Featured Dispensational interpretation of the "eye of the needle" Rich Man

Welcome to the forum Jope. I would like to challenge your thinking on these scriptures. The first passage you quote has two distinct parts. The first part is a literal historical event that occured in the life of Christ and has to do with a LOST MAN who is seeking eternal life while the second aspect as to do with DISCIPLES and their future rewards in heaven. The two should not be confused with each other.

The second passage is not a literal historicl event but a parable that has to do with trusting riches rathe than trusting God and its etenal conseqences.

The third passage you bring into this mix is the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse that follows a series of parables.

I respectfully submit to you that the analogy of the impossibility of the camel going through the eye of a needle has absolutely nothing to do with dispensationalism or dispensations or any of the other passages you bring into this mix but is the practical application of Christ in correctly diagnosing the problem that prevented the rich young ruler from selling all he had and following Christ.

The story of the Rich young ruler is quite simple once you grasp it. This young man is a rich man and he is simply seeking a certain valuable he wants to add to his deposit of riches - eternal life.

Note his approach to Christ and his statement. He acknowledges that Christ is "good" (Gr. agathos - intrinsic goodness by nature) and presents himself as EQUALLY "good" (Gr. agathos - intrinsic goodness by nature) in that he believes he is capable of doing sufficiently "good" enough to obtain eternal life.

Note his precise question "What GOOD thing must I DO to inherit eternal life." He is asserting that he is capable of doing suffciently good enough works to merit eternal life.

Now, take note of Christ's immediate response - "Why callest thou me good"
Jesus takes note of how he uses the term "good" equally of Christ and himself thus placing Himself EQUAL to Christ in regard to inherent goodness. Thus Christ immediately denies that anyone is EQUALLY Good as God, because that is precisely who Christ is - God. - "There is NONE GOOD but ONE and that IS GOD."

However, this RICH young man does not believe that. He is not only rich in material wealth but he actually believes he is RICH in moral wealth - Inherently morally as Good as God. Meaning, he does not see himself as a sinner.

Jesus understands and sees this fallacy in his self-perspective as sinless and so he points him to the Law as the Standard of righteousness and what must be done to be as righteous as God. Why did God give the law? Paul tells us that God gave it, added it to educate us in regard to sin and to show that we are sinners and have come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:20,23).

Now take note of the Rich man's response. He claims to be sinless from his youth up. He claims he has kept all the law from his youth up. Remember, James says that if we fail in but "one point" of this same law (James 2:10-11) that Jesus quotes we violate every point and come under its condemnation whch is death, not its commendation which is justificaiton of life. However, this young man sees himself RICH in sinless perfection in regard to the demands of God's Law.

Now note Jesus response - "if thou wilt be PERFECT"! Jesus does not agree he is perfect. Because Jesus had already said, "THERE IS NONE GOOD, but One and that is God." However, this rich man has made the claim that he is inherently as good as Christ and has doubled down and claimed he has kept all the law. However, Christ puts the ultimate test to his claim to show him that he is not inherently good as he thinks and that he has never kept the law as he thinks. Jesus tells him to go sell all that he has and give it to the poor. This would demonstrate obedience to the second tablet of the ten commanments which Christ summarizes as to love your neighbor as yourself. This would also force him to complete faith and dependency upon God alone for sustaneance since he has sold everything he has. Here is the test of what the young man perceived as his real RICHES. To disobey this command was to prove he is a sinner as he broke a direct command.

Second, he is told to come and follow Christ. This would be a practical demonstration of obedience to the first tablet in the ten commandments. Jesus summed up the first five commandments thus, "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and all thy strength..."

By refusing to do this, he not only failed the practical test of obedience to the ten commandments but demonstrated where his true RICHES really were - not the love of God, not the love of man but the love of HIMSELF.

This is the kind of RICH man that Jesus says cannot enter the kingdom of God. The only kind of person who can enter the kingdom of God is one who comes to the end of himself - crucify himself, self-denial and finds his complete riches in Christ. This is what the analogy of the camel going through the eye of the needle is all about. It is IMPOSSIBLE that this kind of RICH man - a man RICH in self-esteem - to be saved as salvation requires complete self-denial. Those who enter the kingdom must be "poor in spirit" but this young man is RICH in spirit. To be able to turn on yourself and deny yourself and crucify yourself is IMPOSSIBLE with men, as that is something only the Grace of God can accomplish as no man will deny themselves apart from God's grace.​

 

Are you kidding? God chose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith. This is not about total depravity.
The rich man did not want to give up his riches. The poor in this world already have nothing.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

The wise of the world thought they knew better than God did. The strong of the world were too proud to humble themselves; the weak are ready to humble themselves.
You miss the Truth because you only see what Calvinists and the like have taught you.

 

All you can do is scoff but you will never directly deal with the text of scripture in any kind of scholarly way because YOU CAN'T. So you huff and you puff but you will ignore the precise contextual data, the contextal facts because YOU CAN'T deal with them and you NEVER do and you NEVER will because they expose your ignorance and incompetence. You will ignore the textual data, jump to another context and then pit it against the facts of this context. That is your cultic method of interpretation.

