The Gospel of "Salvation" in Solidarity Theology

"And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them" (Acts 16:9, 10).

"And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth" (Revelation 12:15, 16).

"AND HELP US"

The Greek word for "help" is boetheo, as used here in Acts 16:9 and again in Revelation 12:16. It is not a common term. It us used only eight times in the New Testament.

Boetheo is from boethos, which is used only once, where it is translated "helper": "So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:6). Boetheo means "to help, succour, bring aid" in the sense "to run to the cry (of those in danger)".

It is clear that "the woman" in our passage from Revelation is in danger of succumbing to the deceptions of the ancient serpent. She is "helped" by the earth. Likewise, the Man from Macedonia pleads with Paul to "to run to his cry" because the Christian Church is in danger of losing sight of the authentic gospel.

"THE LORD HAD CALLED US"

Paul understood the Man from Macedonia to be the Lord. But the Man from Macedonia is not Jesus Christ. He is the Antichrist.

I believe that this passage supports the concept of two biblical messiahs. The Greek word for "Lord" is kurios. Kurios is an important Christian messianic attribution. "Jesus is Lord" is a confessional statement. ("And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11)). Without detracting from the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ ("And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16)), I believe that the Antichrist may rightly be called, "Lord".

Consistent with sacred history, it would follow that the Antichrist, like Jesus Christ before him, would appear at a time when most needed. Religion would be in decline. Darkness would overshadow the earth; and gross darkness would overshadow the people.

The Serpent who verbally assaults and otherwise endangers the woman in Revelation 12 with a flood of deception, is the same Satan who uses his formidable powers of deception to supplant the Gospel. He wants to distort the character of God and the desirability of the religious life.

Why does the Man from Macedonia appeal to Paul for help? Why doesn't the Man from Macedonia appeal to John or Peter for their versions of the Gospel?

DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE GOSPEL

It is not the purpose of this article to compare and contrast the different apostolic gospels. For the sake of my argument, I assert that there are differences.

Neither is it the purpose of this article to define the acute meanings of salvation.

Paul, John, and Peter understood the Gospel in different ways. Paul withstood Peter to Peter's face in order to assert the uniqueness of Paul's own understanding of the Gospel. This encounter is recorded in Galatians 2.

Peter and James were based at Jerusalem. While Peter was better suited to preach the Gospel to the Jews, Paul was better suited to preach the Gospel abroad to the Gentiles. Galatians 2:7, 8.

Paul was less exclusive. Because of this, he found himself having to defend himself against prejudice and opposition from conservative Jews regarding the degee of his Jewishness. Paul said, "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:4-6).

Paul adapted his Gospel in order to reach his audience of Jews, racially mixed Jews and Gentiles, and exclusively Gentiles. Paul wrote, "And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with [you]" (1 Corinthians 9:20-23).

PAUL'S GOSPEL

So what is Paul's Gospel? It is most clearly stated in the book of Romans. Simply, Paul asserts that God created all humankind in one man, Adam. Satan then caused Adam to "Fall". Consequently, in Adam, all men participated in the Fall. Lastly, God redeemed all humankind in one man, Jesus Christ. It is thus that Jesus stands at the head of a new humanity as the Second Adam.

Vicarious participation in the actions of another is made possible through a philosophy known as Solidarity.

Through Solidarity we - all of collective humanity, past, present, and future - are "in Christ Jesus". Each and every person is saved "in Christ" BEFORE THEY EVER KNEW IT. This free gift of salvation does not even depend on one's believing it. Paul said that faith; that is, one's ability to exercise belief, is a gift of grace. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

The philosophy of Solidarity underlies the entire Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. But Paul did not limit Solidarity to the People of the Book; that is, Jews and Christian converts. From Acts 17, we know that Paul believed in the universal extent of the "in Christ" paradigm. Furthermore, Paul believed that the theme of universal salvation through a vicarious redeemer was expressed in extra-biblical philosophies, though perhaps less clearly than in the biblical tradition. He stated to the Epicureans and Stoics in Athens, "For in him [Christ] we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:28). Paul's assertion "as certain also of your own poets have said" ought to inspire us to study philosophical sources other than the Bible.

Against this backdrop of Solidarity; that is, that God is not exclusive; Paul states in Romans 10 that preachers are charged with the mission of spreading the Gospel of PEACE:

[12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
[15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

In Paul's Gospel, acquiring the great boon of salvation is not contingent on believing in it. It was secured on our behalf before we were even aware of it. This is something in which we had neither a part to play nor a choice to accept.

