Message of the Latter Rain - Kelvin M. Duncan

Chapter 2
The Unresolved Theological Dilemma
The message which was accompanied by the outpouring of the Spirit in
1888 has been referred to by Ellen White as "the gospel of His grace ... in
clear and distinct lines,"[1] sent to clarify and resolve our "mixed confused
ideas of salvation."[2] Some of this confusion is no doubt a residual of the
long-standing debate between Calvinists and Arminians. This problem has
certainly deeply impacted current presentations of the gospel. The message
of the latter rain resolves this 400-year-old debate. The problem at the heart
of this debate goes like this: The Bible teaches that Jesus died for our sins
(see 1 Corinthians 15:3). At the same time, the Scriptures teach that the
unbeliever will die for his or her own sin (see Ezekiel 18:4). How can both
positions be correct and not involve a clear case of double jeopardy? We
should note that this would in fact be a special case of double jeopardy. The
same person is not literally tried or punished twice for the same offense.
However, the same sin would be punished twice. Jesus died for it on the
cross, and the sinner must also die for it in the lake of fire. If that were
indeed how the plan of salvation works, it would certainly be an inequitable
system of justice.
Several reasons exist for the death of Christ (see Herbert Douglass, ThD,
The Heartbeat of Adventism: The Great Controversy Theme in the Writings
of Ellen White, 123–130, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2010). In this
work we shall focus on the reason for Christ's death that is given in the
gospel. "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians
15:3).
How is this to be understood? Did Jesus really die for our sins? What is
the extent of the meaning of that expression?
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