Lux Lucet

“At the same moment that Jesus is being proclaimed king of Israel by the multitudes on Earth, the seventh trumpet is sounding in Heaven by an angel and a multitude of voices cry out, ‘the kingdoms of this world…’ And while there is all this noisy praise that is going on to Jesus Christ in Heaven there is all this noisy praise with the loud hosannas that is occurring at the triumphal entry on Earth. The proclamation in Heaven is accompanied with loud voices and peals of thunder. And it’s here that the heavenly and earthly scenes begin to merge…” – Steve Carpenter comparing the events of John 12 with the events of Revelation 12 during Session 4 of the January 2006 Unlocking Revelation II Conference.

When I was researching my book about Knox Seminary, one of the stranger teachings I discovered in the John-Revelation Project (JRP) – a series of “study papers” apparently co-authored by Knox Adjunct Lecturer Steve Carpenter – was its assertion that both the Gospel of John and Revelation tell the same story but from different perspectives. In other words, the authors of the JRP would have us believe that the events that take place in John are the very same events that take place in Revelation, but that John gives the earthly perspective, and Revelation the heavenly perspective on these events.

The Steve Carpenter citation at the top of this post is from a seminar that was held at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in January 2006 and was used as a forum to present material from the JRP to the general public. This, however, is not the only time that the authors of the JRP – whose leader, Warren Gage, is Dean of Faculty at Knox Seminary – have made this assertion. In JRP Study Paper Number One they wrote,

Taken together, the Fourth Gospel and Revelation constitute a literary diptych…the two books of John offer a spatial horizon depicting the creative struggle of Jesus both from the perspective of Earth (John) and of Heaven (Revelation)…

The Fourth Gospel’s Joshua typology largely tracks the account of the conquest of Canaan, beginning with the crossing of the Jordan and depicting two campaigns, one in the south (Judea) and one in the north (Galilee). The climactic battle involves the struggle of Jesus as the True Joshua against the confederated enemies of God, led by Jerusalem. This epic struggle occurs, from one perspective, on Earth, depicted in the Gospel of John. Revelation portrays the same struggle from the perspective of Heaven. – The Knox Seminary Faculty, JRP Study Paper No. 1, (2006); quoted in Steven T. Matthews, Imagining a Vain Thing, (Trinity Foundation, 2008), 42. Italics added.

This statement suggests that the JRP authors, Steve Carpenter among them, are Full Preterists, those who assert that all eschatological events in Revelation have already been fulfilled. I say this, because, if the authors believe that all the events in the book of John have already taken place, and John and Revelation tell the same story, by good and necessary inference the JRPers must believe that all the events in Revelation already have taken place. But the JRP authors inconsistently reject Full Preterism, claiming that there are certain passages in Revelation that pertain only to the future.

Perhaps, though, the KTS crew isn’t inconsistent at all, but instead mean to suggest something quite different. In fact, if they insist that John and Revelation tell the same story and, furthermore, that some events in Revelation have not yet taken place, what they clearly imply by this that some events in the Gospel of John have not yet taken place.

Houston, we have a problem.

And a problem of such a nature as to require no extended refutation. But I’m certainly curious, if this is their position, and based on their own words it must be, what events in John do Gage and Carpenter think have not yet occurred? The miracle at Cana? The Crucifixion? The Resurrection? I’m dying to hear their explanation, but for five long years they’ve been oddly silent on this matter. If any KTS students happen to read this article, perhaps you could do me a favor and take this up with Carpenter and Gage the next time you’re in their class. They’re smart guys, so I’m sure they’ll be glad to take your question and provide you with a clear, logical answer. And please fill me in. I’d love to hear what they have to say.

A third option open to the JRPers is to say that some of the Gospel of John and some of the Book of Revelation tell the same story, and some of the material in the two books does not so correspond. But this would seriously undermine their overall argument about the connection between John and Revelation and be tantamount to an admission of hermeneutical failure.

Of course, there’s at least one other option open to Gage and his buddies such as Steve Carpenter who helped develop and support the JRP: they could give it up and confess their sins. They could admit that they’re wrong about hermeneutics, wrong about typology, and wrong about Revelation. They could stop trying to overthrow the Reformation, stop hiring heretics at KTS, and stop teaching nonsense. Furthermore, they could publically repudiate the JRP, disavow all past and current classroom teaching based upon it, ask God to forgive them for misapplying, misinterpreting and perverting his Word, tender their resignations, and apologize to all former members of the board and faculty of KTS who were either forced out or fired due to their actions as well as to those who resigned their positions in protest. Last but certainly not least, they could implore the forgiveness of the many students whose minds they have confused, whose faith they have jeopardized, and whose precious time and money they have wasted by their nonsensical, counter confessional, and unbiblical teaching. This is certainly their best option, for as the Scriptures say, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God has forgiven me much. If the JRPers but ask, God will forgive them too.

And while I’d very much like to see that happen, I doubt it will.

Certainly nothing in the behavior of the KTS crowd suggests a change of heart is in the offing. The situation at Knox was a mess four years ago when I first emailed John Robbins about it. He wrote me back saying that he knew about the JRP, was considering writing a paper on it himself, and thought it was some of the most bizarre stuff he’d ever seen. Coming from John Robbins, that’s saying a lot, for Dr. Robbins spent over thirty years refuting the shockingly absurd nonsense that passes for sound scholarship in much of the Reformed world. But as bad as it was then, it’s gotten progressively worse since to the point where KTS has become the Bizarro World of Reformed seminaries. And those who run the show in Fort Lauderdale have shown no sign of repentance – in the Bible repentance is a mental act, a change of mind – but instead have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks, preferring to continue in their lies rather than admit they’re wrong. With a faculty that now boasts such luminaries as Warren Gage, John Armstrong, Steve Carpenter, Peter Leithart, and Bruce six-literal-day-creationists-are-an-embarrassment-to-the-church Waltke, I imagine Knox Seminary’s slide into apostasy is a terminal case in the advanced stages. For the sake of Jesus Christ and for his church, I pray the Knox Seminary farce would come to a quick end.