There is something over which we have a choice. Once we become aware of our unmerited gift of salvation, we may choose to embrace and actively live the religious life. Faith and knowledge come by entering into a relationship with this gift-giving God. They are relational more than philosophical terms. If we choose to live this life, God promises to give us additional gifts. The most important of these is His indwelling presence, the Holy Spirit.

The aftermath of Paul's Gospel is peace and gladness.

PAUL CLAIMED REVELATION AS AUTHORITY

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11, 12).

Revelation is a supernatural process in which the normal laws of nature, at least as we understand them thus far, are suspended. Paul is suggesting that he did not invent his Gospel. It was shown to him by Jesus Christ, supernaturally, thus it has divine authority.

THE VALUE OF PAUL'S GOSPEL

What makes the Gospel of Paul more applicable to our time than the Gospel versions held by John or Peter?

Paul's Gospel is especially adapted to our times. There is an unhealthy competition between the monotheistic religions to proselytize converts. The monotheistic (one-God) religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious people from all three of these religions offer the promise of salvation while threatening with Hell those who reject it. But Paul's Gospel is not confrontational.

Paul's Gospel is different from the "gospel" advocated by modern Evangelical Christianity. Paul's Gospel is unconditional. The modern Evangelical "gospel" is conditional. Paul's Gospel maximizes the sovereignty, work, and grace of God while nullifying the human contribution to salvation, not merely minimizing it.

The Evangelical "gospel" is contingent on human effort - human faith and human repentance. Paul would have condemned it. There are evangelical Christians who claim that the dilemmas in their lives are the consequence of their own weak faith. Paul would tell them that even their act of believing is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8, 9. There are Christians who claim that potential converts must repent; that is, rectify their lives, before they are saved. Baptism is withheld from them until they show evidence of their conversion. But Paul would also condemn this. Paul would tell them that they were saved BEFORE they ever entered the path they soon came to regret.

Paul warned, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8, 9). History has shown the danger of disregarding Paul's warning and many, many sincere, religious people have suffered unduly.

Some Christians have resorted to making their stand on various issues such as abortion, gay rights, and global warming a test of salvation and fellowship. With them, the line between moral and political issues has become fuzzy. But this ought not to be.

Still other Christians have turned away from God after becoming discouraged by their repeated attempts and failures to live the Christian life. They believed that their salvation was something to be won and lost. For them, religion became a yoke of bondage.

Does the error in their belief invalidate their Christianity? No. They, like us all, are "in Christ". Jesus Christ made provision for them in the same manner as He did for us all. But this does not negate the consequences in the present life of misconstruing the Gospel. Neither our acts nor our beliefs save us in the ultimate sense, but the ways we think and live are subject to the laws of cause and effect.

Throughout our trials and failures, they and we must gain courage from the truth that we were saved "in Christ" BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, long before we, our fathers, and our grandfathers were conceived; long before they committed mistakes that accrued harm to themselves and to their posterity. "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" (Ephesians 1:4).

"We" is inclusive. In this our time, it consists of Jews, Christians, Muslims, atheists, and everyone else.

Biblical salvation under the terms of Solidarity strips away all occasion for strife on the basis of religion. Imagine the impact on missions of emphasizing Paul's non-combative Gospel. Imagine a world in which religions were united "in Christ" without having to surrender there own cultural uniqueness. Yet this is what Paul's Gospel does. This is why the Man from Macedonia appeals to Paul for help.

MAN FROM MACEDONIA

Who is this Man from Macedonia?

The Man from Macedonia is the prophesied Antichrist Messiah. The Antichrist is a descendant of the Macedonian Jews. This is one of his many biblical characteristics, given so that we might identify him and validate his claims.

Anyone familiar with my writings knows I claim that the Old and New Testaments teach dual messiahs. Jesus Christ is the first of these two messiahs. The Antichrist is the legitimate successor of Jesus Christ. However, the Antichrist is the lesser personage in relationship to the greater personage, Jesus Christ. All of humankind, including the Antichrist, is "in Jesus Christ". The Antichrist in himself is not sinless as is Jesus Christ. The Antichrist is described as the Man of sin; hence, he is without merit to save from sin.

The functions and roles of the messiahs differ. Yet they are complimentary and together achieve the ultimate peace.

THE TIME FOR PAUL'S GOSPEL

The time for this Gospel comes when the Man from Macedonia arises and calls for it. It is prophesied to be proclaimed as the Everlasting Gospel of Christ Our Righteousness in conjunction with the work and messages recorded in Revelation 14:6-12. It will eventually encompass the earth, leading to a revival of faith and hope throughout the world. Revelation 18:1.

CONCLUSION

Salvation, as conceived under the terms of Solidarity Theology, is not divisive. Solidarity Theology has the philosophical potential of uniting the monotheistic religions while they retain their distinctness.