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The Responsibility of Being a Parent

by Charles Boshart

Parental responsibility seems to resolve itself into two fundamental duties: 1) Teaching, 2) Providing. Parents must regard themselves as teachers. This is God’s assignment.

Genesis 18:19 says of Abraham, “For I have known him to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah…”

Moses said to the Israelites regarding the words he had commanded, “…and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

In 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul writes to Timothy saying that he is “reminded of the unfeigned faith that” was “in” him “which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in thee also.” He later stated, “But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings…” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).

Fathers must “nurture” their children “in the chastening and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). And children must be given the opportunity to “forsake not the law of” their “mother” (Proverbs 1:8).

Parents are teachers and if anyone is not mature enough to teach children, he/she is not mature enough to have children. “Parenting” (the current fad trend) calls for more than the ability to reproduce.

But, in order to be a teacher, one must be an open-minded learner and observer. “Christians” are, after all “disciples” (Acts 11:26) and they are to be carefully observant of their children. Proverbs 22:6 had previously stated, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The phrase “in the way he should go” is alternately given in the ASV footnote, “conformably to his way,” i.e., the training or instruction “ought to regulate itself according to the stage of life, and its peculiarities; the method ought to be arranged according to the degree of development which the mental and bodily life of the youth has arrived at” (Keil, Commentary… Book of Proverbs, Vol. II., pp. 86-87).

Parents must also regard themselves as providers. This, too, is God’s assignment. Parenthood has time and energy demands that change one’s life dramatically. And these changes concern the well-being of someone else.

Parents should provide a strong marriage for their children. Otherwise, they will contribute to their insecurity. “Wives” should “be in subjection unto” their “own husbands as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22) and “Husbands” should “love” their “wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for

it…” (Ephesians 5:25). A marriage should be strong before there are children. Children should not be brought into the world in order to make a weak and faltering marriage strong. This is an adult responsibility not a child’s.

Parents should provide for the physical needs of their children. 1 Timothy 5:8 states, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially they of his own household, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Parents should provide an atmosphere that contributes to the developing and maturing of their children. This will call for, among other things, love. “Let all that ye do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). There should be an atmosphere of accountability. Parents should show they respect “what” “Jehovah” “doth” “require of” them (Micah 6:8). Parents should work to create an active learning atmosphere as they “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). And this will result in an atmosphere of dedication to spirituality.

Parents cannot do it all. Children have their part also (see Ephesians 6:1-3). And children can be failures too. But parents have the responsibility of teaching and providing. This is God’s assignment and the children’s need

Jesus is Coming Back!

by Jeff Curtis

The “battle of Armageddon”! The “rapture”! The “thousand-year reign of Christ on earth”! The “AD 70 doctrine”!

As many hear of the end of time, they hear about…

The Battle of Armageddon. The final battle depicted in Revelation is a spiritual one, not a physical conflict. The enemies of Christ have no power against Him. They cannot be victorious against Christ and His mighty angels (Rev. 19). The word “Armageddon” has become like the names “Waterloo” and “Pearl Harbor,” representing far more than a place. “Armageddon” is associated with the overthrow of a great evil; but in Revelation it represents the overthrow of the great persecutor of the church in the first century, the Roman Empire.

The Rapture. As for the rapture of the church, nothing in the Bible is like what premillennialism describes. In 1Thessalonians 4:14-16, Paul was giving encouragement to the Christians on Thessalonica who feared that their dead loved ones would miss the Lord’s return. These souls would not be forgotten, but would be raised with imperishable bodies to meet the Lord in the air.

The Thousand-year Reign. What about the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth? Notice what the passage from Revelation 20:4-6 doesn’t say. It doesn’t mention Christ’s reigning on earth, on the throne of David, or in Jerusalem; and it doesn’t tell when His reign was to begin or end. It is describing the reign of the martyrs who died in the Roman persecution of the church; “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4). Where was this taking place? In heaven (Rev. 20:1). The length of Christ’s reign is never mentioned; the text only talks about how long the martyrs’ reign with Him was to last.

The AD 70 Doctrine. Preterism (A.D. 70 Doctrine) holds that the nature of the kingdom is spiritual, that it was established in 70 A.D., and that Christ’s reign will be eternal. The second coming of Christ occurred in 70 A.D. and was for the purpose of destroying Jerusalem, bringing judgment upon the Jewish nation, and establishing the kingdom. The end of the world also occurred in 70 A.D., but was not a total destruction of the world; instead, it was a destruction of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. All prophecies of Scripture have been fulfilled.

The A.D. 70 doctrine brings together all "end time" prophecies and focuses them on the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. It also makes all prophecy in both Testaments fulfilled in the destruction of the city in A.D. 70. One of the ways to see what Max R King taught is to simply read some of the propositions in debate. King affirmed, "Jesus and the eternal kingdom came in power in A.D. 70 rather than A.D. 33." Joe Taylor denied the proposition. During the Nichols-King Debate two broad propositions were discussed. King affirmed for two nights that, "The Holy Scriptures teach that the second coming of Christ included the establishment of the eternal kingdom, the day of judgment, the end of the world, and the resurrection of the dead, occurred with the fall of Judaism in A.D. 70."

Any person who teaches such a heresy as the 70 A.D. doctrine, and any church that supports them will answer for their actions in the Day of Judgment. Paul said, "Note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them." (Romans 16:17)

The end of the world is coming, but “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt.24:36). Christ will return “like a thief” (2Peter 3:10). When He returns in the clouds of heaven (He will never set foot on earth again), this world will be completely destroyed (2Peter 3:10-12). These events will happen one day. The important thing for us is to “keep watching and praying” (Matt. 26:41) and be ready for the Lord to come.

What does the Bible say about a physical battle of Armageddon, the rapture, the thousand-year reign, and AD 70 Doctrine? The answer is nothing! The Bible does mention a battle at Armageddon, but it nothing like the one described by would-be prophets (Rev. 16:16; 19:11-21). People will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven- but this is not a rapturing of the church before some “great tribulation” (1Thess. 4:13-18). The idea of an earthly thousand-year reign by Christ is based on an incorrect interpretation of Revelation 20:4-6.