TCID: Baptists In Dialogue
December 3, 2022
Participants
Pastor Tray Earnhart, Panelist
Pastor Shelby Pruitt, Panelist
Pastor Wesley Russell, Panelist
Mark Joubert, Speaker
Question 01
What nature did the Son of God assume when He entered into this world as a babe? Did Jesus, our Lord, possess mortal parents, or exclusively heavenly ones? If mortal, who were they, and in what manner should they be described as His parents? Is their genealogy at all significant? For instance, how essential was it that Christ be descended from a certain bloodline? Was Jesus conceived by normal means, or did a miracle occur with regard to His earthly origin? If a miracle, in what way was it expected, and by whose power did Christ’s conception take place? Relating to miracles, was Mary’s bearing of Jesus indicative of her son’s humanity, or was it primarily a supernatural display? In other words, was Christ’s birth accompanied by the typical physical effects associated with childbirth (such as labor pain, blood loss, etc.), or was Mary withheld from these usual sufferings? If either, in what way does this view inform your Christology? With regard to Mary’s virginity, did it endure following the birth of Jesus, or did the mother of our Lord bear further offspring conceived in marital union?
Question 02
Those of us who have been made spotless by the blood of the Lamb eagerly await His triumphant return. Upon the arrival of this precious restoration, we believe that the Lord shall come in the clouds with great power and tremendous glory; every eye shall behold the majesty of earth’s true Messiah and King. Certainly, we agree that Christ shall come again, but what are our convictions concerning the events that surround and precede His return? Does the Second Coming of Jesus occur prior to the millennium described in the 20th chapter of Revelation, or after? If before, will the Church be raptured ahead of a period of tribulation—and the millennium—or shall it suffer earthly tumult alongside the faithless? Does the nation of Israel have a role to play in the millennial era? If so, in what way does this connect to the Church? Speaking of the millennium, must it be understood as a literal thousand-year period, or simply an extended timespan of indeterminate length? Is it synonymous with the Church era, or should we interpret it as being that of a future “golden age?” If the latter, how might one describe it? Will this “golden age” include the earthly rule of a physically returned Christ initiating a supernatural peace throughout the land, or will it be an age comparable to our present, yet severely elevated in some way? What do you believe ushers in the millennium? Is the Church obligated to help bring about its commencement? Further, as we approach Christ’s Final Advent, will conditions steadily worsen or improve? How might we make sense of the “binding of Satan?” Has this prophecy already come to pass? If so, how does such a truth mesh with the Devil’s current influence in the world? Finally, in what manner should we understand the two “resurrections” of Revelation 20? Are they both physical? If so, who is revived, and when? If not, what does each resurrection represent according to your
interpretation?
The Church in Dialogue 