New Age Movement's Messiah, Maitreya,

supposedly the fifth incarnation of Buddha, the

Mahdi of Islam, and the Krishna of Hinduism, is
called. Christ in order to attract Christians! The
LORD God Almighty will not hold Liberationists
and exponents of the New Age guiltless.
Conclusion
It is not possible for the Christian to come away
from a study of this commandment in its far-
reaching implications without the conviction of
failure in the keeping of it Only by the mercy and
Book
the grace of God is there forgiveness through the
perfect and finished atonement of Christ for our
sins. Only by the enabling grace of God can we
really attain to a greater steadfastness in our striving
to keep this law and to glorify His name in
everything in life. That same mercy and that same
grace bids the sinner, even the most hardened
offender, to repent and to exalt that worthy name,
that name which above every name, the name of
Jesus Christ, and confess tnat He is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11). "0
LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the
earth!" 0
Review
.A .A .A .AAAA .A .AAA
Messiah the Prince
Messiah. the by William Symington. Still
Waters Revival Books 12810-126 St. Edmonton, .
AB Canada T5L-OYL, 1990 $24.95 (USA) $29.95
(Canada). Reviewed by Byron Snapp.
"I personally am opposed to abortion. But I am not
going to use my office to superimpose my personal
position on. other people's decisions. I am to
listen carefully to both sides each tinie I am requrred
to vote." ("Warner Kicks Off Campaign," Roanoke
Times & World News, Feb. 6, 1990)
"The Wisconsin woman charged with adultery is
being singled out for punishment that could be
applied to thousands. Laws against adultery,
fomication and sodomy are still on the books in 27
states . including Virginia, but are enforced only
rarely. They serve no good purpose and ought to be
repealed ... Society is far more tolerant than when
Wisconsin's adultery law was passed in the 19th
century. For the most part, government has gotten
out of the business of trying to legislate morality.
Wisconsin, Virginia and the other 25 states with
these antiquated laws ought to get rid of them.
Otherwise, they'll continue to be pulled out to satisfy
grudges." ("Selectively judging morality" The
Roanoke Times and World News May 3, 1990,
p.l4)
Page 28 August-September, 1990 The Counsel of Chalcedon
These quotes are only two of many that could be
given to show the importance of the recent reprinting
of William Symington's Messiah the Prince. This
book is solely devoted to unfolding the Biblical
doctrine of Christ's kingship over all things both,
now and throughout eternity.
"Without Christ's kingly work, the gracious
purposes of God could not be executed; the
mediatorial character itself would not be complete;
the work ofsalvation must continue unrewarded; the
enemies of trti.th and holiness should finally triumph,
and the necessities of the children of God remain for
ever unsupplied. Such things cannot--shall not be."
(p.l6) Having pointed out the necessity of Christ's
kingship the author then points out the reality of His
lordship as well as His qualifications for this office.
Mr. Symington readily acknowledges and explains
that Christ's kingdom is spiritual. Yet such an
explanation in no way means that Christ has no rule
in His world now. Defining Christ's kingdom as
spiritual means "that its nature and design are wholly
celestial, that it is of a character. different from the
kirtgdoms of this world, and destined to higher and
more gloriouspurposes" (p. 64). In other words all
things are under Christ. Christ's kingdom being
spiritual is not like the kingdom of this world. The
inspired Paul reminded his readers E ~ h . 6: 10-18, 2
Cor. 10:3-5) that warfare for Christ s kingdom is
waged in a different manner than the warfare of
worldly kingdoms.
Christ's universal rule naturally makes all
institutions including the church and nations
subservient to Him. Within this book the reader will
find Biblically structured arguments for proper
church government as well as the assured increase of
the Church throughout the world. Central to
Christ's kingship over the church is the purchasing
of the elect by His shed blood. Thus the church
owes its sole allegiance to Christ, her redeemer and
King. "The highest and warmest partronage of the
state is procured at too dear a price if, in order to
secure it, the church has to barter away the least
portion of her liberties. Every attempt, then, to
interfere with its independence, on the part of the
civil power, must be regarded as an unhallowed
invasion of the rights of the people, and a monstrous
usurpation of the inalienable rights and perogatives
of the church's glorious Head" (p.128).
As mediator, Christ also is King of the nations.
Numerous Scriptures are quoted to underscore this
fact. Passages quoted include Psalm 2, Acts 4:24-
27, Psalm 47, Is.49:22-23, Prov. 8:15,16 and Rom.
13:3,4. Since Christ is king it is not hard to
understand that His moral law must govern nations
if righteousness and justice is . to prevail in these
nations. .The eternal king also establishes the
qualifications not only for rules within the church
but for national rulers as well. Speaking of civil
authorities the author writes, "They are required to
be men of good abilities, of unimpeachable
character, and of sound piety ... But no one who
candidly reflects that civil magistrates are
denominated 'ministers of God' that they are
required to adminsiter oaths; that they exert a mighty
influence by their example; and that decided personal
piety adds greatly to the lustre and power even of
natural and moral qualities; can beat a loss to
:perceive the importance of religion to one who
mvested with civil power" (pp.244,245).
The importance of this republication should not go
unnoticed by Christians today.
Christ's present universal rule as mediator is a
Scriptural fact. Because it is Scriptural the Christian
should desire to learn all he can about it. After all
can we be uninterested in any facet of our Lord's
character or office? This book quotes a wealth of
&ripture on this subject in a well-developed format.
