May 2010
Volume 5 #5
Wading River Baptist Church
P.O. Box 438, 1635 Wading River-Manorville Road, Wading River, NY 11792
(631) 929-3512; 929-6022
www.wrbc.us
The Rapture: the Imminent Return of Christ for His Church
Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to
spend part of an afternoon out on the boat
belonging to our brother Chris Hallstrom.
We launched the boat from Moriches Bay,
and it was not long before we realized that
there were seals swimming in the water.
However, the seals were not always visible.
Periodically their heads would pop up
above the surface of the water for a mo-
ment, but if we weren’t paying close atten-
tion—our eyes scanning the water around
the boat—such events could easily pass
unnoticed to us. Thus, in order to witness
the seals emerging from the water, we had
to watch carefully.
Many of us have had the experience of
waiting for a family member to return
home after a several-day absence. Perhaps
over the telephone this person assured you
that they would “be there soon,” but due to
uncertainty with the traffic or the weather
the exact time of their arrival was un-
known. In our eager anticipation, we be-
lieve that this loved one could arrive at any
moment. I remember as a boy when my
father was returning from a business trip, I
would stand in our family room staring out
of a window that offered a view down our
driveway. I understood that at any mo-
ment my father might return, and I was
watching for the headlights of his car which
would shine brightly in the nighttime dark-
ness of our small rural town.
We who are Christians know Someone
of supreme importance whose return we
should be watching diligently for: the Lord
Jesus Christ. According to Philippians
3:20, “our citizenship is in heaven, from
which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ.” Christians possess a
heavenly citizenship—“[we] are not of the
world, even as [Jesus Himself is] not of the
world” (Jn 17:16). In Titus 2:13, we are
told to be “looking for the blessed hope and
office@wrbc.us
the appearing of the glory of our great God
and Savior, Christ Jesus.” The promise of
our Lord’s return is found in God’s inspired
and inerrant Word, and thus we dare not
dismiss this reality lest we be caught un-
prepared. In the Book of Revelation, chap-
ter 22—the final chapter of the Bible—the
Lord Jesus declares three times that His
return would be soon: “And behold, I am
coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds
the words of the prophecy of this book” (v.
7); “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My
reward is with Me, to render to every man
according to what he has done” (v. 12);
“Yes, I am coming quickly” (v. 20).
The term we use for the return of the
Lord Jesus for His church is the Rapture.
The word rapture means to be caught up;
to be snatched up; to be taken or carried
away suddenly. At the Rapture, the Lord
Jesus will remove His church, which is
identified in Scripture as both His body
and His bride, from the world. We are told
in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that the Rapture will
be instantaneous; it will occur “in a mo-
ment, in the twinkling of an eye.” The Rap-
ture is what we refer to as an imminent
event. Gerald B. Stanton explains what we
mean by imminent in his book, Kept From
the Hour (1964): “As applied to the coming
of the Lord, imminency consists of three
things: (1) the certainty that He may come
at any moment, (2) the uncertainty of the
time of that arrival, and (3) the fact that no
prophesied event stands between the be-
liever and that hour. The purpose of such
imminency is that the Church may be in a
constant state of expectancy, always look-
ing for and waiting for the coming of her
Lord from heaven.”
Let us examine two passages from the
New Testament which teach important
truths about our Lord’s coming. The first
passage is John 14:1-3, which records the
words spoken by the Lord Jesus to His
disciples in the upper room on the night He
was betrayed. The second passage is 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18, wherein the Apostle
Paul explains the Rapture in greater detail.
First, we see that both the Lord Jesus
and Paul intended their words to be words
of comfort. Jesus opens with, “Do not let
your heart be troubled” (v. 1). He had just
predicted His own betrayal and had in-
formed His disciples that He would soon be
leaving them: “Little children, I am with
you a little while longer. You will seek Me;
and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to
you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’”
(Jn 13:33). Opening with comforting
words would also help His disciples to bear
the more difficult truths that He would
reveal, such as the world’s hatred of them
(Jn 15:18-19). Likewise, in the second pas-
sage, Paul concludes his thought with,
“Therefore comfort one another with these
words” (v. 18). Paul is seeking to console
those believers in Thessalonica who may
have been grieving over the death of Chris-
tian brethren and who themselves were
struggling with uncertainty.
Second, personal faith in Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior is required to be a par-
ticipant in the Rapture. Jesus says, “be-
lieve in God, believe also in Me” (v. 1). And
Paul writes, “For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring
with Him those who have fallen asleep in
Jesus” (v. 14). We have already seen that
the Rapture will occur suddenly; it will also
occur selectively. Those who have not re-
pented of their sin and believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ are not part of His body,
the church, and thus will be excluded from
this glorious meeting with Him—they will
remain on the earth to undergo seven years
of God’s judgment upon the earth, a period
known as the Tribulation. The Rapture will
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mark the conclusion of the present dispen-
sation of grace (also known as the church
age or the dispensation of the Spirit). That
believers will be spared from God’s wrath
poured out during the Tribulation is made
clear by the Apostle Paul when he com-
mends the Thessalonian Christians at the
beginning of his letter: “For they them-
selves report about us what kind of a recep-
tion we had with you, and how you turned
to God from idols to serve a living and true
God, and to wait for His Son from heaven,
whom He raised from the dead, that is Je-
sus, who rescues us from the wrath to
come” (1 Thess 1:9-10). Turning to Revela-
tion, the message to the church in Phila-
delphia also promises the pretribulational
coming of Christ to claim His church out of
the world: “Because you have kept the
word of My perseverance, I also will keep
you from the hour of testing, that hour
which is about to come upon the whole
world, to test those who dwell on the earth”
(Rev 3:10).
Third, both passages affirm the prom-
ise of Jesus’ return, and that we can rest
upon the authority of His Word. Jesus
spoke, “In my Father’s house are many
dwelling places; if it were not so, I would
have told you; for I go to prepare a place
for you. If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again” (vv. 2-3). Paul reminds
the Thessalonians that “this we say to you
by the word of the Lord” (v. 15)—this is not
merely one man’s fanciful speculation—
and then declares that “the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven” (v. 16).
Moreover, we discover that there will
be an extraordinary removal of Christians
from the earth. Paul writes, “Then we who
are alive and remain will be caught up to-
gether with [believers who died prior to
Christ’s return] in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air” (v. 17). Note the use of the
first person plural pronoun “we” by the
Apostle, reflecting his personal conviction
of the imminency of the Lord’s return.
According to Revelation 5:9, those who are
Missionaries of the Month – Mark and Charity Borisuk
Mark and Charity Borisuk and their four
daughters have returned to their mission
field in China after taking a 5-month leave
of absence that ended March 4, 2010. They
were here in the United States for a wed-
ding and the anniversary of one set of par-
ents. They also visited their supporting
churches, including the WRBC on Novem-
ber 15, 2009.
“Political correctness” takes on a
whole new meaning in their mission field
raptured from the earth will include “men
from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation” who were “purchased for God”
with the blood of the Lamb.
We find in the Old Testament an illus-
tration of this remarkable translation from
the earth that is promised for believers. In
Genesis 5, we find a man named Enoch; a
man who walked with God for 365 years.
To us that seems like a tremendous life-
span, but compared to the other men listed
in Genesis 5 it is rather short. The first
man, Adam, lived for 930 years; Adam’s
son, Seth, lived for 912 years; and Jared,
Enoch’s father, lived for 962 years. How-
ever, three words that appear eight times in
that chapter are conspicuously absent from
the description of Enoch. Those three
missing words are “and he died.” In Gene-
sis 5:24, we learn that something entirely
different happened to Enoch: “Enoch
walked with God; and he was not, for God
took him.” The manner of Enoch’s depar-
ture is elaborated upon in Hebrews 11:5-6:
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he
would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND
BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained
the witness that before his being taken up
he was pleasing to God. And without faith
it is impossible to please Him.”
Finally, both the Lord Jesus and the
Apostle Paul make the exhilarating prom-
ise that all of the believers from this age
who are ushered into the presence of Christ
at the Rapture can look forward to spend-
ing an eternity with Him. Jesus promised,
“I will come again and receive you to My-
self, that where I am, there you may be
also” (v. 3). After explaining to the Thessa-
lonians the meeting with the Lord Jesus
that will occur in the clouds, Paul writes:
“and so we shall always be with the Lord”
(v. 17). This will include reigning with
Christ in His future Kingdom (2 Tim 2:12).
How are we to live given the reality of
our Lord’s imminent return? The Apostle
Paul offered this prayer at the beginning of
his letter to the Philippians: “And this I
pray, that your love may abound still more
and more in real knowledge and all dis-
cernment, so that you may approve of the
things that are excellent, in order to be
sincere and blameless until the day of
Christ” (Phil 1:9-10). The Lord’s soon re-
turn should motivate our sanctification.
Sanctification is the ongoing process in
which those of us who have received Jesus
as Savior and Lord and have been indwelt
by the Holy Spirit become increasingly free
from sin and increasingly more like Christ.
