Craig Gaunt
Epistles
In The Final Quest, Rick Joyner explains in vivid detail a vision he had of the end-times and the battle that took place during it when he is a soldier in the war. He learns that he must seek shelter on a mountain to escape the coming hordes of hell that are using both Christians and non-Christians to attack the church. Once upon the mountain, he attacks the hordes but then realizes he is being drawn to the top of the peak, and he becomes more sanctified with every new level he reaches. Once at the top, he experiences what it is to worship God purely and without any hindrance. He later descends the mountain to help other warriors, which leads him to a room full of the treasures of heaven. Finally, his journey takes him to the halls of heaven and the judgment seat of Christ where he not only meets Jesus but also encounters the apostle Paul. Christ then charges him with a new command to preach the gospel and gives him fuller insight as to what it means to be loved by God and to love Him more deeply.
THEME 1) One idea Joyner mentions is that faith is the recognition of who God is, and it becomes stronger when a person realizes that God is the only secure foundation that anyone can put their faith in. It is in this acknowledgement that one can go so far as to even doubt themselves and yet not fall into despair, because they can grow to fully rely on and trust God. Throughout Scripture there are countless times where God’s presence leads His servants to exclaim their own inadequacies, showing that they had little or no confidence in their own strength (i.e. Moses, Gideon, Saul, etc.). These men and several others had no other option then to depend on God who gave them true humility. In the New Testament also, Paul says repeatedly that righteousness comes by faith alone (Romans 1:17; 3:21-30; Galatians 2:16). When one realizes that faith must not be built on human wisdom but on God, it can lead to an emptying of the self in order for God to fill them with faith in Christ. This is what Joyner experienced at the end of his vision.[1] Biblical faith is coming to grips with the fact we as human beings are absolutely in capable of reaching God, but because God is trustworthy, He has given us a way to him by simply believing and trusting in Him and His grace (Eph. 2:8, 9). And the entire New Testament is against the idea of works-righteousness apart from faith in Jesus.
Early on in the battle, Joyner stated that there was a conflict raging inside him between what he saw with his eyes and what he saw with his heart.[2] The angel had stated plainly, “What you see with the eyes of your heart is more real than what you see with your physical eyes.”[3] He then said that he better understood what Jesus meant when he told his disciples that it was better for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). With eyes of faith, believers can see the Holy Spirit at work in redeeming the world even when cannot see a physical Jesus with their human eyes. This concept is parallel to the Old Testament examples of the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 who trusted God and it was by that faith they could see God’s miraculous acts in the world. It was only by trusting God that they could win their different battles and by the same measure of complete faith, all believers can win theirs.
THEME 2) One notion that Joyner ties in successfully with the biblical authors, especially in the epistles, is the centrality of the cross in the church’s ministry and message. The cross is the greatest sacrifice ever made. He is in agreement with 1 Cor. 1:18 when he says the cross is “the power of God” to save.[4] The church today is trying to be too therapeutic and seeker-sensitive in order to reach out to the world, but it comes at the expense of the gospel. It is through the power of Christ’s death on the cross that unbelievers become believers and believers become sanctified.
In almost every letter of the New Testament, the different authors all stress the power of the cross and the One who died on it to save humanity from sin. Paul resolved to preach nothing but Jesus Christ crucified to the Corinthian church because anything more would be to rob the cross of its power (1 Cor. 1:17; 2:2). Although he said that it is foolishness and a shameful thing to both Jews and Gentiles (what deity would ever stoop so low as to die on the most disgraceful of death instruments like a cross), to those who know God’s power to save, the cross is the most beautiful thing imaginable (1 Cor. 1:23). In fact, if a believer tries to earn righteousness any other way, then they make the cross void of its impact (Gal. 2:21). When the cross is written about and preached, the deity and humanity of Christ (as well as His example for believers) is also seen (Phil. 2:5-8). The author of Hebrews emphasizes the crucifixion because without it no sin can be atoned for even by the blood of animals, as was thought under the Old Covenant (Heb. 9:11-15; 10:8-18). Additionally, Paul urges believers not to believe in human traditions and philosophies that build on any other foundation except Christ because His cross has put to death not only our sins. It also has freed believers of obedience to rituals, rules, regulations, and traditions that would continue to place barriers between a Christian and the Lord Jesus (Col. 2:6-15). These practices do nothing to bring a believer closer to God (Heb. 13:9, 10). In fact, all of them will pass away but the grace brought on by the cross will stand forever because atonement has come. When Jesus says that His followers must take up their crosses, it does mean a life of persecution, but believers also rejoice because Christ’s cross is a badge of honor and praise not shame. Judging by his work, Joyner would certainly agree.
