet even here there were instances in which His own disciples did not at first know Him (cf. Luke 24:16; John 20:14; John 21:4). Moreover, these were appearances—God making visible to earthly eyes what is ordinarily unseen—and it appears that the form of these appearances was not identical in every case.
We must remember, however, that in heaven the relationships of this present life will no longer remain. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 22:30: “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” He also showed this on the cross, when He entrusted His mother to John, saying to her, “Woman, behold thy son!” and to John, “Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26-27), thereby indicating that earthly relationships are severed by death.
We should also remember that Scripture tells us very little about what heaven is like and what the life of heaven will be. This is for two reasons: 1) because heavenly things are things that “neither have entered into the heart of man” to comprehend (I Cor. 2:9), and 2) to direct our attention to the one thing that truly matters, namely, that we shall see and know God and be with Christ.
Thus, the question whether we shall recognize our loved ones in heaven is of secondary importance. The great reality of heaven is God Himself and our fellowship with Him. That is the blessedness, the joy, and the wonder of heaven, and it is for this reason above all that the believer desires to go there and longs for the day when he shall be taken there (Phil. 1:21-23). Rev. Ron Hanko
