End Times

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Dispensational Distortions ~ Leading To A System Fraught With Distortion, Error, and Even Absurdity

Dispensationalism Errors

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
(Matthew 24:4 KJV)

A short series by Ken Gentry 

In a 6 Parts series below

Christological Distortions in Dispensationalism 

In this and the next few newsletters, I will be highlighting three types of distortions involved in popular classic dispensationalism. These distortions are harmful to a balanced Christian worldview. In this brief series, I have chosen to cover classic dispensational errors in the areas of christology, redemptive history, and contemporary historical progress. There are, of course, many other areas that I could consider.

Before I begin considering these, it should be understood that, as in any system, there will be some internal disagreements among its adherents. The aspects I have chosen for scrutiny are broadly popular, even if some of the details of the following features are debated by dispensational theologians. I would also note that I will not be dealing with the latest variety of dispensationalism, “progressive dispensationalism.” This is because I am more concerned with the enormous influence of the older form which lies behind many multi-million selling books found in Christian bookstores everywhere. It’s influence is as large as it sales are enormous.

“Christ’s Rule is Future”

First, popular dispensationalism denies the contemporary presence of Christ’s kingdom, despite the clear teaching of Scripture. Thomas Ice writes that: “Whatever dynamic God has given believers today does not mean that the Messianic kingdom is here. We see it as totally future.” [1] Continue reading →

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Against Dispensationalism

Against Disp

Truth Matters… The truth will make you free (Jn 8:32)

2-9-2012 G.J. Harloff, Ph.D.

North Olmsted, Ohio 44070

Abstract

This pamphlet examines the veracity of Bible teaching based on literal interpretation and spoof-texting. Spoof-texting is a teaching method that employs a word-search- approach to present lots of scriptures without time for thought. It is concluded that man-centric literal interpretation, including spoof-texting, leads directly to the different literal system discussed herein. This literal system is dispensationalism and is in wide spread use today.

MacArthur asks for Biblical proof (in GC 70-16 tape) that the Old Testament Israel is the church. This booklet is partly about illustrating this proof and attempts to show: (1) the Bible teaches that there is a continuation between spiritual (individual believing) Israel and the church, (2) the mystery in the New Testament is not that there is a church, but rather that Gentiles are fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ, (3) believing Gentiles historically joined Israel in the Old Testament, (4) the “new man” in the New Testament is comprised of believing Jews and Gentiles, (5) those who believe in Christ (that Christ is the Messiah, died for our sins, and was resurrected to eternal life) are children of Abraham and all believers are part of the “olive tree” nourished by Christ, (6) the Old Testament prediction of the New Covenant “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people .” (Jer 31:33) is synonymous with the New Covenant announced by Christ at His last supper, and (7) salvation in Christ is the same in both the Old and New Testaments because no one comes to the Father except through Christ.

Introduction

This pamphlet compares the assumptions of a literalistic system with reformed theology and scriptural references are cited. Of course reformed theology and or the different literal system may both be wrong. The literal system rejects the continuation of the Old Testament believers into the New Testament church and instead assumes that Israel “temporarily” forfeited the privilege of being “the people of God”.

We are instructed by scripture to oppose incorrect teaching (Gal 2:11-14), and to search the scripture daily to test its true interpretation (Acts 17:11). We need to be in the Word daily to discern the truth with the help of the Holy Spirit. Continue reading →

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The Ultimate Conspiracy – Dave Hunt and the Jesuit Attempt to Hijack the Christian Faith

Jesuit conspiracy

The Jesuit Conspiracy
Adullam Films & Noise of Thunder Radio
Presented by Christian J. Pinto
Audio CD (MP3)

The Ultimate Conspiracy – Dave Hunt and the Jesuit Attempt to Hijack the Christian Faith
By Michael Bunker

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2:4-7

June 22, 2002 — Too often we are not willing to ask the questions that cut to the root of the issues of the day. Our attentions are seized by shiny rocks and relics, by petty debates and well concocted mysteries — so that, in the end, the greatest of all deceptions slides under the door unnoticed.

In the grand debate over whether homosexual, pedophilic priests should be demoted or defrocked, we are loathe to ask the deeper question: Do Catholics go to heaven? Or deeper still, Are YOU Catholic?

