Introduction to the Book
New Wine for the End Times
Philip B. Brown ( www.newwine.org )

All New Testament doctrine comes from five Jewish sources: Jesus, John, James, Peter, and Paul.  We must strive to interpret their words in a manner that ancient Jewish readers would have understood, and in the context of the Jewish culture seen in the Old Testament.

When the term “ancient Jewish eschatology” is used, it is meant to represent literal interpretation of Old Testament Scripture.  Why should ancient Jewish eschatology be applied?   The answer is simple, and lies in the authority of Old Testament Scripture.  This is not to say that we should incorporate aspects of their beliefs aside from those found in Scripture itself.

A natural question arises: aren’t traditional interpretations sufficient? There are two traditional approaches to Old Testament prophecy:

1) Preterists would say, correctly, that the Church is Israel.  The New Testament Church is simply a continuation of God's chosen people, under a New Covenant.   However, Preterists views hold that Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel will be completely fulfilled in Christ's first coming.  This requires massive and confusing allegorical and symbolic techniques.  Many Preterists admit that the Jewish writers themselves would never have interpreted the prophecies in this way. 

2) Dispensationalists  interpret Old Testament prophecies much more literally and naturally, following ancient Jewish tradition. But according to these views the Church is a "parenthesis" between two dispensations of Israel, completely separating Old Testament prophecies from the Church.  These prophecies apply to a separate group of God's people they consider to be Israel.

My approach is to interpret Old Testament prophecies literally and naturally, as the ancient Jews would have done, but to apply their principles directly to the Church.  In other words, the Church is Israel.  The prophecies are literally fulfilled in the Church, or those who are in Christ. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.  If one is in Christ, then they are a part of the true Israel.

This changes the entire focus of the New Testament from a Greek emphasis to one that is considerably more Jewish.  While it is true that the New Testament was written to Greeks, much of it consists of letters written to churches addressing problems within these churches.  Paul had already started these churches, taught them, and naturally taught doctrine consistent with his beliefs. Unless God revealed to Paul an error in his teaching, Paul would have taught from a Jewish perspective because of his background as a Jewish Pharisee.

The specific things God disclosed to Paul as being errant were that Gentiles could be a part of Israel, and that the Messiah had to die for sins and then come back later to reign.  Other than these, we can assume Old Testament Jewish culture as the context for interpreting the New Testament.  The Old Testament cannot be interpreted based on traditional Greek understanding of the New Testament.  Instead, the New Testament must be interpreted in the context of the Old Testament, in a manner similar to that of ancient Jews.

Traditional belief states that when someone dies, he or she goes directly to heaven or hell. Their eternal destiny is decided at that point, based on their action or beliefs during their lifetimes.  This has been ingrained into our belief system so strongly that every New Testament verse is interpreted on this basis.

The story of Jesus telling the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” is commonly interpreted under a filter of pre-existing traditional beliefs.  When we read what Paul said about being absent from the body is being present with the Lord, we interpret it under the filter of our pre-existing traditional beliefs.  When we read the parable of Lazarus, with the rich man talking to Abraham in Hades, we interpret it under the filter of our pre-existing traditional beliefs.  So these interpretations of these verses reinforce our pre-existing beliefs.

Ancient Jews did not believe that death led immediately to heaven or hell. Under their belief system, both the just and the unjust were sent to Hades to await resurrection on the Day of the Lord.  The resurrection marks the beginning of the Messianic age to come, a period when Israel will rule the world.  This is what ancient Jewish children were taught from their youth. Reading these New Testament verses under the filter of their belief system can produce vastly different interpretations than those common today.  These New Testament verses should not challenge the ancient Jewish belief system.  Instead, we should challenge the belief that either heaven or hell comes immediately after death.

This is not to say that people aren’t eventually destined for heaven or hell.  But the final judgment is not until after the Messianic reign.  In other words, the Great White Throne Judgment will take place a thousand years after the resurrection of both the just and the unjust.  At that time, those not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire, which is hell-fire.

After the first century of the early Jewish disciples, the next generation of early church fathers had Greek backgrounds.  Unlike Jewish culture, Greek culture taught that punishment or bliss came immediately after death.  The Greeks did not believe in a resurrection.  Consequently, the Greeks who read the New Testament miss-interpreted it in exactly the same way believers do today.  Yes, they added a belief in the resurrection.  Today, the Christian focus at funerals is on heaven or hell immediately after death.  The Jewish focus was on the resurrection.  Our incorrect belief heavily distorts the way we see and understand the New Testament.