Secondly, this doctrine is under great attack today
within and outside the church. It is the constant
desire of man to cast aside Christ's law and kingship
(Ps. 2). In so doing foolish man believes he can
become God. This book provides a wealth of
ammunition to show the absurdity of denying
Christ's rightful place.as King.
Thirdly, this book is a breath of fresh air to a society
suffocating on humanism and humanistic law. We
can expect man's law to be unfair and law in general
to be unfairly applied. God's law and standards are
universally fair and just not only in their
requirements but also in their application. To desire
just applications one must also desire God's law to
be applied. It alone is perfect and without need of
amendment.
Modem man is wimpy. Sadly this includes many
officers within the church today. Such men
probably believe God is also wimpy---desiring
compromise, being soft toward sin and failing to
apply church discipline, refusing to speak out
against sin for fear of upsetting members of the
congregation. Such men fail to understand Christ's
kingship or their own dangerous position. This
book clearly shows that our God is in no way a
wimp. If the Father were a wimp toward sin would
He have sent His own Son to die for sinners?
Would the Son have voluntarily carried the Father's
wrath for the sins of the elect? Not hardly. We
serve a King who is mighty to save and before
whom the nations must one day bow.
Reading this book one realizes that the church must
preach and live by Christ's kingship before we can
ever expect society in general to do so. The author
rightly begins with a discussion of Christ's kingship
in the church before he explains Christ's kingship
over the nations.
This book provides great comfort for the believer.
The reader is reminded that neither Satan nor man
currently rules the world. The office of King
belongs to Christ. With Christ as king we can be
assured that all things do work together for the good
of God's people (Romans 8:28).
The reader is also encouraged to take Biblical stands
on public issues. The Bible assures us that one day
nations themselves will acknowledge Christ's laws.
It is the Christians' duty to teach nations (mt. 28:18-
20). As the Christian holds to and explains God's
law prayerfully at every opportunity we as a nation
can hope by God's grace to have an answer to the
prison debate, rising crime, abortion, debt, the
environment, education and the many other
problems that are engulfing our society.
The Counsel of Chalcedon August-September, 1990 Page 29
It is heartening to see the republication of this
. important work. At the very least this shows. an
interest in Christ's kingship. This bodes well for the
future. However only 1100 copies were printed.
Few copies remain , unsold. . Do not pass up the
opportunity to obtain a copy for your library. Let us
hope the demand is sufficient to require a second
printing in a larger quantity.
The greatest antidote to humanism is the fact of
Christ's kingship. No wonder the world is at war
with this doctrine. This is all the more reason the
Christian should understand Christ's kingship and
its implication in every area of life-personally,
ecclesiastically and natiomilly as well as
internationally.
. '
. tn,Jt .. 1Stauttful
Jleatttt.S
Todd W, Allen
One of the signs of a healthy .person is an appetite. I
remember so very well my last ;hospitalization for
open heart surgery and how l lost rriy appetite. We
might say that that is normal, but to; lose one's
appetite is only normal ifthere is some way one can
account for it. Certaitily it is not normal to remain
indefinitely without an appetite. I . was glad when
my appetite returned and I began to enjoy food
again. Have you ever thought of how much of our
enjoyment in life is related to food and fellowship.
God set feast days in the Old Testament calendar so
that people could enjoy going to Jerusalem td
celebrate and worship. . . ' . . .
Thanksgiving is tlie most' travtlled holiday. or the
year. Why is that? Is it not' because we associate
Thanksgiving with gOod food and renewed
fellowship as we offer up thanksgiving to God for
all His care and provision? But suppose you
completely lost your sense of taste and sense of
smell and lost your appetite too? All of that Iucknis
food would riot tum you on at all. And something
would be ntis sing in youdife; You can't enjoy roast
turkey and gravy and homemade dressing. and
cranberry sauce and a half dozen recipes of
all sorts of delicious salads, vegetables, puddings,
cakes and the like if you can't the. sight of
. ..
food. And who wants pumpkin pie with whipped
cream or apple pie alam.Ode or fresh strawberry
shortcake when it makes you sick to look at it?
The Emphasis is on the Blessed
1. When I was in the hospital and had no appetite for
food it waS a temporary condition brought about by
the shock to my system from having open heart
surgery. There was no way that l could make
myself have an appetite. It t6 come back as my
body slowly began to heal and recover from the
surgery. They have pills out that suppress the
appetite to help you lose weight. But who would
Want to take a pill that would destroy the appetite
permanently? You might thirtk that would be a good
thing ifyou needed to lose a lot of weight, but wait a
minute. Would you really. want to lose permanently
the experience of tasting and enjoying every sort of
food and beverage? I wouldn't. And I don't believe
you would either.
Please notice in our text that our Lord considered it a
great blessing to have an appetite for righteousness.
"BLESSED ARE TIIOSE WHO HUNGER AND
THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR TilEY
SHALL BE SATISFIED. The Greek word for
satisfied is Chrn;tazo (khor-tad' zo ). This is a very
strong word. It means more than just satisfy or fill.
It was a word applied to feeding and fattening
animals in a stall. It carries the idea of total and
fillipg. The creature, be it animal or man,
is born With a physical appetite. Without that
physical appetite he would perish from malnutrition
. or starvation. It inimical to any living creature to
Page 30 August-September, 1990 The Counsel of Chalcedo:n
. . .