THEME 3) Another theme that Joyner touched on was the effects of the fall of humanity into sin. He noted that only those still under the curse of the fall in Genesis 3 are those that fear the Judgment Seat of Christ because those who are saved know that even Christ’s judgments are always perfectly good.[5] That fear, Joyner says, is the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.[6] It also affected our minds so that they are tainted with sin as Joyner writes, “[The Fall] brought about a sever reduction of our intellectual and spiritual capabilities.”[7] The biblical authors would agree.
Paul wrote on the consequences of Adam’s sin and mankind’s subsequent condition in Romans 1:18-32 and 5:14-21, saying that sin has brought death and has perverted people’s minds. Paul says in Galatians that the entire world is a prisoner of sin and that the law did nothing but point out what sin is but also stimulating the desire to do it. We then became slaves to sin (Gal. 4:3). We followed its evil desires because it was our nature to do so, and we became objects of wrath (Eph. 2:3). Likewise, when people are controlled by that sinful nature it brings nothing but fear and death (Rom. 7:5, 6). What is worse is that Joyner observes those who are being controlled by demons thought they were doing God’s will, and they listened to the vultures that they thought were God’s messengers. A similar sentiment can be found in 1 Corinthians when Paul says that if the rules of this age had understood the power and wisdom of God, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (2:8, 9). When the leaders in Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, they only thought they were doing the God’s will, but their minds were tainted with sin. Likewise it is not hard to find people today who are committing unspeakable acts in the name of God and yet claim they are doing it all in His will.
However, Paul then writes that those who are in Christ have no fear of condemnation because Christ’s sacrifice has paid for the sin debt to God (8:1-4), and a mind controlled by God does not have fear of death but peace and security. Nothing can separate a believer from the eternal security found in Christ’s love (8:38, 39).
THEME 4) Joyner mentioned early in his book that Scripture is the only inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God and is the only source to obtain sound doctrine.[8] Both Peter’s and Paul’s epistles agree on this point (2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17). Although these two specific scripture verses were pertaining to the Old Testament in their readers’ minds, Paul’s first letter to Timothy reflects that parts of what would become the New Testament canon were already being circulated and were considered to be of equal authority to the Old Testament (1 Tim. 5:18). Having sound doctrine was crucial in the early church as we have many commands from Paul urging the church to stick to it and warning that there is coming a time when people will not (2 Tim. 3:5). For the early church, sound doctrine and sound faith led to sound living (2 Tim. 1:13).
Joyner describes that the further he climbed up the mountain of God, the more he discovered that could no longer use the sword to attack the vultures of depression and condemnation, but instead needed to use the sword as an anchor to secure himself while he shot arrows of spiritual truth.[9] He also observed that those who did not follow this technique quickly fell off the mountain.[10] The Word of God is indeed called a sword in numerous places in Scripture (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12), and as seen earlier, the New Testament writers did stress the need to know the Bible as a firm foundation for conduct. Additionally, while the biblical writers would certainly not agree with the misuse of Scripture, calling it a sword implies that the Word of God is an offensive weapon as well as a defensive one. Out of all the parts listed in the “armor of God” the sword is the only one used as an offensive weapon is God’s Word. Plus, it is only through Scripture that we know what faith, hope, love, sanctification, salvation, etc. even mean and who we must trust with all of these. After all, one can have faith in oneself, family, government, or friends. However when this one reads Jesus’ words in gospels, they discover who they must put their faith in. If Joyner truly wants to use the arrows of spiritual truths, then the Word of God must be the bow that gives them flight. Without God’s Word, Christians do not have the sword to anchor themselves, the bow to use spiritual truth effectively and applicably, or even the tools necessary to climb the mountain of God at all.
THEME 5) Throughout his vision, Joyner experiences many points of suffering, but he is often assured by Wisdom that it is not pointless that he suffers. While his is within the room inside the mountain contemplating the wounds of those who have stayed behind, the eagle interrupts his thoughts. He says that, just as Christ’s wounds have healed us, so too do our wounds give us the authority to hear others in the areas we were attacked that are now being attacked in others.[11] He further writes that God allows His followers to suffer so that they will receive compassion for others.[12] Paul would certainly applaud these ideas as he wrote in 2 Cor. 1:2-11 that believers can take the comfort that God has given them and use it to comfort others. Also, this suffering produces hope, and Paul says that this hope does not disappoint (Rom. 5:1-5).
