DR. EARL D. RADMACHER

DR. EARL D. RADMACHER

"Therefore we ought to give the

more earnest heed to the things which

we have heard, lest at any time we

should let them slip" --Hebrews 2:1

Miles J. Stanford

March 1996

DR. EARL D. RADMACHER is Chancellor of the Conservative Baptist Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is also President of Western Seminary Phoenix, in Arizona. Of the five professors on the adjunct faculty of the latter, two of them are: Dr. Gary Smalley, with his Psychology of Matriarchy, and Dr. Lloyd E. Kwast, of Biola-Talbot, who has a demon deliverance "Power Encounter" ministry.

The primary purpose of this Paper is to reluctantly reveal Dr. Radmacher's dispensational breakdown, and his erroneous buildup of teaching concerning the Rapture and the Bema. In this day when a strong dispensational stand upon the rightly divided Word of truth is so needed, many of the most trusted dispensational leaders are failing in their responsibility to the Body of Christ.

Dr. Radmacher seems to have developed a penchant for promoting and sharing books and other material that are detrimental to Dispensationalism, and hence to the Body as well. First we will look at what he is advocating concerning the Rapture and the Bema. (It is going to require patience on your part to thread through this labyrinth.) Back in August of 1990, Dr. Radmacher wrote to me as follows:

Have you come across the writings of Dr. Alden L. Chitwood, of Norman, Oklahoma? He has an organization called "The Lamp Broadcast, Inc." He is one of the few people doing any serious writing today on the ongoing implications of the judgment seat of Christ. He made some very helpful material available to me by A. Edwin Wilson.

It is my opinion that if many of the Lordship Salvation writers would get their heads straightened around on God’s use of rewards as a motivation for moving on to maturity in Christ, they would not need to garble the Gospel as they are doing so horribly.

Two men from a previous generation also did considerable writing in the area, namely, G.H. Lang, and Robert Govett.

We will touch upon three aspects of these paragraphs: (1) The writings of Dr. Chitwood; (2) Dr. Radmacher's statement: "rewards as a motivation for moving on to maturity in Christ"; (3) His recommendation of Drs. Wilson, Lang, and Govett.

(1) In a subsequent letter to me Dr. Chitwood wrote:

I visited a church where our friend, Dr. Radmacher, was speaking. He seemed to be setting forth some of the issues I was dealing with--what I refer to as "the word of the kingdom," from Matthew 13.

Later I was given copies of his four-part series on Hebrews 12:1,2. His messages on the passage were instrumental in my writing a three-part series for my periodical Heavenly Calling, now in book form, titled Run To Win.

Dr. Chitwood kindly shared this book and several others of his, including copies of his periodical. Let us see just what Dr. Radmacher considers to be "serious writing concerning the on-going implications of the judgment seat of Christ." In his periodical Heavenly Calling (July, 1990, p. 2), Dr. Chitwood wrote:

In Hebrews 12:1,2, the thought is that of failing in the race of faith, and, as a consequence, failing to realize the goal of our calling. In each instance the goal is the same--coming into the position of co-heir with the One who has been appointed heir of all things.

However, positions of this nature with Christ in the kingdom are not to be entered into merely on the basis of one’s eternal salvation. These positions are to be earned by those who will ultimately occupy them. It is one thing to be a child of God, saved forever; but it is quite another thing to be a son of God who will ascend the kingdom throne with Christ (Aug. ‘90, p. 3).

In his Judgment Seat of Christ, Dr. Chitwood gives frightening examples of just where this contemporary Bema trend is leading:

Christians are to put that which is vile, corrupt, associated with sin out of their lives for one complete period--the duration of the Christian life (p. 9).

Failing in the present race of faith (1 Cor. 9:24-27), a Christian will be disapproved at the judgment seat. He will have failed to overcome, be victorious; and, failing in this manner, he will lose his soul (p. 64).

"Outer darkness" as referred to in the Parable of the Householder (Matt. 24:45-51) and the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) is the place which will be occupied by those Christians failing in the present race of faith. This is the same as Jude’s use of "darkness" (vs. 13).

Those Christians cast into outer darkness see the kingdom; they appear at the marriage festivities; and they are servants of the Lord who, at one time, were in possession of the Lord’s goods and in a position to inherit as joint-heirs with Christ in His kingdom (p. 173).

In his book titled Jude, Dr. Chitwood continues his "outer darkness" theme for Christians:

Apostate Christians described in Jude 12,13 will occupy no position with Christ in the kingdom. These are the same ones who previously, prior to the establishment of the kingdom, will have found themselves in "outer darkness" during the time of the wedding festivities. The thought of darkness is used in Jude to describe the continual condition of those Christians in the kingdom itself (p. 48).

Finally, in his book titled What Time Is It?, Dr. Chitwood presents more of the same sad devastation of the Lord's Beloved Bride:

Christ, upon His judgment seat, will reject those Christians who are shown to lack works of a nature resulting in fruit-bearing. They will have failed in their calling as household servants and be disapproved (1 Cor. 9:27; James 1:12).

They will not be allowed to ascend the throne with Christ and rule over the nations. Instead, Christ will do exactly as He has stated. He will spew (vomit) them out of His mouth, showing not only their rejection but also His attitude toward their prior unfaithfulness (p. 23).

So much for the attitude of Drs. Chitwood and Radmacher concerning the believer's position in Christ--the position in which he was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and placed the day he was saved, fully accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:4; 2:6; 1:6).

(2) Dr. Radmacher's statement: "rewards as a motivation for moving on to maturity in Christ." He said the same thing in the Foreword that he wrote for Dr. Joseph C. Dillow's book, The Reign of the Servant Kings--which is the same as the Chitwood material:

Although a Christian can never lose his justification salvation, there are dimensions of glorification salvation that may be lost or gained if we take seriously passages such as Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 3:15, 2 Corinthians 5:10, and 2 John 7,8.

The danger of loss is real and to be taken with appropriate fear and reverence in light of eternal implications. The opportunity of rewards, on the other hand, with its glories of ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ in His coming kingdom, is presented in the Scriptures as a great motivation for holy living in the present [emphasis ours] (p. xiii).

The proper motivation for spiritual growth and maturity is not fear of loss of rewards, but rather the motivation of life. It is centered in the Lord Jesus in reliance upon the Spirit of Christ, resulting in the fruit of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 2:19; 3:1-3).

(3) Dr. Radmacher's recommendation of such writers as Drs. Wilson, Lang, and Govett.

A friend wrote recently that Dr. Radmacher held meetings at his church for a weekend. He brought with him to promote and sell numerous cartons of books by Lang and Govett. I refrain from mentioning how many cartons, for fear of straining your credulity!

Dr. John F. Walvoord, in his book The Rapture Question, mentions these writers:

The modern theory of partial rapture seems to have originated in the writings of Robert Govett, who published a book setting forth the theory as early as 1853 (Entrance Into the Kingdom). In this book he expounds his view that participation in the kingdom is conditional and depends upon worthy conduct.

The most able exponent of this split-rapture teaching in the twentieth century is G.H. Lang (The Revelation of Jesus Christ; Firstborn Sons: Their Rights and Risks). Another was D.M. Panton, editor of The Dawn magazine (London) (pp. 105,106).

Many others have succumbed to the partial rapture error, including G.H. Pember, A. Edwin Wilson, J.A. Seiss, Edward Irving, T. Austin-Sparks, and Watchman Nee.

All of the "overcomer" movements (many are charismatic) either split the Rapture, or split the Bema--as Chitwood, Radmacher, Dillon, et al. Either way, for them, if you fail to "overcome," you will surely be undercut! As one has well said about them, "Partial rapturists expect to be taken up in ‘bunches,’ I but I have never met one yet who did not expect to be taken up in the first bunch!" See you later!

G.H. Lang (1874-1959), in his autobiography titled An Ordered Life, gives evidence of charismatic disorder:

When some good brethren assert that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are not now available, nor intended to be so, I differ, for it is certain that I was granted the gift of "discerning of spirits" (1 Cor. 12:10) (p. 75).

At this time there came often a young man, a Copt. He was sincerely desirous of salvation, but mourned that he could not believe, greatly as he longed to do so.

It occurred to me quite suddenly to ask if he had had any contact with spiritism. He replied that his brother was a medium and that he often attended the seances. He, by going on to the Devil’s territory, had given opportunity to an evil spirit to grip and suspend his faculty of faith.

Was he sincerely willing to be relieved of his bondage? He affirmed emphatically that this was fully his desire; he longed to trust in Christ. By the authority of Jesus I commanded the spirit to depart from its victim, and forthwith he became a definite believer, and went on his way rejoicing (p. 166).

All of these demon deliverance "stories" end with the typical, "And they lived happily ever after."

I told the young lady that the Bible gave an explanation of her case, but that it was sorrowful and humiliating. James 3:14,15 says that where bitter jealousy is found it is earthly, soulical, yea, demoniacal; and that in some way, no doubt unrecognized by her, she must have given access to a demon to infest her with this evil feeling.

I then pressed upon her that, if she would humbly accept this as God’s explanation of the matter, she should claim such a promise as 1 John 3:8, "To this end was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil." With bitter tears she bowed before God, claiming the promised deliverance, and was set free immediately and permanently (p. 107).

The basis of all charismatic error is ignorance concerning the Holy Spirit:

Though a believer in Christ as my Saviour, I was not yet indwelt by the Spirit. I had been well taught in the truth of redemption and pardon, but no such instruction as to the Holy Spirit as Indweller and Sanctifier, and I had not received Him by faith (p. 31).

God gives His Spirit to them that obey Him (Acts 5:37), that is, to those who do truly purpose to give to Christ the position which God has given Him, those who in reality "crown Him Lord of all" (p. 246).

Another letter came from Dr. Radmacher in early September, 1990, in which he said:

With respect to your statement: "Complete separation between Israel and the Church is the only scriptural principle," 1 think one needs to carefully think through the implications of such a principle. One could conclude that they have nothing in common and that would certainly be untrue to the Scripture and would not be true to what Chafer taught, either.

For example, anyone who has ever been saved has been saved by grace through faith. Many years ago Dr. Chester Wooding did an excellent dissertation at Dallas entitled "Grace in the Mosaic Covenant." It went a long way toward clarifying the similarities as well as the distinctions between Israel and the Church.

Dr. Radmacher does not seem to realize that the common means of salvation, grace through faith, produces very uncommon salvations, clearly distinct from each other.

The Gentile nations will have salvation by grace through faith, and will inhabit the earthly kingdom during the Millennium and throughout Eternity. But the salvation of these Gentile people, subject to and servants of Israel, will not be on a comparable level with Israel’s salvation.

The nation of Israel will be saved by grace through sight (Rom. 11:26; Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7). But they also will be outside of Christ and His Rapture-completed Body, subject to the King and His Bride, the glorified Church.

The Church, i.e., her members in particular, are saved by grace through faith. Church salvation is heavenly and totally incomparable. "[God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6,7).

Members of His Body are in Him, and He in them. They are recreated (not just regenerated for the earthly kingdom, Matthew 19:28) in Him, partakers of His human-divine Life; of His flesh and bones, one spirit and co-heirs with Him; and soon to have glorified bodies like unto His glorious body--totally conformed to His image.

With his letter Dr. Radmacher included class material by Dr. Robert R. Cook. Dr. Cook received his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and had been Professor of Biblical Theology at Dr. Radmacher's Western Seminary for 25 years. He also served as Academic Dean for 17 years. Dr. Cook's dispensational stand, or lack of same, is characterized by the following examples, from his class notes entitled ''B. School of Hermeneutical Theology."

There is the dispensationalist’s zeal to maintain a distinction between Israel and the Church, which distinction, up to a point, I believe to be valid [emphasis ours] (p. 39).

Both Israel and the Church may trace their enjoyment of God’s blessing to the same source—God’s promise to Abraham (p. 40). The strong implication is that there is but one covenant and that both groups are beneficiaries of it. This is true because both Israel and the Church are anticipated in God’s pledge to Abraham long ago (p. 48).

The Church was "anticipated" a little longer ago than that! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world..." (Eph. 2:3,4).

It seems wholly tenuous to maintain that the Church has a future that is totally distinct from other glorified saints. That she may continue as a distinct group of believers as a part of the larger whole seems entirely reasonable, but to separate her from the blessing enjoyed by other saints seems to be biblically unwarranted (p. 40).

Thus we may conclude that the bride, the Lord’s wife, is composed of glorified saints of the church and the Tribulation periods, at least, and probably of all previous ages as well (p. 43).

This favorite theologian of Dr. Radmacher's is adding those outside of Christ to a Body that began experientially at Pentecost and was completed at the Rapture!

Later in September of 1990 Dr. Radmacher wrote to me again, this time enclosing a copy of his 1979 Paper entitled "The Current Status of Dispensationalism and Its Eschatology." In this Paper he quoted from Dr. Cook's book, The Theology of John (Moody Press):

Contrary to some dispensational teaching, which makes a firm distinction between Israel as God’s earthly people and the Church as God’s heavenly people, which distinction is to be maintained throughout eternity, the biblical evidence seems to show a progressive blurring of such distinctions as history moves toward its climax (emphasis ours).

Both Drs. Cook's and Radmacher's theological vision concerning the Church is blurred from beginning to end.

Notwithstanding the dispensational breakdown of these and most other dispensational leaders, the Pauline principle still stands: Complete separation between Israel and the Church is the only scriptural principle.

"Study to show thyself approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).

PS. Any "outer darkness" would be completely dispelled by the presence of a single glorified saint.

MJStanford

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(Materials by Miles J. Stanford are republished here under exclusive permission from the author.)