For example, Jesus said, “I am the way [road], the truth, and the life.  No man comes [journeys] to the Father except by me (the Greek word used here for 'way' also means 'road' or 'journey'.).”  If we have been taught from childhood that an eternal destiny of heaven or hell is decided upon death, then this verse is naturally interpreted as saying that those who don’t receive Christ before death are destined for hell.  But for the ancient Jew, this verse simply says that Jesus is the Messiah.  In the age to come, the Messiah will be the only way that anyone will be able to ascend to the Father.  Nobody is left out by this verse under ancient Jewish interpretation because both the just and the unjust are resurrected prior to the Messianic age to come.  Death is not the end of the journey of salvation.

When Old Testament Jewish eschatology is applied to the New Testament Church, four major problems that have divided the churches over the centuries are resolved.  (1) It solves Calvinism vs. Arminianism (election vs. free-will).  (2) It solves issues about the dichotomy of free-grace verses vs. holiness verses.  Some verses say salvation is a free gift, while others verses require work to overcome sin.  (3) For the Catholics, it gives a free-grace alternative to purgatory.  (4) And, since death is not the end of the journey, it solves this problem of people who die having never heard about Christ.  Many other Scriptural problems are solved as well.

Was the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45-46) really a free gift?

Salvation is a free gift.  No amount of work can earn salvation.

The merchant in this passage sold everything he owned to buy the Pearl of Great Price.  Was he ripped off because he bought something that was given freely to everybody else?

What about the man who found a treasure hidden in the field? (Matthew 13:44)  He sold everything he had to buy that piece of land.  The treasure within represents the kingdom of heaven.

Salvation is a free gift (Romans 3:24, 5:15-17, 6:23), but these men sold everything they had to buy the kingdom.  Does this mean that inheriting the kingdom is different from salvation?

Christ gives those who He saved by His blood a directive to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  You can't seek something that is already yours.  Salvation is a free gift, but inheriting the kingdom requires a lot of work.

This would make sense to the ancient Jew, who focused on the resurrection instead of immediate transportation to Heaven or Hell upon death. They focused on being a part of Israel and ruling with Christ as priests and kings in the age to come after the resurrection.  But ruling over the nations is only for those who overcome sin (Revelation 2:26-27).  Salvation does not guarantee inheritance of the kingdom.  Those who don't overcome sin, despite possessing faith in Christ, will be included with the nations at the resurrection, but will not reign with Christ.

The Prodigal Son

The difference between salvation and inheriting the kingdom can be seen in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).  The word “prodigal” means extravagantly wasteful.  The younger son received his inheritance in full, and wasted it.  The older son spent his life working for his father.  The younger son’s return filled his father with joy, and he celebrates the return of his son.  The younger son would have been happy to simply work as one of the father’s servants, but instead he is forgiven, restored, and given a celebration.

One thing is often overlooked in this parable.  The father tells his older son “Everything I have is yours.”   The older son still has his inheritance.   However, the younger son received his life back.   He has received salvation, but lost his inheritance.

Those who seek the kingdom of the Father and His righteousness in this age will inherit the kingdom in the age to come.  The older son represents those who will rule over the nations with Christ.  But the Father still loves the younger son.  Those who repent in the age to come will be welcomed back as sons.  They will be given life again, but will not inherit the kingdom. They will not be the priests and kings who reign with Christ during the millennium.

Problems Solved by the New Wine System

Calvinism tells us that God has chosen, before they were even born, those who will go to heaven and who will go to hell.  God chooses who He will draw to Himself so that we will ask for Christ’s forgiveness and salvation.  This indicates that God creates souls knowing that they have no chance for salvation, and will spend eternity in hell.  From a merciful point of view, it would have been better for these souls to never have been created. For many, this simply does not fit the character of a loving, caring, and merciful God.

Arminians tell us that we have free will to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and thus can individually choose heaven or hell by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.  This would seem be more aligned with the character of a loving God.  But many still have problems with this view.

The New Wine System, on the other hand, says God chooses who will inherit the kingdom, but does not choose those who will eventually place their faith in Jesus Christ.   Those who inherit the kingdom will rule over the nations, but those in the nations are still on the road to salvation, and have the opportunity to attain eternal life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Both the traditional Calvinist and Arminian systems tend to have uneasy words for those who die having never heard about Christ.  Even Christian Universalists say they receive punishment in hell, even if it is temporary.

What about those who have lived and died in cultures, generations, and times where it would have been simply impossible to learn about the saving blood of Jesus Christ?  Even if they had the theoretical ability to accept Christ as Savior, they would not have had the opportunity to learn about Christ.  Would a loving, caring, and merciful God create souls and place them in environments such as these?  How is doing so any different than God simply creating the soul and destining them to spend eternity in hell?