While Protestants silently chortle over the convulsions within the world’s largest cult, few are willing to recognize that Catholic doctrine has so overwhelmed the “protestant” religion, that there is not a dimes worth of difference between the two. Why should we be shocked that the priests of the papacy are fondling boys behind closed doors, when they have boldly molested Protestant Church doctrine for the last several hundred years?

Excuse me Bishop Pedofili, can we see BOTH of your hands?

Behold, the Ultimate Conspiracy. While “remnant” Christians and patriots pour through the voluminous documentations of a wicked “New World Order”, a far more heinous conspiracy marches forward unnoticed. In the confusion caused by the frantic attempt to expose the growing menace of fascistic globalism, the opponents of that antichrist system have willingly embraced the very theology of Antichrist.

We must start with some history, and there we will find the fingerprints of the last days Great Deception. Gather around and we will unveil the web of mystery and deceit that has ensnared the churches of the world.

JESUITS Continue reading →

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Premillennialism Is A Descent Of Ancient Judaism

celestial-garden

William Masselink

The History of Chiliasm

“What is the origin of this strange doctrine?” you ask. The careful study of church history will furnish us with the conclusive answer. Premillennialism is a descent of ancient Judaism. There is a striking resemblance between the off-spring and the parent. The old Jewish conceptions of an external Messianic kingdom have found their perfect embodiment in the Chiliastic theory of the millennium. Premillennialism is a relic of Judaism. Dr. Hodge says of this, “It is a Jewish doctrine. The principles adopted by its advocates in the interpretation of prophecy are the same as have been adopted by the Jews in the time of Christ; and have led substantially to the same conclusions. The Jews expected that when the Messiah came He would establish a glorious earthly kingdom at Jerusalem; that those who had died in the faith should be raised from the dead to share the Messianic reign; that all nations and peoples on the face of the earth should be subject to them; and that any nation that would not serve them should be destroyed. All the riches and honors of the world were to be at their disposal. The event destroyed these expectations; and the principles of prophetic interpretation on which these expectations were founded were proved to be incorrect,” Hodge Systematic Theology – Eschatology.

EXAMINATION OF OLD JEWISH WRITINGS

The Judaistic features of Chiliasm can be readily seen by an examination of the Apocalyptic writings of the Jews. The genesis of this doctrine may be found in these writings which are generally dated in the pre-Christian period. The Jews divided the future into two separate periods. The first era is considered to be of a temporal nature and is designated as the kingdom of the Messiah. The second era is of eternal duration and is called the kingdom of God. The transient Messianic kingdom prepares the way for the final setting up of the eternal kingdom of God. This is exactly the position of the Premillennialists of today. Christ’s Messianic kingdom comes first and after that the kingdom of God. That the Chiliasts have incorporated a part of ancient Jewish eschatology in their scheme of the future is very evident. A general survey of the Jewish writings is all that is necessary to establish this fact. In the book of Enoch (chap. 91, 93) the entire course of the world is divided into ten weeks. At the close of the tenth period the eternal stage begins. In the third book of Sible the Messianic reign is first represented and after it has overcome its enemies, the kingdom of God begins. We find the same distinction in the Psalms of Solomon where the preliminary Messianic kingdom is described as something transitory. In Psalms 17 and 18, and in Psalm 3:12, we read of the resurrection to eternal life.

Coming down to the Christian period we meet this two-fold kingdom idea in the Slavic Enoch and in the Apocalypses of Ezra and Baruch. In these writings the duration of the Messianic period is fixed by a definite number of years. In 4 Ezra 7:28 the reign of Christ lasts four hundred years. After that time Christ with the rest of His earthly creatures, dies. Then the dead awake and the eternal judgment begins. So also in Baruch 40:3 the reign of Christ is represented as lasting till the world comes to an end.

In many of the Jewish writings, the presentation of these two stages has resulted in an orderless confusion. Continue reading →

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Why the Early Church Finally Rejected Premillennialism