For a Christian, suffering is not shameful but redemptive, drawing our minds closer to what Christ had to endure on our behalf out of His great love. This goes well with what Joyner later hears from the eagle, “Until you have beheld and appreciated the depth of the treasures of salvation, you cannot see the glory that comes from the suffering for the sake of the gospel.”[13] When a believer understands the power of Christ’s death, suffering becomes a blessing along with faith (Phil. 1:29). Christ said that those who preserve their lives will lost them but those who risk their lives for His sake, which entails walking by faith through suffering, will find true life (Matt. 10:39). Walking by faith requires fixing one’s mind upon Christ, for in doing so, suffering becomes easier as Joyner notes.[14]
Peter’s first epistle was written to Christians needing to be comforted through their suffering. Peter’s main thrust throughout the letter is that Christ set the example of suffering and by doing so, brought redemption (1 Peter 2:19-3:18). Therefore, when a believer experiences unjust suffering, they should rejoice because not only are they blessed by God’s Spirit, but they will also experiences a future glory because they know the power of salvation and the suffering necessary to bring it (1 Peter 4:12-19). James echoes this glory when he says that suffering produces a crown of life given by God (1:12).
THEME 6) Sanctification is a process in which one is refined by God by walking with Him daily, having fellowship with Him so that the one may become more Christ-like. Unlike justification which depends solely on God rather than human work, sanctification is a daily journey of becoming holy that one chooses out of love and gratification to God. This is how Joyner experiences the rough climb up the mountain as it becomes more challenging with every level. The bottom level is salvation which starts the journey and works its way up to the peak of the mountain which is the garden of God, and the higher he climbed the better he could kill the demons attacking the believers, implying holiness and being perfected. Although this implies that once he made it to the top of the mountain, he was completely sanctified, the Bible says that the process of sanctification is a life-long journey, lasting until the day they die or until Christ brings about “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23). Beforehand in this same letter, Paul wrote about how the new spiritual nature in his heart and his remaining unperfected sinful flesh were at war with one another (Rom. 7:14-20).
There is one point that Joyner hits correctly, and it is when he observes the many multitudes around the throne and then says that, “Those who prevailed did it the same way: they did not deviate from their devotion to the first and greatest commandment-loving the Lord.”[15] It is out of God’s love that justification has been made available, but it is out of this and our love for God that sanctification becomes more evident in a believers life. It must spring forth from a love of God. Sanctification also requires a willing spirit to be transformed by God daily. As Joyner noted, he initially thought that the level of Gal. 2:20 was so wide that he was in no danger of falling or being attacked by the vultures.[16] However, Wisdom warned him that he was in danger of falling from any level so he must remain humble.[17] Indeed, this verse has been misquoted by leaders like Jim Jones of the People’s Temple Movement to justify his followers’ unquestioning allegiance to him because he claimed he was Christ incarnate, making him completely sanctified.[18] The old saying goes, “if you think you have reached complete sanctification, you haven’t” because it requires being humble before God and constantly admitting one’s dependences on Him. While not perfect, Joyner did treat this biblical concept much better than others.
THEME 7) The final idea of Joyner that the biblical authors could certainly affirm is when he speaks of the blessings that come from true worship. Joyner writes that when he was in the garden of God at the peak of the mountain, the more he worshipped, the more they beheld Christ’s glory.[19] He says, “Somehow I understood this glory had been there all along but when we focused on Him in worship, we began to see more of His glory.”[20] Christ also invited three of the apostles to follow him to a place where He showed them His glory (Matt. 17:1-8). When believers take the time to worship God, God reveals more of who he is. One of the purposes of a Sabbath in the Old Testament was to take the time to rest and remember what God had done for the Israelites. While Christians today are not required to keep the Sabbath in the same way, the mentality of remembering what God has done should remain constantly in the mind and heart. God’s glory remains constantly, but in worship, one’s relationship with God becomes closer and God’s glory is revealed to them.
