His Truth Is Marching On: Advanced Studies on Prophecy in the Light of History [Paperback]

Ralph Woodrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1977

At His first coming, Jesus said the kingdom was at hand. Did he then "postpone" the kingdom because the Jews rejected Him? Do the Scriptures teach a Jewish-type millennium when God will turn back to animal sacrifices in a Jerusalem temple? Presents reasons for believing a "fulfilled" view regarding Joel's prophecy, the 144,000, the coming of Elijah, and Ezekiel 38. Also discusses the error of setting dates for the return of Christ--1844, 1914, etc.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"His Truth is Marching On!" is a wonderful book.... How much needed such a book is for Christians today who are so confused in the area of Bible prophecy! I am really enthusiastic about the book.... Keep up the good work!" -- Newport, Delaware

"I have read your 'His Truth is Marching On.' Brother, I was thrilled through and through. You did an excellent job...." -- Harrisonburg, Virginia

"I thought I would take a little time out to write you and tell you just how much my husband and I are being blessed by reading your books. Your studies on prophecy have been a startling eye opener.... We both feel that the Lord has anointed you with an understanding beyond most teachers, pastors, and evangelists. May God continually bless you and your ministry." -- Ohio

"It has been several years since I first read your fascinating book. I saw my "Scofield Theology" systematically chopped to pieces. At first I was threatened, but then I began to see through the fog into the marvelous reality of the kingdom of God here and now. Thank you so much for being a catalyst of the Holy Spirit." -- Australia

"Woodrow you are confused.... I am rooted and grounded in the truth as it is in Christ Jesus! You are mixed up, not making a distinction between the resurrected saints in heaven and the earthly people in the millennial kingdom on earth. Please see the New Scofield Bible.... In the millennial kingdom on earth the Jews will marry and have children, sacrifices will be offered in the future for the Jews from the tribulation. You are wrong when you say that Revelation 20 does not mention a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem...I have a great teacher, the Spirit of God." -- Ohio

From the Author

Back in 1961 I was holding revival meetings at a church in Porterville, California. The pastor gave me a book, "The Mission of the Messiah," by H. C. Heffren, he had bought some time before at a used bookstore in San Francisco. "This guy is really off," he told me. "I was just getting ready to throw the book away, but thought you might like to look at it."

When I first read the book, I was prone to think the same. I believed the time at which Christ would set up his kingdom would be his Second Coming. But Heffren said the mission of the Messiah was to set up the kingdom at his first coming! He quoted the words of Jesus in Mark 1:15: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand"! This was at the first coming of Christ-2,000 years ago!

Eventually, I came to see this verse could not be ignored. If Christ did indeed set up the kingdom at His first coming, this placed the whole subject of the kingdom in a different light. To believe otherwise would require ascribing to the "postponement" theory-that when Christ came he intended to set up his kingdom, but because the Jews rejected him as king, he went to the cross, postponing his kingdom until his Second Coming.

Heffren was not as far off as imagined. His teaching about Christ's kingdom being spiritual in nature and a present reality was scriptural. It was the "postponement" theory that was unscriptural. Even John, on the isle of Patmos-suffering "tribulation"-could say he was, then and there, "in the kingdom of Christ" (Rev. 1:9). This was in the first century! He knew nothing about a "postponed' kingdom.

Later I would meet Henry Heffren-in the late 70s-at a three-day Prophetic Conference at Glen Eyrie (Colorado Springs) where he and I were both speakers. In the area of the famed Garden of the Gods, this is a lovely place with its streams, neatly manicured lawns where deer roam among the trees, and a central building-a castle built years ago by a wealthy newspaper man.

One day as we sat on the castle steps visiting, Pastor Heffren was amused when I pulled out the old copy of his book that had nearly gone into the trash can. The copy I had, being published in the 40s, included a picture of a much younger Henry Heffren! He was a Canadian; but his mother, I learned, had once lived in Riverside, California, not far from where my mother lives. We only met the one time-he has passed on now-but I recall him fondly.

From reading Heffren's book and others-as well as my own studies in the Scriptures-I began to recognize principles of interpretation that I had previously overlooked. Vitally important questions were these: How did Jesus and the writers of the New Testament interpret the Old Testament? Did they use the so-called "literal" method, or did they understand many of the Old Testament passages as having a greater and deeper "spiritual" meaning?

Thinking only in terms of Christ setting up his kingdom at His Second Coming, I supposed that upon his return he would reign in Jerusalem, that people from all over the world would go there to worship, etc. But once I came to realize this teaching is not even "hinted" at in the New Testament, how valid or major could it be as a doctrine? Jesus himself totally discounted the idea that men would need to go to Jerusalem to worship (Jn. 4:21-24).

Jesus said something else that put a different slant on how we interpret Old Testament passages: In the age to come, following the resurrection, he explained, people do not marry (Lk. 20:34, 36). Yet the closing portion of Ezekiel, commonly taken to describe a "Millennial Temple" of the future, speaks of priests who serve in that temple getting married (Ezek. 44:22, 25). According to Jesus, this could not refer to the age to come.

Something else: If Ezekiel was describing marriage in an age after the resurrection-why would he say a priest was not to marry a widow, unless she was the widow of a priest? If this was after the resurrection, she would no longer be a widow!

I noticed also that some Old Testament passages that supposedly referred to the time of the second coming of Christ, in context, had people in various nations depending on primitive forms of transportation: riding horses, mules, and camels! -hardly a picture of modern times!

Some of the Old Testament passages we supposed taught a Jewish type millennium at Jerusalem, also included animal sacrifices (Zech. 14:21). In the light of the New Testament, Christ is the final and perfect sacrifice in God's program (Heb. 10:12). The age to come, then, cannot be a time when God goes backwards-to such things as animal sacrifices in a rebuilt Jerusalem temple. This would be religion in reverse.

Ultimately these studies became the basis for my book HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON published in 1977. In 1996 I spent considerable time going through this book, preparing a new edition, scanning pages into the computer for new type, proof-reading, etc. As I did this, I had to rejoice-these grand truths are just as real and vital today as they were in 1977!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 119 pages
• Publisher: Ralph Woodrow (October 1, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916938034
• ISBN-13: 978-0916938031
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Prophecies

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, June 27, 2007

By 

Waltraud M. Kutz "mari" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: His Truth Is Marching On: Advanced Studies on Prophecy in the Light of History (Paperback)

An unusual view of eschatology comming from an Evangelical, but very well documented and causes the reader to open up and think, study and listen. Profoundly provocative, and revealing.