For example, you cannot deny that the rich ruler used the term "good" twice and once toward Christ and once to desribe his own perceived ability. You cannot deny that Christ emphasized the term "good" in his immediate response first with a question and then followed by a UNIVERSAL denial and the words "THERE IS NONE but ONE" is a universal denial of ALL but "ONE" and "ONE" is a precise limited exception to this rule. Instead, you blantanly change Christ's words to mean "JUST SOME are not good" rather than "THERE IS NONE GOOD." This is precisely what Paul said in Romans 3:9-11 in three different ways with these words which destroy your false interpetation - "NO, NOT ONE" speaking of both gentiles and Jews (v. 9) and "ALL THE WORLD" and "EVERY MOUTH" and "NO FLESH" (vv. 18-19). These words make your interpretation absolutely foolish and incompetent as your interpetation requires these words to mean "Not all, just some" "Some of the world" "many mouths" and "some flesh." You directly do exactly what Satan did in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 when he said, "The Lord hath not said" when in fact the Lord did say and that is precisely the serpentile interpretation you apply to these words of God.

 

Why do you single this scripture out just for the elect Jews?

 

My friend, eternal life is NEVER obtained by keeping the law as the law was never given to obtain eternal life precisely because the law can never reward eternal life to sinners and all are sinners - it can only condemn.

The same gospel preached after the cross is the same gospel preached before the cross"

Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].

Look at the preceding context to identify "them" - those under Moses.

Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Look at the preceding context and you will see the antecedant for "him" is Christ (the Old Testament name meaning "The annointed one").

The Jewish leadership had perverted the gospel during the days of Jesus Christ and what they did preach made their converts a two-fold more child of hell because they preached that sinners could be justified by the Law and obtain eternal life.

With John the Baptist the gospel which all the prophets preached began to be preached anew (Jn. 3:36). The gospel of the kingdom is simply the good news about how to enter the SPIRITUAL kingdom of God now and his millennial and eternal kingdom to come. Paul continued to preach the gospel of the kingdom throughout the book of Acts. Speaking to the GENTILE congregation at Ephesus he said:

Ac 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

The gospel of the kingdom is the good news about the KING and submission to him through repentance and faith (Jn. 3:16; 36).

The sacrifices never literaly took away sins (heb. 11:4) but were merely a "shadow" which is a FORM empty of substance as the substance of literal salvation was found by faith in what the FORM proclaimed - the gospel of Christ as Savior - Acts 10:43

 

There was nothing wrong with being rich then or now. There was nothing wrong with being rich, except if you put your riches before God.
Jesus was on earth, and the rich man did not want to give up his riches to follow God, God in the flesh on earth.
Jesus knew the rich man’s heart and that he put his riches above God.
That lesson goes for anytime, for Jew or Gentile, and it is not about being a Jew.
Again, there is nothing wrong with having money, it is wrong though to put money before God in your heart.

Jews in the tribulation you say, why would these Jews need to be taught a lesson about money if they are saved, they should already understand that one must not depend on money but depend on God.

How do you get from those scriptures that it is about Gentiles helping Israel out? How do you separate saved Jews from saved Gentiles?

Are the Jews you speak of believing Jews? Why are you speaking as believing Jews will need help and not believing Gentiles?

 

The same gospel of believe and obey was preached before and after the cross!

However, the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ was that, a mystery.

Ephesians 3:3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

Ephesians 3:4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

Ephesians 3:9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Ephesians 3:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,

Colossians 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 2:2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Matthew 13:11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

1 Corinthians 4:1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.

Stop teaching falseness.

 

So you actualy believe in a gospel of works in the tribulation in order for them to obtain eternal life??? They must get rid of their riches in order to enter the kingdom???? Do I understand you correctly?

 

Jesus was sent FIRST to the lost sheep of Israel. When Jesus was lifted up, all men could come to him.

Everything Jesus said to the Israelites, it goes for the Gentiles. Jesus just spoke to the Jews first. The Jews who belonged to God before Jesus came; even they now had to go through Jesus to keep with God.

Jew and Gentile must go through Jesus to be with God.

Even the Jews who belonged to God before Jesus’ ministry on earth, God gave them to Jesus, they were His, but now they had to go through Jesus.

The righteous Jews of the Old Testament who died before Jesus came to earth; even they were made perfect through faith in Jesus, when the gospel of Jesus was preached they heard it in the spirit, their spirit.

I just do not see how you can separate Jews from Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

Did you read that? Jesus created IN HIMSELF ONE NEW MAN OUT OF THE TWO, the two being Jews and Gentiles.

We are part of Jesus’ body literally.

Again, I do not see how you can separate Jews from Gentiles.

 

Lost people will take the mark of the beast but that does not mean salvation is conditioned upon the mark. Think this through! Are you saying that tribulation mankind has a different problem to be saved from other than "sin" and there is a different kind of savior, salvation and gospel in the tribulation period?

 

I am just not sure I understand what you are saying.

Those who do not believe in Jesus are not saved. The Jews who were alive at Jesus’ time on earth, they were cut off for not having faith in Jesus.
So then, since the Jews were cut off, what makes you think their descendents are not also cut off if they do not believe in Jesus?