Joyner also notes that when one leaves a place of worship, they do not leave the presence of God but take it with them.[21] When Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive another copy of God’s laws, he returned with his face showing God’s glory (Ex. 34:29-35). Additionally, Wisdom told Joyner, “Now that you have the heart of a true worshipper, you will always want to be here.”[22] Paul expressed this same sentiment when he desired to be with the Lord even though he knew he was needed on earth (Phil. 1:20-24). A believer will always want to be in a state of worship to God because it comes from an attitude of thanksgiving, and they realize it is only a taste of the glory that is to come. It is because believers do not belong to this world and have that yearning for God’s constant presence that Paul calls them “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20). Ambassadors represent their home to a foreign country, but also realize they must remain loyal to their true home and never blur it with the visiting country. Similarly, believers are in the world but should never take on its customs because they are not representatives for it to the Lord. Instead, they are representatives of God to the world.
Not only does worship bind an individual to God, but Joyner makes the point that it also binds believers to each other.[23] A prime example of communal worship is in Neh. 12:27-43 at the dedication of Jerusalem’s new wall. Another would be in Acts 2:43-47 and 4:32-37 when believers made sure to provide for one another, building lasting relationships. The author of Hebrews encourages his readers to encourage one another and not to avoid meeting with one another for the sake of building each other up (10:24, 25)
THEME 8) Although there were several themes in his book I could affirm, a problem I had with his text is his treatment of wisdom in comparison to Christ. Joyner speaks often of an angel called Wisdom that guides him throughout his battle on the mountain. He then realizes that Wisdom is Jesus not an angel yet he still mentions wisdom as if it were a separate being at certain points and part of the Lord in other points.[24] This is reminiscent of both Gnosticism and Arian heresies. Many of the New Testament epistles were written directly against Gnosticism or had mentioned it in their content. Paul’s letters looking at similar heresy include Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. Both Peter’s and John’s letters address it as well. In short, this heresy claimed that Jesus came only to give people the secret knowledge of the access to God. Faith is not the key to righteousness, but wisdom is.
Similarly the Arian heresy promoted the idea that Jesus was not God or the second person in the Trinity but instead was God’s first creation, subordinate to the Father, and was Wisdom incarnate. One of the twisting combinations of Scripture to support this justification was Col. 1:15 with Prov. 8:22-31. Likewise, there are times in Joyner’s journey where he only sees Wisdom as an angel, and this is similar to a cult in modern times: Jehovah’s Witnesses. Near the end of the story Joyner reports that Christ appears more glorious as Wisdom then He did on His judgment seat.[25] This seems highly improbable because when Christ sits on His throne, it is not only having the intent to judge but to show the whole world He is truly the King that every knee must bow before and every tongue confess (Phil. 2:10, 11). It is here that Christ’s ultimate glory is made to shine forth, not as being in the form of wisdom. Plus, there was one incidence where soldiers attempted to worship Wisdom, but Joyner says that Wisdom “restrained them and sent them on their way”.[26] This is completely contrasting the picture of Jesus presented in the New Testament as He never denied anyone from worshipping Him (John 20:28-31). By the same token, both his apostles and his angles denied being worshipped saying they were only servants (Acts 14:14, 15; Rev. 22:8, 9). Although Wisdom has many blessed words to tell Rick, this portrayal of Christ seemed far too close to heretical thinking than biblical doctrine. In runs parallel to books like The Shack in which Wisdom is presented as an entirely separate entity yet equaled with God or even a fourth person of the Trinity.
THEME 9) Additionally, Joyner misrepresents his biblical and eschatological terms when he wrongly discusses the different realms of heaven with Wisdom. Wisdom tells him that John’s apocalyptic vision in the book of Revelation was from the third heaven but most of it took place in the second heaven.[27] He goes on to say that the first heaven is the time period before the fall of humanity into sin.[28] The second heaven is the spiritual realm during the reign of evil on earth, and the third has the Father ruling through Jesus the King.[29] It looks as though that Joyner is viewing these three heavens as not places as much as they are periods of time in the eschatological sense. The first heaven was in the Garden of Eden. The second one is the present evil age when darkness seems to be reigning. The third is when Christ returns in His glory to establish his earthly kingdom.
This is not the model of the three heavens as portrayed in Scripture. The first heaven was simply Earth’s atmosphere where the birds resided and the weather took place (Deut. 11:17; Acts 14:17). The second heaven was outer space where the constellations, sun, and other celestial bodies were (Jer. 8:2). Finally, the third heaven was God’s dwelling place (1 Kings. 8:30; Matt. 5:16). If Joyner was writing an allegorical account that would be one thing, but he asks Wisdom about the exact third heaven that Paul was caught up into in 2 Cor. 12:2. Furthermore, John never said he was caught up in any heaven when he wrote Revelation, only that he had received a vision from God about what was to happen (Rev. 1:1-3). However, to his credit, Joyner does write that Wisdom says he must preach the third heaven (future kingdom of God) rather than wonder what the first heaven was even like.[30] Even though Christ has undone the curse of sin in a believer’s life, the Bible does not command that Christians preach a “return to Eden” message because we can never return, but rather we preach the present and future kingdom of God entered through faith in Christ, which will be much more glorious (Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 4:1-8).
