David Lipscomb On Eph. 4:9
The Gospel Advocate Co. has brought to the brotherhood a set of commentaries on the New Testament. These have been written by some capable men. Several of them are by Lipscomb and Shepherd. Since several thousands of these have been printed and distributed, it is quite necessary that no false doctrine be therein taught. I would not set myself as a judge of Bro. Lipscomb's writings, nor of the work of any other man, but because the comments on Eph. 4:9 plainly teach error, even to the casual reader. I submit the following.
I hereby charge that the comments by David Lipscomb on this passage teach premillennialism. Turn to page 76 and study carefully paragraph 3. Verse 9 says, "Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?" The comments are as follows:
"The reference here is to the Messiah who came to earth from heaven, his original dwelling place, to destroy the power of the devil; to annihilate his kingdoms, cast out the evil spirit inseparable from them; reassert the authority of God, reestablish his rule and kingdom; make his Spirit again the life giving and pervading influence of this world. When this work is accomplished, death will no longer riot on perishing mortals: Those in the bondage of death will rise from their imprisoning graves: Bitterness, wrath, strife will cease among men, then shall the prophecy of Isaiah 11:6-9 be fulfilled. This is the result of the reign of the kingdom of God on earth. The fullness of that reign and the rule of that Spirit will usher in the glorious millennial morn."
He thus plainly teaches in so many words that when death is destroyed, or when the resurrection arrives, Isaiah 11:6-9 will be fulfilled and the millennium will begin. That is premillennialism. If not, why not? That comment should never have appeared in print in the commentaries. Why not do as I have done to mine, write not so across this section?
A study of Isaiah 11 will show that it was a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ as a root of Jesse to set up His kingdom on earth wherein peace would abound and wherein the Gentiles might seek after the Lord. That peace is described figuratively by verses 6-9: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Now then, verse 10 says in that day the Gentiles would seek after the Lord. Do they seek after the Lord today? In Acts 15:13-17 James plainly teaches that now the Gentiles do seek after the Lord in fulfillment of the prophecy of Amos and he could have also said Isaiah's too. If that is so, right now in the Christian era the prophecy of Isaiah 11:6-9 is fulfilled and we need not look for the "dawn of the millennial morn" in the premillennial way suggested by Bro. Lipscomb in this comment.