In his first letter, the Apostle John states
that unless we abide in Christ, we risk be-
ing ashamed at His appearing: “Now, little
children, abide in Him, so that when He
appears, we may have confidence and not
shrink away from Him in shame at His
coming” (1 Jn 2:28). Three verses later, he
explains that all who truly hope in the
Lord’s coming will seek to live purely in
this world: “Beloved, now we are children
of God, and it has not appeared as yet what
we will be. We know that when He ap-
pears, we will be like Him, because we will
see Him just as He is. And everyone who
has this hope fixed on Him purifies him-
self, just as He is pure” (1 Jn 3:2-3).
Although Scripture teaches that Jesus’
return is imminent—which means He may
come at any moment—we must recognize
that it will not necessarily be immediate.
The church, which was born on the Day of
Pentecost in the year A. D. 30, is almost
2,000 years old. While we are to live each
day as if it just may be the day of our Lord’s
glorious appearing, we must at the same
time cultivate an attitude of patience as we
endure the trials of this life. The virtue of
patience is emphasized in the exhortation
of James 5:7-8: “Therefore be patient,
brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The
farmer waits for the precious produce of
the soil, being patient about it, until it gets
the early and late rains. You too be patient;
strengthen your hearts, for the coming of
the Lord is near.”
— Peter Albrecht
as they continue to translate and publish
material needed to communicate the Word
of God. The cost of translating and the cost
of getting the translations legalized are two
of their basic needs requiring our support
both financially and in prayer.
At the end of 2009, Mark signed a
contract with Zondervan, an evangelical
publishing company, allowing him to put
both the English and Chinese versions of
the Expositor’s Bible Commentary on the
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web as a freely accessible pastoral resource,
one that we pray will be widely utilized.
When the Borisuks were visiting the
WRBC, it was an opportunity to see the
four children (Grace, Elizabeth, Anna, and
Lydia) and how well adjusted they are to
accompanying their Mom and Dad on the
Getting Acquainted with Reeva Bellard
The Scriptures describe a virtuous woman
as trustworthy, focused, a diligent worker
in the home, a wise mentor to her children,
and one with a personal godliness through
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not surprising
that Reeva Bellard has chosen Proverbs 31
to cherish as one of her personal favorite
Scriptures, as it describes the virtuous
woman. Without a doubt, Reeva strives for
these qualities within her home because
“she looketh well to the ways of her house-
hold, and eateth not the bread of idleness”
(Prov 31:27, KJV). Reeva is one of the pil-
lars of her home as she provides a secure
and safe haven of love for her family.
At church she is most recognizable by
her musical talents. If you would listen
very carefully on a Sunday morning during
the worship service, Reeva’s voice is dis-
tinctively heard above the others as the
hymns are sung, encouraging others to
seek a higher level of worship in song. As
an accomplished pianist, she sometimes
fills in for George Ehmann on the organ or
for Marie Caputo on the piano at Senior
Saints. Quite often for the Sunday service
Reeva will sing a solo, or maybe a duet or
even a quartet with her family—not to for-
get her participation in the church choir.
At times, when needed, Reeva has even led
the choir.
But that is now. Back in 1944, Reeva
Bellard was born on November 19th in
Richmond Hill, Queens, NY to parents
John James Curley Jr. and Reeva Elizabeth
(Lawrence) Curley. Her father served in
the NYPD Mounted Police (MP) from
1942-1953 except for two years during WW
II when he was deployed to France and
served in the MP Corps. In 1953, he left
the NYPD, moving the family to Delhi in
upstate NY to become a dairy farmer.
Sadly, her Dad died at the young age of 41.
Reeva’s Mom was trained as a secre-
tary but left the workforce to raise their five
children. After Reeva’s Dad died, her Mom
returned to work at the SUNY campus in
Delhi. Her maternal grandmother had
been living with them which helped in the
transition of the family. Reeva’s mother
eventually remarried to a fine Christian
man by the name of David Clark. They
mission field. Continue in prayer for their
growth in the Lord and their safety as they
serve along side of their parents.
Correspondence is sometimes difficult
so we need to continue to trust the Lord for
their safety; their effectiveness there in
China; for all their outreaches and the ma-
have been married for 44 years and he is
still working at the age of 80 with his heavy
equipment business.
Reeva was the oldest of five children:
Glenn Curley (1948), Jane Curley Eustis
(1950), David Curley (1954), and Lynne
Curley Borow (1955).
Both of her parents were Christians
but because of her father’s demanding
work schedule with the NYPD, the family
did not attend church until they moved to
Delhi. Instead, her mother listened to sev-
eral fundamentally sound preachers on the
radio every Sunday morning. Her mother
liked to play hymns on the piano, and as a
result she taught Reeva to play hymns of
faith. Reeva took piano lessons for 3 years.
