Question:   Dear Greg,

            I have two questions: First, what is your teaching on the fall of man?  Is it true that Adam was perfect and that after he sinned the creation entered into a state of decay and that salvation amounts to restoring the human race to the state which Adam was in initially?

            Secondly, I keep hearing some preachers stating that they believe that “God is about to do a great work” in this or that country or community in terms of bringing many people to Christ.  These same people usually state that the return of Jesus is imminent.  Does not the Bible indicate that at the time of the end there will be a “falling away and that man of sin shall be revealed” and “as it was in Noah so shall it be in the end?”  These verses suggest widespread apostasy rather than a great harvesting of souls.

David

Answer:  Dear David,

            The biblically orthodox views of the “fall of man”—or as some have called it, “the crash”, primarily comes from Romans 5:12-14.  All of the conclusions you mention in your second sentence are “conclusions” that reason from Romans 5, but are not clearly articulated in the Bible.  They are thus in the speculative category—interesting, perhaps true, but not essential to one’s relationship with God.

            The passages to which you refer about the “end times” can be interpreted a variety of ways, including the idea that the “time of the end” started at the end of the first century AD.  Attempts to narrow down a specific time, year or decade have always failed in spite of incredible speculation.  There is a heightened interest level when specific personalities are named as suspects for the “man of sin”, etc.  But human curiosity does not define truth nor is human curiosity and interest an appropriate methodology by which to study the Bible.

            In a similar vein, preachers who announce that “God is going to do a great work” and call for revival may be simply trying to prime a spiritual pump.  Some may be attempting to convince and persuade their listeners of the inevitability of what they say, thus setting in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy.

            What God will do or not do just before the Second Coming is not specifically revealed to us.  We can be assured that something will happen, but exactly what and when is probably a waste of our time.  Perhaps even worse, speculation can cause us to completely lose focus of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht