Wilderness or Promised Land for Sydney Episcopalian Diocese?

This site's exposure of heretics of the Sydney Episcopalian Diocese must continue. Moore College, the theological seminary of the Diocese continues to churn out potential 'cures of souls' with a heretical, even unbelieving, view of the Word of God recorded in Genesis.

The spurious view prevails among them that non reference to "evening and morning" for the seventh day, as recorded in Genesis 2:2-3, implies the Creation Week did not comprise seven 24 hour days and that the 'rest' or 'sabbath' of the seventh day continues to the present and beyond.

Most of them, at least, will accept that Jesus Christ is a type of Adam, a type of Israel, a type of Moses, a type of Joshua (but superior to them) and yet Adam, Israel, Moses and Joshua are historical beings or entities who have existed in real time and space. But, as if to give appearance of being gnostics or mystics, they inconsistently apply the principles of observing 'types'. In their desperation to stay in with the world on origins these people elevate the concept (or 'type') of "God's rest" to the exclusion of the particular. For these heretics of the Sydney Episcopalian Diocese, the "seventh day" spoken of in Genesis 2:2-3 is only about the eternal Kingdom of God and not a real day and that this "unending" one day out of seven nullifies the historical reality of the previous six days of Creation Week.

They draw upon Hebrews 3 & 4 to support their claim. Perhaps they defer here to Canadian Astronomer, Hugh Ross, of 'Reason to Believe' ministry, California, USA, who was feted several years ago in the Sydney Episcopalian Diocese. Hugh Ross holds a similar view of the "seventh day" and has expressed a belief that the world was occupied by some man-like spiritless beings prior to the creation of Adam. Also feted within the Diocese some years ago was John Polkinghorne, Physicist, who has expressed doubts about the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such are some of the influences within the Sydney Episcopalian Diocese.

Jonathon Sarfati, Ph.D., in his book 'Refuting Compromise' (published by Master Books, 2004) competently deals with Hugh Ross and fellow compromisers. On page 83 of his book, Sarfati says: "However, the evening and morning mark the beginning and end of a day respectively. So if Ross thinks the absence of both means the seventh day has not ended, then to be consistent, it would follow that the seventh day had not begun either!"

Sarfati later says " Ross also argues that Hebrews 4:1-11 teaches 'that the seventh creation day began after the creation of Adam and Eve, continues through the present, and extends into the future' (GQ ie The Genesis Question:64). However, again Ross repeats an argument rebutted in VB&T [ie Creation and Time: A Report on the Progressive Creationist Book by Hugh Ross]: 69-73. Hebrews 4 never says that the seventh day of creation is continuing to the present; it merely says that God's rest is continuing. If someone says on Monday that he rested on Saturday and is still resting, it in no way implies that Saturday lasted until Monday. Kulikovsky carefully analyzes the grammar of Hebrews 4 and concludes:

'The "rest" of Hebrews 4 clearly refers to the Kingdom of God. This type of rest was aluded [sic] to right back at the time of creation, as well as the time of the Exodus. Nowhere in the text is it equated with the seventh day of creation, nor is there any grammatical or contextual data suggesting any such equation. Thus, the progressive creationists' claim that the seventh day of creation is still continuing is without any exegetical foundation whatsoever, making it a worthless argument for non-literal creation days' [A.S. Kulikovsky, "God's Rest in Hebrews 4: 1-11," TJ 13(2): 61-61, 1999]"

The heretics of the Sydney Episcopalian Diocese need to regard with all seriousness the Hebrews passage they are 'dallying' with to oppose those who trust God's Word. For the author of Hebrews goes at length to remind readers of the Psalm 95 caution against unbelief. Psalm 95 recalls the historical event of Israel on the verge of the Promised Land but refusing to enter the land because of unbelief (well, most of them!). Their unbelief angered God and He said of them "They shall not enter my rest" (Psalm 95:11b).

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Those who Moses led out of Egypt to the verge of the Promised Land.

Dear Sydney Episcopalian heretic, you have been led out of total captivity to the world. You have professed faith in the One who led you out. How much do you trust Him? Do you trust His Word thoroughly? There are those about appealing to you to trust the Lord to give you victory over the seeming giants of the land He promised you. They appeal to you to cast off your longing for the fish, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic of Egypt. Overcoming the weight and might of a world opposed to God will be a challenge but God is on our side. The food of Egypt might have been full of taste but the Manna from God will sustain you to eternity.

Great is your sin of ill-informed propagation of a heresy, greater still is the deliberate sin of unbelief. It is now unacceptable for you to delude yourself with the thought that it is acceptable to reinterpret the Word of God to make sense of it in this largely Godless society. God has raised up people to tell you quite clearly, without shadow of doubt, that His Word clearly stated holds true and cannot be wilfully compromised without consequence.

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12)

Archbishop Peter Jensen, examine your faith. Look upon those to whom you have a responsibility in the Lord. Where and to what will your belief lead you and where and to what will it lead those to whom you have responsibility - death in the wilderness or life in the Promised Land?

Sam