Reeva attended a Child Evangelism
Fellowship summer program while in
Richmond Hill, NY. It was at this time she
came to know the Lord and was saved.
When they moved to Delhi and began dairy
farming they began attending a non-
denominational church where her mother
became the pianist. The death of her father
at such a young age devastated Reeva, only
13 at the time, and it caused her to fall out
of fellowship. She became painfully mad at
God and held on to some of her dearest
memories of her father; her favorite when
he was finally able to spend Christmas with
the family beginning in 1953 just a few
years before his passing.
Shortly afterward, a classmate invited
Reeva back to church and within two years,
Reeva rededicated her life to the Lord and
was baptized by a pastor who would later
perform her marriage ceremony.
At the age of 14, Reeva began to recog-
nize her ability to sing and joined the
terials needed for the outreaches to be
maximized; and for a continual support to
meet all their financial needs. Pray that the
Word will reach the hearts of the people.
— Joan Tyska
mixed chorus as a tenor as well as the girls’
chorus at the Delaware Academy and Cen-
tral School. In contrast, it was at this time
she also realized that she absolutely de-
spised gym class and boldly admits to fail-
ing it. But to vindicate her, she graduated
from Delaware Academy and Central
School as their valedictorian in 1962.
Also attending the church of her
classmate was the Bellard family, a local
family she was acquainted with but
through fellowshipping with the family in
church became friends with the son and
daughter. The daughter’s horse brought a
bond of friendship to the two of them
whereas the son, Vic Bellard, brought a lot
more to their relationship as they began
dating and were married the following year
(1963).
Reeva’s employment history provides
a better understanding of her abilities and
accomplishments. She began her young
years working on farms, acquiring the skill
of milking a cow—both on the family farm
and other dairy farms. While her husband
was attending Cornell University in Ithaca,
NY, Reeva was a library assistant. In the
ensuing years, Reeva was an underwriting
service supervisor for an insurance com-
pany in Melville, NY. In between jobs a
daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, was born in
1973. After spending five years at home
and moving back to Cornell as Victor re-
turned to school, Reeva returned to work—
taking on two part-time jobs: one as a
rental agent and the other at H&R Block
preparing income taxes, with the latter
requiring tasks that she loved—math!
In 1980, the family returned to LI and
a son, Victor David, was born bringing
Reeva back into the home with another
year away from outside employment. As
inflation began to hit their household in
1981, Reeva began her sewing business—
sewing lots of window treatments and pil-
lows along with absolutely mountains of
mundane mending and hemming. After
twenty years, Reeva put the sewing ma-
chine away and retired from her successful
sewing business.
It is interesting to find a number of
pastors listed within her life’s history. Her
continued on page 4
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 continued from page 3
spiritual walk has been strengthened be-
cause of them and they remain a promi-
nent part of her history. These pastors—
Pastor Milas, Pastor Hoover, Pastor Frit-
jofson, Pastor Moran, and now Pastor
Glass—have made the Scriptures so very
real to Reeva and left her most grateful for
the continuity of her spiritual growth.
Throughout Reeva’s life, music has
played a prominent role. She has always
sang in the choirs of the churches that she
has attended. In 1994, when the music
director retired from the church she was
attending, she could not imagine a Christ-
mas season without a choir. So Reeva vol-
unteered—without any training—and be-
gan leading the choir, playing the piano for
the services and eventually she began play-
ing the organ after the previous organist
moved away.
Reeva and her family began attending
the WRBC in late spring of 2008. They
have always known about the WRBC from
its inception since many from the church
they previously attended, including their
son-in-law, became a part of the core mem-
“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking,
following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?
For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the
Recent events transpiring in our increas-
ingly chaotic world, and particularly those
unfolding in the United States of America
in the last two years, have drawn the atten-
tion of many conservative evangelicals to
the biblical passages regarding the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Peter
Albrecht’s lead article in this issue of The
Beacon). This is an enigmatic subject,
since we are told that His coming is immi-
nent, but in spite of repeated periods of
heightened expectation (for example, the
six-day war between Israel and her Arab
neighbors in 1967 comes immediately to
mind), He has not actually returned. Over
time, the temptation is to take the biblical
teaching concerning our Lord’s return for
granted, and to live without much expec-
tancy, not to mention without a sense of
urgency.
As a young man, I was reared in a Bap-
tist church that proudly owned the label
Fundamentalist, and in fact I still hold the
positions distinguishing that segment of
conservative evangelical Christianity. Even
more specifically, I was exposed to the
teachings of Premillennial Dispensational-
ism, teachings which I have continued to
study and through that study to refine
bership of the WRBC. They were familiar
with Pastor Glass’s expository preaching
style and found it quite natural to become a
part of the WRBC’s fellowship.
