WesleyGospel Ministries

Now, brethren, concerning the COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST and OUR GATHERING together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless THE FALLING AWAY COMES FROM FIRST, and THE MAN OF SIN is revealed, THE SON OF PERDITION, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

–2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-4 (NKJV)–

The above passage is a revealed doctrine, based on a prophetic vision of future events; and it tells us the following things:

1. The Lord Jesus Christ will come back to earth.

2. True Christians will be raptured up to be with Jesus when he returns.

3. The Church will experience a worldwide apostasy or backsliding.

4. There will be a personal Antichrist: here called the Man of Sin and the Son of Perdition.

5. The Antichrist will sit in the Jerusalem temple and call himself God.

6. Steps 3, 4, and 5 happen (Antichrist): then Steps 1 and 2 (Advent and Rapture).

Then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but FOR THE ELECT’S SAKE those days will be shortened. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For FALSE CHRISTS and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders TO DECEIVE, IF POSSIBLE, EVEN THE ELECT…Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days…they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven…And He will send His angels with a great sound of a TRUMPET, and they will GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other…Then two men will be in the field: ONE WILL BE TAKEN AND THE OTHER LEFT…Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

–MATTHEW 24:21-24, 29-31, 40, 42 (NKJV)–

The above passage is a revealed doctrine, based on a prophetic vision of future events; and it tells us the following things:

1. The Great Tribulation is the time when the Antichrist tries to deceive the elect.

2. After this, that is, POST-TRIBULATION, Jesus will return on the clouds.

3. After this, that is, POST-TRIBULATION, the angelic trumpet will blast.

4. After this, that is, POST-TRIBULATION, the gathering or rapture will happen.

5. The elect living in the time of the Antichrist won’t know the exact time of the rapture.

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St. Irenaeus, “The Fraud, Pride, and Tyrannical Kingdom of the Antichrist.” (180 A.D.). “They [the ten kings] shall…give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight…But he [John] indicates the number of the name [Antichrist, 666] now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is.”

St. Hippolytus of Rome, “On Christ and Antichrist.” (202 A.D.). “Concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall upon the Church from the adversary…That refers to the one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church.”

George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope (Eerdmans, 1956). Shows that the early church fathers taught that there will be a post-tribulation rapture. The appearance of the Antichrist was the first aspect to be expected in the end-time process; and not a sudden and unexpected rapture like in the Left Behind films. The Omen films, as worldly as they are, come much closer to the Biblical and early church view of the last days.

Robert Gundry, The Church and the Tribulation (Zondervan, 1973).

Douglas Moo, “A Case for the Posttribulation Rapture,” Three Views on the Rapture (Zondervan, 2018).

A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
but a wise man quietly holds it back.
–Proverbs 29:11 (ESV)–

Why should the devil have all the good music? 
–Martin Luther–

Fear get away from me
Doubt has no place in me
Seduction of death will go
Intermittent thoughts of past life

I do not know that man
Anymore
Nevermore

Weight has lifted
Is broken
That yoke destroyed
I’ve nothing more to do with it

Peace deep within
I’m set free

I have become something else
My spirit breathes freely again
That yoke destroyed
I’ve nothing more to do with it

No longer tormented
No longer

–Living Sacrifice, “No Longer”–

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¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. ¹⁹ One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”
–ROMANS 9:11-20 (NIV)–

You stiff-necked people! 
Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised.
You are just like your ancestors:
You always resist the Holy Spirit!
–ACTS 7:51 (NIV)–

If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
–JOSHUA 24:15 (NIV)–

God does not show favoritism.
–ROMANS 2:11 (NIV)–

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John Wesley, Predestination Calmly Considered (London, 1755).

—. Calvinism Calmly Considered (Schmul, 2001).

Jack W. Cottrell, “The Classical Arminian View of Election,” ch. 3, in Perspectives on Election: Five Views (Broadman & Holman, 2006). Cottrell was a Church of Christ preacher.

CLICK HERE to find out how R. C. Sproul, the great defender of five point Calvinism, rejected the literal Hell revealed in the Word of God!

The whole head is sick!
–Isaiah 1:5 (NKJV)–

A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man,
nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment,
for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.
–Deuteronomy 22:5 (NKJV)–

SODOM AND GOMORRAH, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after STRANGE FLESH, are set forth as an example, SUFFERING THE VENGEANCE OF ETERNAL FIRE.
–Jude 1:7 (NKJV)–

Do you not know that THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, NOR HOMOSEXUALS, NOR SODOMITES, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
–1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)–

There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. –C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 178

I cannot give pederasty anything like a first place among the evils of the Coll. There is much hypocrisy on this theme. People commonly talk as if every other evil were more tolerable than this. But why? Because those of us who do not share the vice feel for it a certain nausea, as we do, say, for necrophily? I think that of very little relevance to moral judgment. –C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, p. 109

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Dr. Hugh Pyle, The Truth About the Homosexuals (Sword of the Lord, 1978).

In this article, I would like to explore the reasons why Wesleyanism is distinct from Calvinism as a system of belief and spirituality. In my personal opinion, there are really two main doctrinal issues that are linked with this differentiation. The traditions are centuries-old and it’s very improbable that they will ever merge together or reconcile. The first issue is the doctrine of eternal security on the Calvinist side; and the second issue is the doctrine of cessationism. Wesleyans generally believe the opposite on those two points. Wesleyans believe in conditional security and continuationism or that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are given today in one way or another. Although there are variations among them.