If a person dies without receiving salvation through Christ, it could be argued that God will make special provisions for their salvation. Let’s take a look at various types of special provisions which have been developed to address this problem.

1) Pluralism and Unitarian Universalism state that all religions lead to salvation.

2) Annihilationalism groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses state that souls who do not believe in Jesus Christ are destroyed, and that there is no hell.

3) Christian Universalists affirm there is some form of punishment after death for those who do not believe in Christ, but this punishment is not eternal.  Eventually, all will be saved.

4) Inclusivism or Extended Mercy states that all who have faith in God will be saved by the blood of Christ, whether or not their belief includes faith in Jesus Christ.

5) The view of Postmortem Evangelism says that everyone receives the opportunity to believe in Jesus after death.  Presumably, God judges whether or not the person would have accepted Christ, had they been given the opportunity.  Others say that it is an issue of election, in which God elects those who are to be saved after death.

6) Some say God gives every person an opportunity to receive Christ soon before death.  This can be through visions, dreams, or angels. Others say this occurs at the moment of death via middle knowledge.

There are many problems with these views.  Some are assumptions made without sound Scriptural evidence.  Others require distortions of the natural meaning of Scripture.  These systems either deny hell’s existence, or simply disregard Scripture’s requirement for a meaningful and personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

All of these systems, including traditional Calvinism and Arminianism, seem to make one assumption that is not taught by Scripture.  These assume that death leads directly to heaven or hell, thus making death the end of our journey.  This teaching is ingrained into our culture.  When we go to funerals, the preacher tells us our loved one is in a better place (hopefully).  But what does Scripture teach?  What did the ancient Jews believe?  When Martha was grieving over the death of her brother Lazarus, did she seek comfort in knowing Lazarus was in heaven?  Or did she seek comfort in knowing he would be raised on the last day (John 11:24)?

In New Testament times, the Jews understood there to be different regions in Hades for different types of people.  But everyone, both righteous and the unrighteous, still went to Hades when they died, where they awaited the resurrection.  For the Greeks, Hades was only the place for the wicked.  The word ‘Hades’ in the Bible began to be translated as hell. However, a more correct approach would be for only the Greek word Gehenna to be translated as hell.  This is not to say that there is no hell.  But people do not go to the lake of fire as soon as they die.  It's only after they are judged.  And the final Great White Throne Judgment is not until a thousand years after the resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

The New Wine System interprets Scripture in a manner much more closely resembling the ancient Jewish  hope in the resurrection and the Messianic reign of Christ.  The blood of Christ was atonement for everybody’s sins.  God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (NIV Matthew 5:45).  Our sins were not forgiven on the specific date when we first accepted Christ as Savior.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  Our sins were forgiven at the cross, before we were even born.

This is true for people of all ages, generations, and cultures. Every human being, beginning with Adam, has been given the opportunity to live their life as a journey toward salvation.  Our journey might or might not include an encounter with Jesus Christ during this lifetime.  But our journey hopefully cultivates within us  the person God wants us to be.  Death does not end this journey.  Everyone will be resurrected.  When Christ returns to reign as King of Kings, everyone will have the opportunity to put their faith in Christ and to continue their journey of salvation.  When this journey is completed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ we will be given eternal life with new spiritual bodies.

Those who have completed the journey with Jesus Christ in this lifetime will be resurrected with spiritual bodies and will reign with Christ when He returns.  They are represented biblically as the Bride of Christ. People from every nation, tribe, people, and language will be a part of this wedding banquet as the Bride of Christ.  But this is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the total number of people from all past generations who will complete their journey of salvation (sanctification) during the millennial Messianic age to come.

Problems are caused, though, by the way modern Christians have been trained to think.  Salvation is portrayed as something that is given upon acceptance of Christ as Savior.  However, the blood of Christ puts everyone on this path or journey even before birth.  As long as one possesses the desire to continue this journey, they will have the continued opportunity for eternal life.

There is no need for infant baptism, nor is there a need for an age of accountability for children.  Neither of these is found in Scripture. The sins of children are already forgiven.  If the child dies, he or she will simply continue his or her journey of salvation after the resurrection.

Likewise the mentally ill, who mature physically but never develop the mental capacity to understand Jesus’ Gospel,  are covered under His salvation.  They will simply be resurrected, free of their mental illness, and will then have the opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ.

Paul said that Jesus is "the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" (ESV 1 Timothy 4:10b).

  We have established that all people were born already on their journey of salvation.  Jesus said, "When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all men to myself" (ESV John 12:32).  In other words, the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself and His Son to everybody.  Everyone’s name has been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world. However, as Old Testament Scripture shows, those who harden their hearts and no longer hear Christ’s voice (Hebrews 3:7, 15, 4:7) will forfeit their salvation.   They will be eternally punished.  This is called the unpardonable sin.

One form of the unpardonable sin is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.  This was seen in the days of Moses, when the Israelites worshiped a golden calf after having witnessed the miracles of Moses (Exodus 32:32-33). Another form is described in Hebrews 6:4-6, which is an intentional rejection of Christ after having received the Holy Spirit.  Yet another form is taking the mark of the beast.  And after the millennium, when Satan is released, those who march against Jerusalem will be committing the unpardonable sin.  All of these are examples of hardening one’s heart to the point of no longer being capable of hearing God’s voice.

Everybody continues on their journey of salvation unless he or she commits this unpardonable sin.  This does not describe sins that occur in moments of weakness.  This is talking about a perpetually hardened heart on which even the miracles of God have no effect.  This sin cannot be forgiven, in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 23:32, Mark 3:28-29, Luke 12:10), because it would require Christ to be crucified again (Hebrews 6:4-6).  The unpardonable sin is a decision that men can make out of their own free will, just like Adam.  And it has the same consequence as Adam’s sin.  Christ will not be crucified a second time.

God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11).  The New Wine System is the only system that has no favoritism for specific generations, cultures or nationalities without the use of after-death-punishment or purgatory.  The New Wine System is the only system that truly reflects the character of a loving, merciful, and caring God, while at the same time giving men the true free-will ability to reject Him.

The New Wine System is the simple application of Jewish eschatology to the Church.  When the Messiah comes, Israel will rule the world and salvation will be brought to all the nations through that rule.  Likewise, when Christ returns, the Church (which is Israel) will rule the world with Christ.  The Church is the firstfruits (Romans 8:23, James 1:18) or the Bride who gets into the wedding banquet, consisting of priests and kings who lead the nations to eternal salvation during the millennium.

We are told to seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness.  Those who, in Christ, seek righteousness and the kingdom will find them. Those who don’t seek the kingdom will not find or inherit the kingdom.  We have been taught that to inherit the kingdom has the same meaning as salvation.  However, “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (NIV 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  Yet all of these sins have already been forgiven by the blood of Christ.

We confuse inheriting the kingdom with “getting saved” because we incorrectly assume that our journey of salvation ends with death.  Those who complete this journey before they die are the elect.  But the elect are not the only ones who receive salvation.  Everyone else still has the free-will opportunity to continue their journey of salvation, even after the resurrection.

The elect are those who commit their lives totally to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  They find God’s purpose for them as individuals, and develop enthusiasm about fulfilling that purpose.  Nothing else matters, even if it costs them their lives.  They help others God brings into their paths.  In doing so, sin is overcome and they find Christ’s righteousness.  If they walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6), which is to walk without sin, then they are to inherit the kingdom when Christ returns.

Those who confuse “getting saved” with election have a tendency to water down the gospel‘s requirements of what is necessary to inherit the kingdom.  This confusion causes people to severely limit the number of people that “get saved.”  But the narrow gate that few find is that of election.  This refers to inheriting the kingdom.  This is the prize for which Paul ran the race.  This alone leads to inheriting spiritual bodies upon Christ’s return. Others, however, will continue their journey of salvation during the millennium, even though they previously lived lives that led to destruction, unless they reject Christ’s salvation by taking the mark of the beast.

These and many other Scriptural problems are solved by one simple application of Jewish eschatology to the Church.  The people of Israel are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own purposes” (1 Peter 2:9, Exodus 19:5-6).  This means that the people of Israel are the elect.  To be chosen does not simply mean you are saved.  The people of the nations can be saved and still not be chosen to rule the world.  New Testament Jewish writers such as Peter quoted Old Testament verses such as Exodus 19:5-6.  They applied Old Testament prophecies about Israel to the Church.  If we do likewise, then the Old Testament prophecies about Israel must be literally fulfilled in the Church.  Therefore, using this logic, the Church will rule the nations with Christ during the millennium (Revelation 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:6).

The Gospel, According to the New Wine System

The word ‘gospel’ means good news.  What is this good news, according to traditional Catholic beliefs?  Many Christians today, both Catholic and Protestant, believe that salvation can be achieved through other religions.  However, traditional Catholics would say that salvation is available only to those who are baptized in the Catholic Church.  Anyone who is not baptized as an infant (or at conversion) in the Catholic Church is destined for hell when they die.

After baptism, a journey begins that leads to holiness.  This journey involves overcoming sin.  Confessed sins are forgiven by grace and by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Merits are also rewarded for good deeds performed during this journey.  That reward includes eternal life.

Those who reach a certain level of holiness and attain a certain number of merits prior to death are considered saints.  The saints go directly to heaven when they die.  Others in the Catholic Church must first spend some time in purgatory and be cleansed through punishment by fire for whatever shortcomings they have regarding holiness and merits.  Time in purgatory can be very long, but is still temporary.  Eventually, those in purgatory are released to go to heaven.

Those still alive on the earth can study and communicate with the saints in heaven, and can ask these saints to act or pray on their behalf.

Growing up in this system, Martin Luther was terrified of God. He perceived God as unjust and impossible to please.  The Protestant system he founded eliminated the beliefs of purgatory and merits. Under his system, no one can become perfect while dwelling on Earth.  Everyone continues to sin constantly.  Perfection comes only upon reaching heaven.  At that time people are immediately made perfect.  All believers are considered to be saints. According to Protestant teachings, good deeds do not earn merits that contribute to one’s salvation.

Under the Protestant Reformation system, the good news is simply a matter of making a decision for Jesus Christ.  The gospel is that anyone can put their faith in Christ and go to heaven when they die.

Salvation under this system is strictly a decision to believe and follow Jesus Christ.  One is imputed with justification by the blood of Jesus upon making a decision for Christ.  Thus, salvation is not a journey. It’s a decision that occurs at a specific time.  The Reformed Protestant believes he was saved (past tense) on a specific date when he first asked Jesus to come into his life.

If one asks the Catholic if he is saved, he might say, “No, but I will be.”  Or he might say, “Yes, and I’ll be saved again tomorrow.”  In other words, for the Catholic, salvation is a journey.  For the Reformed Protestant, salvation is a past-tense, one-time event.  Wesleyan Protestants would say salvation can be lost, then later regained.  But the original Reformed view stated, “Once saved always saved.”  If people were elected to be saved before the foundation of the world, then how could salvation be lost?

The advantage of the Protestant system over the Catholic is that one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father is much more personal.  Salvation doesn’t feel like a long journey that will never end in this lifetime before reaching the Father.  The Father doesn’t have to be sought through saints and priests.  There is no fear of punishment in purgatory for lack of holiness or merits.

The disadvantage of the Protestant system is that one can lose the sense of the importance of holiness.  The claim is that nobody is perfectly holy, so sinful habits that have taken hold can be excused as irrelevant to salvation.  The Protestant is still going to heaven, even if the sinful habits are never overcome.  Evangelism and missions can be seen as the only important function of the church.  After all, it is reasoned, one only needs to “get saved” in order to go to heaven.

Under the New Wine System, the good news of Jesus Christ combines the best from both the Catholic and Protestant doctrines. In this system salvation is a journey and not a past-tense decision.  Salvation involves becoming holy, like Jesus Christ is holy.  Complete sanctification, or perfect holiness, can be found on this side of the grave.  Only those who reach this perfect holiness are considered saints, or “Holy Ones.”  Death does not make one perfect.

Good deeds do not contribute to salvation.  Everyone has already been forgiven for all of their sins before they were even born.  Nobody should feel guilty, except to know that sinful habits must be overcome. Everyone is on the journey of salvation toward holiness.  Good deeds are a mechanism for overcoming sinful habits and reaching complete sanctification, but are not involved in the forgiveness of sin.  That has already been accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ alone.

Since our sins are already forgiven, we can have a very personal relationship with Jesus Christ and Father. There is no need to pray to the saints. Only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can we even hope to become like Him and overcome all our sinful habits.

But if we do not reach holiness before we die, there is no fear of punishment.  Death is not the end of the journey.  We will simply continue our journey towards holiness when Christ returns.  The good news is that by faith in Jesus Christ sinful habits can be completely overcome.  But for those who don’t have this faith, even death is not the end of the journey of salvation.  This is the true good news about Christ’s sacrifice.  This is the true gospel, which will be preached to all nations.

Jesus told a parable about pouring new wine into new wine skins.  New understanding doesn’t necessarily fit traditional interpretations. Thus, the title of the book is, “New Wine for the End Times.”  The New Wine System represents a new understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as given in Scripture, that is based on old understandings about the End Times. If you find this book useful, please visit my web site for additional articles about eschatology.

Philip Brown
www.newwine.org