Reeva is quite diversified and family
oriented. Beyond her musical talents, we
see her for her skills domestically such as
knitting, crocheting, sewing, counted cross-
stitch embroidery and what she calls being
an indifferent cook. She likes to garden
and on occasion entertain friends in her
home. She thoroughly enjoys the fellow-
ship.
To relax, she likes
to take her basset
hound, Gibbs, for a
walk—especially in the
warm weather. She has
a bit of an addiction to jigsaw puzzles but
they must be at least 1000 pieces—you
know, the ones that are a little more diffi-
cult! She readily admits she likes to keep
up with her email correspondence with
friends that have moved away and on occa-
sion indulges in a few computer games.
“Where is the Promise?”
beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
somewhat, but teachings which half a cen-
tury later I still embrace and teach as bibli-
cal truth. Frequently, in Sunday School,
church worship, in evangelistic crusades,
and on Christian radio, I would hear these
precious old truths emphasized.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again,
literally and bodily, to catch away His
church in the Rapture. This Rapture will
initiate the events of the seven-year Tribu-
lation period, and the conclusion of the
Tribulation in the Battle of Armageddon
will witness the visible return of King Jesus
to inaugurate His literal Millennial (1000-
year) Kingdom on earth. At the completion
of that Kingdom, He will sit upon the Great
White Throne, judging the wicked, con-
demning them to eternal hell, and then the
New Jerusalem will appear, and eternity
will begin. To most of the preachers and
Bible scholars of the mid-twentieth cen-
tury, this was the clear teaching of the in-
spired Word of God.
Well, all except for the liberals. They
didn’t believe in an imminent coming of
the Lord Jesus, but then they didn’t believe
much else contained in the Bible either! So
that was no surprise. In my youth, I wasn’t
aware of the historic Reformed position on
Referring back to last month’s article
in The Beacon on Vic Bellard—there is a
connection between Vic and Reeva in the
strong commitment they have jointly in
providing for their families. The willing-
ness on Reeva’s part to open their home to
Vic’s mother between 1993 and 1997, and
now as they share their home with their
daughter and family, gives you an idea of
her generous heart in making family mem-
bers comfortable.
To sum it all up, Reeva is a most car-
ing, down-to-earth gal with a great sense of
humor. She is strong to adversity and will-
ingly will share yours as she carries another
of her favorite Scriptures within her heart:
“There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
(1 Cor 10:13, KJV).
— Joan Tyska
eschatology (Amillennialism). That’s be-
cause I didn’t know any evangelical Presby-
terians and had never even heard of the
Reformed Church.
A lot has changed in the intervening
half century. There has been a consider-
able shift in evangelical opinion on the
return of Christ; perhaps a better charac-
terization would be a “splintering.” I would
conjecture that the majority of evangelicals
over age 50 (including the remnant of
genuine fundamentalists) would still hold
to the premillennial pretribulationism in
which they were brought up. However,
certain trends have intervened to change
the landscape and challenge the traditional
view of biblical prophecy.
First, there has been the resurgence of
Reformed theology. This began in the
1960s and 1970s with the introduction of
Reformation and Puritan literature to a
new generation of pastors, but particularly
of theological students (I was a seminary
student during this time). First through
the influence of British pastor-writers, Dr.
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Iain
Murray, the Evangelical Library in London,
and then the Banner of Truth Trust, fol-
lowed by perhaps a dozen or so other pub-
continued on page 5 4
 continued from page 4
lishers, the great works of post-
Reformation Protestantism were repub-
lished. In the American South, where pre-
tribulationism saturated the fundamental
Baptist and many Pentecostal churches,
Ernest Reisinger spread the teaching of
Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Conven-
tion and its seminaries. By the 1990s, Re-
formed theology was thriving among
younger evangelical pastors and the emerg-
ing generation of young evangelical schol-
ars occupying faculty positions in Bible
colleges, evangelical universities, and
seminaries.
Reformed theology was not mono-
lithic. There were several threads of belief
with regard to eschatology (the theology of
“last things”). Those who held the Re-
formed position did agree on one thing,
however: premillennial dispensationalism,
with its teaching regarding a “secret” pre-
tribulational rapture, was a heresy emerg-
ing out of nineteenth-century Darbyism
and the slightly insane ministry of Edward
Irving in England. But let’s not forget,
when John Calvin came to lecture and
write on the Book of Revelation, he threw
up his hands, admitting he didn’t know
what it meant! At least he was honest. So
what were some of the other splinters?
Second, there was “Replacement The-
ology.” This splinter was a new term for an
old theology, what had heretofore been
called “amillennialism,” which character-
ized the broader Reformed position known
as Covenant Theology. This was the major-
ity opinion among the Puritans and a form
of it was also the historic position of the
Roman Catholic Church. Amillennialism is
the theology of the Lutherans, the Presby-
terians, the Reformed Church, the Congre-
gationalists, the Methodists, and some
Pentecostals (and maybe a few I’ve forgot-
ten to mention). There will be no millen-
nium, they say, because the Kingdom of
God (if it exists at all) is now. Christ rules
in the hearts of His people here on earth or
He rules His saints in heaven.
But forget any imminent rapture. It’s
not going to happen that way! We’re look-
ing for the end of the world, the second
coming of Christ, and heaven. Period.
Simple. End of story. Some evangelicals
within the last decade cooked up this new
name, “Replacement Theology,” meaning
that Israel’s distinct biblical position as
God’s covenant nation has been replaced
by the Christian church.
Third, there was a revived Postmil-
lennialism. In fact, some of the Puritans
were postmillennialists, believing that the
church’s responsibility was to bring about
the Kingdom of God through the conver-
sion of the world and the social ameliora-
tion of society. In other words, world con-
ditions would gradually improve (this was
actually theological Darwinism). “Bring
back the King,” was their motto, and it be-
came the watchword of the liberal Social
Gospel.
Although two world wars and the
Great Depression almost finished this the-
ology off, it experienced a revival among
some late twentieth-century thinkers, blos-
soming in the movement known as Chris-
tian Reconstructionism (also called
“Theonomy”). However, this movement,
largely the brainchild of Rousas Rush-
doony and his son-in-law, Gary North, isn’t
quite dead and buried yet. Theonomy said
that the key to building this kingdom of
righteousness is the imposition of biblical
law as the civil law of the nations. It postu-
lated that the coming of Christ could be
literally “millions” of years in the future!
As the twenty-first century dawned, this
movement was dying right along with some
of its primary apologists (who ironically
passed away as young men).
Fourth, there was Preterism. This
position, which also is not new but which
was held by very few evangelicals, has be-
gun to grow in popularity. Probably most
conspicuous among its advocates is Re-
formed apologist R. C. Sproul. Preterists
believe prophecy is all past (what?), that
the apocalyptic prophecies of Scripture
(especially the Book of Revelation) were all
fulfilled in the Roman invasion of Israel
and destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70.
The Tribulation is over and all we’re look-
ing for is one last appearing of Christ, a
final judgment, and eternal heaven.
Finally, there is what we might call “a
new kind of eschatology.” From lack of
any other name, I appropriate this phrase
from emerging church guru Brian
McLaren’s most recent book, A New Kind
of Christianity (2010). This is a largely
amorphous, optimistic, and universalistic
scheme that doesn’t take the biblical text
seriously at all. McLaren says that this new
eschatology has no fixed end point, but “a
widening space opening into an infinitely
expanding goodness.” Thus, this is a hope-
ful alternative to the notion that in the end,
“everyone will be sorted into either the
destruction/damnation or the redemp-
tion/salvation bin.” There’s no burning
destruction or eternal conscious torment,
but healing, joy, resurrection, liberation,
reconciliation, and salvation for everything
and everybody. We’re not looking for the
end of the world, but only the end of the
world as we know it. So the coming of
Christ signals the appearance of a new gen-
eration of humanity—“God’s presence be-
ing formed in all cultures.” The “last days”
were over in 70 “CE,” and at that point, the
new age came. Therefore, Christ has al-
ready come.
You would think that this position
would be ignored as one man’s misguided,
neo-liberal speculation, but because of
McLaren’s influence among a huge number
of young people via their emerging church
leaders, he and the others who hold to this
are making an impact.
Diverse as they are, these views on
biblical prophecy do have two things in
common: (1) they refuse to interpret the
prophetic texts of Scripture literally. Now
that’s bad, but even worse, (2) they hate
the traditional, premillennial, dispensa-
tional, pretribulational understanding of
the prophetic Scriptures. And hate is not
too strong a word! They despise pretribu-
lationism; they openly scorn dispensation-
alism (many don’t hesitate to call it a “her-
esy”). They are most uncharitable and un-
christian, and like the proponents of Dar-
winian evolution, global warming, and
progressive socialism, they really do not
like to discuss or debate the embarrassing
specifics.