Because I am a Wesleyan, I believe that the Bible teaches CONDITIONAL SECURITY: whether it’s the Parable of the Sower, or 1 Timothy 1:19, which talks about the shipwreck of the genuine faith of a true convert, or Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-30, in any case, true faith, true converting saving, justifying, and sanctifying faith, faith in the blood of Jesus Christ as a substitutionary atonement, faith that produces a sense of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s heart. Real genuine faith can still be shipwrecked if it is neglected through unbelief or worldly distractions: and this is believed to come from a plain reading of the Word of God, without extraordinary interpretations put into it. It is the natural result of just plainly reading the Bible. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

As a Wesleyan, I believe that the Bible teaches the CONTINUATION of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 says that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. This is so essential, whether we feel the Holy Spirit on us, in us, around us, or near us, to comfort us. Whether we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in our minds, say, “I love you,” or we feel the burning fire of the Holy Spirit warming our bellies, as we meditate on the Word of God like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, whether we have dreams and visions of the Holy Spirit, with Christian content in them as in Acts 2:17 or the book of Revelation. We feel so led to share our spiritual experiences. Not just in our journal privately, but publicly in a church service like in 1 Corinthians 14. We feel so led to pray for the divine healing of another person with the laying on of our hands, or maybe feel the desire to speak in tongues as the Holy Spirit fills us. Whatever the case may be, we do believe that these gifts are for today and that they are the result of drawing near to God through the Bible, prayer, and worship. We go to him in prayer and then his manifest presence responds and draws near to us (James 4:8).

There are many Calvinists, who believe in repentance and faith in the substitutionary atonement of Christ, who believe that obedience to the Bible is a necessary evidence of genuine saving faith, that feel the presence of God and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, that have genuine converting faith and a genuine walk with Jesus, Calvinists like John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon. They understand God, experientially by faith. They preach and believe in eternal punishment, and salvation from it, through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus prophesied in Isaiah 53. These are sincere and true believers, true members of the body of Christ. If they have the witness of the Holy Spirit, if they bear the fruit of the Spirit, if they have good works in their lives, if they keep and love God’s commandments with all their hearts, minds, and strength, these are true members of the body of Christ. No matter what their opinions about predestination and the Holy Spirit are. But I still approach that contentious crowd with fear and loathing. I do not believe that I’d ever be invited to be a part of their club. No matter how popular I may ever be. There is a very protective attitude that many of them have. They don’t want to confuse their families, wives, or kids about thoughts like conditional security and continuationism. That’s where the wall of separation between the Calvinists and Wesleyans can be found.

What is the Wesleyan tradition? What does it look like today? Where are we to truly find them? Not in name only but in practice. I don’t know! But, I do believe that it would be right to say that the starting point should probably be the InterChurch Holiness Convention, which is comprised of groups like the Bible Methodist Church and the Southern Methodist Church, with Bible colleges like Allegheny Wesleyan College and Southern Methodist College. These are churches that are conservative and believe in separation from the world. However, some people might understandably find some of their customs to be a little bit rigid. They probably are inclined to reject rock music, movies, and things like that. A true Wesleyan preaches repentance, and eternal punishment, and LGBT inclusion does not fit into that. No true Bible Wesleyan would ever approve of something like that! Wesleyans are preachers of the moral law. However, if we are talking about a generic watered down Wesleyanism, there’s plenty of examples of this. These are the big Wesleyan denominations that do not preach the doctrines of Wesley and if anything, only hold to them at the seminary level. But in the pulpit there’s no preaching of the doctrines of Wesley, there’s no preaching of Bible holiness, there’s no awareness of Schmul Publishing and Francis Asbury Press. I can rest assure you that the preacher in that church is Wesleyan in name only. I’m afraid to say that I think the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Church of the Nazarene, Assemblies of God, and Church of God all fall into this category. They have all been so whitewashed with Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church ideology, that I just do not trust them in general.

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Ernest S. Williams, Systematic Theology (Gospel Publishing House, 1953).

Charles Carter, ed. A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology (Zondervan, 1984).

Dr. Vic Reasoner, Fundamental Wesleyan Systematic Theology (FWP, 2021).

Dr. French Arrington, Christian Doctrine (Pathway Press, 1992).

David Anderson, Conditional Security (Schmul, 1985).

P. C. Nelson, Bible Doctrines (Gospel Publishing House, 1948), ch. 8.

Harold Horton, The Gifts of the Spirit (Gospel Publishing House, 1934).

Dr. Harald Lindström, Wesley and Sanctification (Zondervan, 1998).

Dr. Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Scriptural Christianity (Zondervan, 1994).

Dr. Kenneth J. Collins, Wesley on Salvation (Zondervan, 1989).

John Wesley, Calvinism Calmly Considered (Schmul, 2001).

—. Wesleyana (Allegheny Publications, 1979).

Adam Clarke, Christian Theology (Schmul, 1990).

Dr. Jack Deere, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 2020).

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God (Zondervan, 2022).

Daniel Corner, The Believer’s Conditional Security (Evangelical Outreach, 2000).

Robert Graves, ed. Strangers to Fire (Empowered Life, 2016).