THEME 10) Another problem with Joyner’s quest that the biblical authors would shun is some of the imagery he uses when he is present in the judgment hall. The first obvious one is the idea that a believer can communicate with the dead. On his journey, he encountered several who had died including colleagues, a famous Reformer and his wife (my personal guess is that it was John Calvin and his wife) and even the Apostle Paul himself. Although what these people had to say was certainly beneficial, the practice of mediums and/or consulting the dead is explicitly prohibited in Scripture (Lev. 19:31; Dt. 18:11; 1 Sam. 29:15-22). On a side note, Joyner portrays Paul in a very humble light, but it is at the apostle’s expense. Paul did indeed consider himself the “least of the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:9) and the “worst of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15, 16). However, in his last epistle he also wrote that he has finished what he was called to do and kept the faith, running the race with diligence (2 Tim. 4:6-8). This does not sound at all like Joyner’s description when he first meets Paul where the beloved apostle says, “I fell short of all that I was called to do.”[31]
Throughout his journey, Joyner also gives angels the names of different biblical truths, basically personifying these biblical concepts. Christ is the perfect embodiment of faith, hope, love, wisdom, and everything else that is godly. Angels cannot embody these aspects as they are susceptible to temptation and being cast out of heaven, and they will be judged by believers (1 Cor. 6:3). In regard to angels, Joyner also paints the picture that the angels will be serving humans, but this is not the biblical picture as angels have one primary function: to serve God and to be messengers of God to people.
As stated earlier, Joyner meets several people in the judgment hall on his way to see the throne of Christ. These people are the ones telling him that they deserve to be the least in heaven because they squandered their time on earth. This would imply the idea that there is shame in heaven dependent upon the works of the believer. This idea runs contrary to being saved through grace and that no works could ever save anyone (Eph. 2:8, 9). Jesus set the foundation for this idea including telling the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt.20:1-16). The purpose of the parable is to explain that no matter who calls on Jesus at whatever hour of their lives they are given grace freely and equally through trust in Christ, from the young teenager to the elder on their deathbed. Plus it does not line up with the picture of the New Jerusalem which will not have anyone or anything shameful within its gates (Rev. 21:26, 27). In heaven, there is no such ranking or levels of believers because we are all saved in the same way: faith in Jesus.
There are many theological and scriptural topics that Joyner addresses throughout his vision. Several of these would certainly be in harmony with what the Bible teaches, including topics such as the sufficiency of Scripture, suffering, and worship. However, there are some that would also be a false representation as to what the biblical authors are meaning, such as eschatology and apostolic characters.
With a mixture of both, Joyner’s book should be placed in the same genre as a work like The Pilgrim’s Progress. Both are unquestioningly entertaining reads as well as conveying powerful allegorical messages to their readers that must be stressed in the church today. On the other hand, neither should be taken so literally that one would equate them with having further revelation into the truths of Scripture or as basis for Christian doctrine. Joyner treats his work as the former and, unfortunately some have tended to regard his work as also the later.
[1] Joyner, Rick. The Final Quest. Hardcover ed. Charlotte: Morning Star Publications, 1997, 182
[2] Joyner, Rick. The Final Quest. 3rd ed. Charlotte: Morning Star Publications, 1996, 50
[3] Ibid., pg. 47
[4] Joyner, Hardcover ed., 169
[5] Joyner, Hardcover ed., 103
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., 157
[8] Joyner, 3rd ed., 15
[9] Ibid., 32
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid., 88
[12] Joyner, Hardcover ed., 98
[13] Ibid., 99
[14] Ibid., 105
[15] Joyner, 3rd ed., 142
[16] Ibid., 33, 34
[17] Ibid., 36
[18] McGehee, Fielding M. III. Jonestown Audiotape Primary Project: Summaries, The Jonestown Institute. http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/Tapes/Tapes/TapeSummaries/353.html [accessed 5/14/09].
[19] Joyner, 3rd ed., 47
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid., 48
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid., pg. 68
[24] Ibid., 61, 126, 138
[25] Ibid., 138
[26] Ibid., 54
[27] Ibid., 50, 51
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid., 143