But this is exactly what the Bible said
would happen! Look again at this text
from 2 Peter. Peter is urging his readers to
remember what the prophets had written
concerning the last days (3:1-2), and then
says, “Know this first of all.” This is impor-
tant, so pay attention. In the last days
there will indeed be mockers who ridicule
the notion of Christ’s second coming,
claiming that since the days of the patri-
archs, things haven’t really changed. But,
says Peter, those who say this forget one
very important event: the flood in the days
of Noah (vv. 5-6). The Lord destroyed the
earth then, but prior to that, there were
apparently also mockers who ridiculed
Noah during the 120 years he was building
the ark.
What the mockers don’t realize is that
the Lord is demonstrating His patience,
“not wishing for any [i. e., of you believers]
to perish but for all to come to repentance”
(v. 9). Once the body of Christ—the full
number of His elect—has been completed,
then the Lord Jesus will return. Hence, in
the words of the prophet Hosea (literally),
“His coming is as sure as the dawn” (Hos
6:3).
In these days of increasing skepticism
about the second coming of Christ, what
should our attitude be? First, choose to
believe the clear teaching of the Bible in the
face of everyone who denies it or seeks to
obscure or distort it. Second, in light of our
continued on page 6 5
 continued from page 5
Lord’s coming, keep the Apostle Peter’s
question before you: “what sort of people
ought you to be in holy conduct and godli-
ness?” (v. 11). Strive for consistent holiness
in your life. And finally, like Noah, seek to
Among those who know the story of Daniel
in the Lion’s Den, found in Daniel 6, very
few would argue that Daniel was wrong in
ignoring the statute that required him to
pray to no one else except Darius. How
often though is the question considered
whether or not Darius was right to follow
through with the order? I had posed this
question previously in my article entitled,
“Against the Will of the People,” which was
published in the March 2010 issue of The
Beacon. My guess is that some would
think the question to be ridiculous and that
Darius should have told the conspirators
that if they didn’t approve of him sparing
Daniel, to go pound sand. At this point,
Daniel proved to be extremely honorable to
Highlights from the Month of April
April began with the arrival of another
hand-tooled maple table for the vestibule
of the WRBC to match the first table
crafted and donated by Vic Bellard. The
first table is inscribed with John 15:5 ( “I
am the Vine, ye are the branches”) and the
new missions table is inscribed with Mark
16:15 (“Go ye into all the world”).
The Good Friday
Service on April 2,
2010, contained Scrip-
ture reading that pro-
vided a detailed description of Christ’s final
hours, along with a powerful musical pres-
entation orchestrated by George Ehmann
and including several solo contributions.
The resonant tone of a single trumpet by
Carl Chapman accompanying the hymn
singing also deepened the reverence for
worship.
Resurrection Sunday, April 4, 2010,
The Birthday Corner
May 2nd – Doug Heuzey
May 8th – Laura Kelleher
May 9th – Vicki Valentine
May 13th – Cheryl Sunderland
May 14th – Joan Tyska
May 15th – Alicia Fierro
The Anniversary Corner
May 2nd – Doug & Bonnie Heuzey
May 4th – George & Judy Ehmann
May 23rd – Bill & Mary Mallman
warn your generation of the impending
events of tribulation and judgment that will
be set in motion by the rapture of the
church, and urge them to flee from the
wrath to come. So “where is the promise of
Darius’s Dilemma
all he served and to have a clear under-
standing of law. Had Darius consulted
Daniel on this dilemma, I speculate that
Daniel would have told Darius to follow
through and cast him into the lion’s den.
Those of us who denounce the “ends
justify the means” concept of law that
seems to pervade societies today under-
stand that “victories” attained through law-
less means often make matters worse in the
long run. The likely result had Darius
spared Daniel of the consequences of his
very public law would have been chaos in
his kingdom. The 119 of his leaders being
the schemers that they were would have
undermined Darius in everything that he
did because they could have told the people
began with the WRBC’s traditional Easter
breakfast. The 11:00 Easter service exalted
the resurrected Lord and included the
dedication of Lillian Rose Glass by Chris
and Nanette Glass.
For those of you who appreciate
George Ehmann’s musical talents and his
ability to bring out the best of WRBC’s new
organ, on occasion at the end of the Sunday
service George will continue in recital with
an organ postlude, e. g., Toatta from Sym-
phony #5 (C. Widor) played on April 4th.
On Sunday, April 11, 2010, Pastor Noel
Faustinorio was commissioned at the
WRBC, in preparation for his return to his
church in Quezon City in the Philippines.
A moving testimony was given by Pastor
Faustinorio of how he became so strongly
connected to the WRBC while here in the
United States as he was recovering from
his kidney transplant surgery. Immedi-
ately following the service, everyone con-
tinued their farewells to Pastor Faustinorio
over a dinner brought together by the dea-
conesses and the ladies of the church.
Thirty Senior Saints
met for another luncheon
on April 24th. Following
up on Good Friday and
Resurrection Sunday, the
theme continued with
remembering Christ Je-
sus’ promise to come
again—“Watching for
His coming?” Right where it’s always been
. . . in the Word of God, and that prophetic
word is as certain as tomorrow’s sunrise!
“Maranatha”!
— Pastor Ron Glass
that their king could not be trusted. If
Darius instead had done away with his
scheming satraps, how could he be thought
of as anything less than a tyrant and suc-
ceed in establishing trust with his new
leadership?
The only other way I see that the law
could have been fulfilled would have been
for Darius to declare that he was wrong in
signing the law and to order Daniel to pray
for him as he (Darius) let himself into the
lion’s den. This would have been a huge
step of faith. As it was, God honored Him-
self by delivering Daniel. God saw Darius’s
remorse and blessed the king’s reign.
— Carl Chapman
Jesus’ Return.” Peter Albrecht’s devotions
expounded on the theme, reminding the
seniors to be ever careful and ever watchful
for the imminent Rapture. The fellowship
was enjoyed over a meal of Sylvena In-
goglia’s homemade sausage-vegetable soup
and the main course of chicken cacciatore.
There was a time of hymn singing and a
fuller than usual “Trash to Treasures” table
due to Marcelle Ritzmann’s large donation
from her down-sizing as she prepared to
move to Jefferson Ferry on May 1st.
Then on Sunday, April 25, 2010, Liz
Hyland led a group of young people in a
craft project. Not much was revealed about
the project as it was kept under a blanket of
secrecy. But this is what we do know—
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and
judging by the materials at hand at that
time, the assumption is that the young
people were making special and unique
Mother’s Day gifts for their Moms.
— Joan Tyska
6
 May Bible Quiz Questions April Bible Quiz Answers
1) Who were the father and mother of Aaron and Moses? 1) Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-11).
2) Who hacked Agag, king of the Amalekites, to pieces? 2) Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”
(Mark 3:17).
3) Who stated, “I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore
figs” (NASB)? 3) His apostles (Matthew 19:27-28).
4) What was the former name of Hebron? 4) Andrew, the brother of Peter (John 1:40-42).
5) Who was the chief musician appointed by King David over 5) His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek,
the service of praise when the ark of God was brought to Apollyon (Revelation 9:11).
Jerusalem?
Bonus: At Achmetha (Ecbatana), which is in the
Bonus: Who fell asleep during a long discourse by Paul and fell province of Media (Ezra 6:2-5).
from a third-floor window where he had been sitting?
― Felix Acerra Submit the answers and Bible reference to: office@wrbc.us.
The answers for this month’s quiz will be announced in the
next newsletter!

May 2010
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 Moving Day
for Marcelle
Ritzmann

2 9:45 AM 3 4 5 8:00 AM Ladies Prayer 6 7:00 PM 7 8

Sunday School – Joan Tyska (727-5998) Prayer Meeting
11:00 AM Morning 6:30 PM AWANA on the National
Worship Service Day of Prayer

9 9:45 AM 10 11 7:00 PM 12 8:00 AM 13 7:00 PM 14 15

Sunday School Board of Ladies Prayer Basic Bible
11:00 AM Morning Deacons 6:30 PM AWANA Interpretation
Worship Service Meeting (Hermeneutics)
7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
Mother’s Day and Exposition of Psalms

16 9:45 AM 17 18 19 8:00 AM 20 21 22 9:00 AM

Sunday School Ladies Prayer Care Center
11:00 AM Morning 6:30 PM AWANA “Walk for Life”
Worship Service in Hauppauge
7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
and Exposition of Psalms

23 9:45 AM 24 25 26 8:00 AM 27 28 29
Sunday School Ladies Prayer
11:00 AM Morning 6:30 PM AWANA
Worship Service 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
and Exposition of Psalms

30 9:45 AM 31
Sunday School
11:00 AM Morning
Worship Service

7
PO Box 438
Wading River, NY 11792
Wading River Baptist Church
• For the Exaltation of God in All Things
• For the Proclamation of Faith in Christ
• For the Transformation of God’s People
Our Purpose
1. To glorify God through sharing
the good news of salvation by God’s
sovereign grace through faith in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. To nurture believers through a
strong program of Christian educa-
tion, youth ministries, and expository
Biblical preaching.
3. To provide an opportunity for
Biblical worship, service, and fellow-
ship.
4. To extend our ministry through-
out America and around the world
through participation in home and
foreign missions.
WRBC is affiliated with the Conserva-
tive Baptist Association of America
and the Conservative Baptist Mission
to the Northeast.