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By Charles E. Hill

Modern Reformation, Jan/Feb 1996, p. 16

Chiliasm is the ancient name for what today is known as premillennialism, the belief that when Jesus Christ returns he will not execute the last judgment at once, but will first set up on earth a temporary kingdom, where resurrected saints will rule with him over non-resurrected subjects for a thousand years of peace and righteousness.1 To say that the Church “rejected chiliasm” may sound bizarre today, when premillennialism is the best known eschatology in Evangelicalism. Having attached itself to funda-mentalism, chiliasm in its dispensationalist form has been vigorously preached in pulpits, taught in Bible colleges and seminaries, and successfully promoted to the masses through study Bibles, books, pamphlets, charts, and a host of radio and television ministries. To many Christians today, premillennialism is the very mark of Christian orthodoxy. But there was a period of well over a “millennium” (over half of the Church’s history), from at least the early fifth century until the sixteenth, when chiliasm was dormant and practically non-existent. Even through the Reformation and much of the post-Refor-mation period, advocates of chiliasm were usually found among fringe groups like the Münsterites. The Augsburg Confession went out of its way to condemn chiliasm (Art. XVII, “Of Christ’s Return to Judgment”), and John Calvin criticized “the chiliasts, who limited the reign of Christ to a thousand years” (Institutes 3.25.5). It was not until the nineteenth century that chiliasm made a respectable comeback, as a favorite doctrine of Christian teachers who were promoting revival in the face of the deadening effects of encroaching liberalism.

But how are we to view the Church’s earliest period up until the first decisive rejection of chiliasm in the Church? Continue reading →

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The Antichrist

Man of sin anti christs

By Kim Riddlebarger

Perhaps no subject broached by contemporary Bible prophecy teachers engenders more speculation and less sound Biblical exegesis than does the subject of Antichrist. This is certainly due to the mysterious nature of the subject itself, as well as to the fact that no other aspect of Bible prophecy lends itself so nicely to speculation regarding the identification of one specific individual who will become the very personification of evil and the archenemy of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

“Pin the tail” on the Antichrist is not merely an evangelical fascination. Indeed, such speculation has gone on almost from the beginning of Christianity. Irenaeus (130-200) argued that Antichrist would be a Jewish born, satanically inspired, usurper of God’s true glory, who would appear in the Jerusalem temple in connection with an end-times great apostasy. (1) The Protestant Reformers, of course, universally identified the papacy with the Antichrist, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1540) stating that “the papacy will also be a part of the kingdom of Antichrist if it maintains that human rites justify (XV.18).” The Westminster Confession (1647) contends that the Pope is “that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God (XXV.6).” Rome, not to be outdone, has returned the favor, contending that antichristic Protestant “heresies have swept down from the North, where Calvin, Wycliffe, Luther and legions of Protestants are ravaging the flock of Christ.” (2)

But there is no doubt that much of contemporary speculation has taken the concept of identifying the Antichrist to new extremes. One of my favorite possessions is a booklet passed on to me by my grandmother, entitled The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (1939), wherein the author attempts to demonstrate that the revived Germany under Hitler in the pre-World War II years is the supposed last-days ten-nation confederacy predicted in Revelation 13. Of course, the author very deftly demonstrates how Mussolini is the false prophet and how Italian imperialism in Ethiopia is proof that Rome is the great harlot of Revelation 18 and compatriot of the German beast. I can still remember the fear instilled in me as a child, when I heard, one preacher declare that Antichrist was then living somewhere in the Middle East, probably still a child playing stickball in some crowded dusty street, awaiting the day when he would be possessed by the devil and allowed to wreck havoc on the world after the rapture. Continue reading →

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Dispensationalism: Focusing eschatology on assumption and human politics, and reducing Christ’s role in Bible prophecy

Grant Swart

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Dispensational Premillenialism sharply focuses the events surrounding the end times, on the so-called “secret” rapture and a perceived forthcoming millennium. At the center of this focus is national Israel, daily events which take place in the Middle-East and in the realm of international politics and, of course, the increasing popularization of any number of future personalities representing the Antichrist. Sensational speculation and enthusiastic debate, motivated mainly by geo-political human affairs and major natural events, are designed to divert attention away from biblical prophecy regarding the end times. The end time is thereby reduced to a small window of time in the future and fragmented and isolated events in recent human history, rather than an ongoing eschatological understanding of biblical prophecy which stretches from Genesis to Revelation.

Some of the most commercially successful books, television shows and even certain reference Bibles, have been remarkably innovative and convincingly sincere in finding ways to support the false assumptions which are necessary to support the  “concept” of dispensational premillenialism in its various forms. Continue reading →

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POLL: Who is the Antichrist?

 by Grant Swart

Speculation regarding antichrist, different antichrists and the Antichrist has always been rife. Discussion regarding the identity of the Antichrist has certainly not been limited to Christian circles, but is also the topic of countless conversations among non-believers throughout much of the world. A plethora of movies, books and even TV and computer games have been produced, which have portrayed the Antichrist in many different guises. It is a topic which has been the catalyst for many to employ overly-dramatized imagery, much poetic license and vivid imaginations.

The virtual or internet realm has brought an added dimension to the world’s fascination with Antichrist, some even believing that it will be through the medium of the internet that Antichrist will gain eventual control of our armies, finances, natural resources and the minds of people. Much of this has served, in large degree, to add even more speculation and undeserved mystery to the prophesied events surrounding the coming Antichrist. Even to the extent that the personality of Antichrist has been glorified and portrayed as being “an interesting and not really such a bad guy”, or simply someone who will be unfairly persecuted or demonized by Christians for their own ideals.

More often than not, popular secular adaptation of perceived coming events, portrays Antichrist as a perfect-looking Continue reading →

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The History of Dispensationalism

“My brother, I am a constant reader of my Bible, and I soon found that what I was taught to believe did not always agree with what my Bible said. I came to see that I must either part company with John Darby, or my precious Bible, and I chose to cling to my Bible and part from Mr. Darby.” George Müeller (1805–1898)

I am quite convinced that all the promises to Israél are found, are finding and will find their perfect fulfilment in the Church. It is true that in time past, in my expositions, I gave a definite place to Israél in the purposes of God. I have now come to the conviction, as I have just said, that it is, the new and spiritual Israél that is intended. G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945)

Dispensationalism is a device of the enemy, designed to rob the children of no small part of that bread which their heavenly Father has provided for their souls; a device wherein the wily serpent appears as an angel of light, feigning to “make the Bible a new book” by simplifying much in it which perplexes the spiritually unlearned. It is sad to see how widely successful the devil has been by means of this subtle innovation. A. W. Pink(1886-1952)

It is mortifying to remember that I not only held and taught these novelties myself, but that I even enjoyed a complacent sense of superiority because thereof, and regarded with feelings of pity and contempt those who had not received the “new light” and were unacquainted with this up-to-date method of “rightly dividing the word of truth.” For I fully believed what an advertising circular says in presenting “Twelve Reasons why you should use THE SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE,” namely, that: “First, the Scofield Bible outlines the Scriptures from the standpoint of DISPENSATIONAL TRUTH, and there can be no adequate understanding or rightly dividing of the Word of God except from the standpoint of dispensational truth.”

What a slur is this upon the spiritual understanding of the ten thousands of men, “mighty in the Scriptures,” whom God gave as teachers to His people during all the Christian centuries before “dispensational truth” (or dispensational error), was discovered! And what an affront to the thousands of men of God of our own day, workmen that need not to be ashamed, who have never accepted the newly invented system! Yet I was among those who eagerly embraced it (upon human authority solely, for there is none other) and who earnestly pressed it upon my fellow Christians. I am deeply thankful, however, that the time came (it was just ten years ago) when the inconsistencies and self contradictions of the system itself, and above all, the impossibility of reconciling its main positions with the plain statements of the Word of God, became so glaringly evident that I could not do otherwise than renounce it. Philip Mauro (1859-1952) Continue reading →

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His Number is 666

“His Number is 666”
By Kim Riddlebarger ~ Sermons on the Book of Revelation # 20
Texts: Revelation 13:11-18; Daniel 8:15-26

There is no subject–with the possible exception of the unpardonable sin–which has caused as much consternation for the people of God as has the so-called “mark of the beast.” John pointedly warns his hearers against taking such a mark on the back of the hand or the forehead. He also tells us that anyone who takes such a mark swears allegiance to the beast. This has given Christians throughout the ages a healthy suspicion of any government which persecutes the church or hinders the preaching of the gospel. It has lead to a number of questions in our own day about advancing technology and increasing government control over many areas of our personal lives. Such a warning from an apostle creates a climate in which sensational predictions and warnings about political events and technology are the norm. So we must do our best to bring clarity to this most difficult and controversial of subjects.

In past sermons, we have been working our way through Revelation 12-14 in which John introduces his reader to seven of the main characters in the great drama of redemption. Like the seal judgments of Revelation 6-8:1 and the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-11, the vision recorded in Revelation 12-14 describes the entire period of time between the first advent and the second coming of Christ from a distinct theological perspective (or “camera” angle as we have been calling it). In this section of Revelation, John gives us a vivid description of the struggle between the people of God and our great adversary, Satan, who has been cast down from heaven to earth where he now seeks to wage war upon the church of Jesus Christ through the agency of his henchmen, the beast and the false prophet. Continue reading →

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666 and the Mark of the Beast

By Kim Riddlebarger

If you are a futurist and believe that the beast of Revelation 13 is not connected to the Roman Empire of the first century and remains yet to be revealed at the end of the age (i.e., during the seven-year tribulation period, as dispensationalists teach), then you will not look at the mark of the beast through the lens of the New Testament and the historical situation when John was given his vision.  Instead, you will understand this mysterious mark as something still hidden in the future.  And given the breakneck pace of the advance being made in all forms of technology, it is only natural that futurists would see John’s reference to the mark of the beast as somehow connected to the technological advantage by which the beast and false prophet will enslave the inhabitants of the world and deceive them into worshiping the Antichrist.

As futurists see it, when John speaks of the mark of the beast, he’s essentially predicting that some future form of technology will be utilized by Antichrist to dominate and control the world’s population.  According to Peter and Paul Lalonde, “The Bible says that the mark of the beast and its accompanying technology will be installed by the antichrist–not as an end in itself, but as a means of managing the new world order that is even now being created” (Peter LaLonde and Paul LaLonde, Racing Toward the Mark of the Beast,  Harvest House Publishers, 1994, 148).
Continue reading →

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Antichrist, Great Tribulation, Rapture, 666, and the Second Coming of Christ, but what do the Scriptures say?

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Four Views of the End Times – Teaching series DVD

Speaker Dr. Timothy Paul Jones

What does the Bible actually say about the end times that lead to the return of Jesus Christ? TV shows and movies throw around words such as Antichrist, Great Tribulation, Rapture, 666, and the Second Coming of Christ, but what do the Scriptures say? The differing ideas that divide believers into four major points-of-view are examined in the Four Views of the End Times. This DVD-based study (for personal or group use) explains each view objectively including:

  • Preterism
  • Historicism
  • Idealism
  • Futurism

and the issue of the millennium including: Continue reading →

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POLL: Regarding the second coming of Christ and the millennium, which of these best describes your position?

Grant Swart

There are diverse opinions concerning the thousand years of peace (Millennium) described in Revelation and the events associated with it. Some interpret a literal, future, thousand-year time period in which Christ will rule over the Earth, a time which will be characterized by peace and harmony. Others understand a literal age of peace, but think the “thousand years” is a figure of speech. Still others see the Millennium as symbolic of a spiritual ideal, with no corresponding earthly condition. All of these positions fall into the category of millennialism, a broad term which includes any and all ideas relating to the millennium of Biblical prophecy.

In a nutshell, here are some very basic definitions of the positions regarding the millennium.

Premillenialism:

There are three definitions, any one of which could describe the views of the premillenialist:

Pretribulationists believe that the second coming will be in two stages separated by a seven-year period of tribulation.  At the beginning of the tribulation, true Christians will rise to meet the Lord in the air.

 Midtribulationists believe that the Rapture will take place at the halfway point of the seven-year tribulation, i.e. after 3½ years. This event begins the second, most intense part of the tribulation.

Posttribulationists hold that Christ will not return until the end of the tribulation. Christians, rather than being raptured at the beginning of the tribulation, or halfway through, will live through it

Postmillenialism:

Postmillennialists do not believe in a premillennial appearance of Christ. The postmillennial position is that the millennium began at the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom reign when he ascended to his heavenly throne. Christ will appear at the end of the millennium to lead his people into the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.

Amillenialism:

Amillennialists do not believe in a literal Millennium. The “thousand years” is an expression, a way of referring to the entire period from the first coming of Christ, two thousand years ago, until the future second coming. The Second Coming will be a natural culmination of the process of world evangelization, rather than a revolutionary event that brings sudden and dramatic change.

We will place more polls in the near future which will deal with other aspects of Christian eschatology (an understanding or study of the end times and the destiny of man according to Bible prophecy).  

 

Copyright © For the Love of His Truth 2008 – 2013  All Rights Reserved. No part of this page or its images may be reproduced without Grant and Elmarie Swart’s  express consent. See our contact us page for email details. Email Us / Comments

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Pictorials of Self-Proclaimed Gods, Messiahs, Modern-Day False Prohets and False Teachers


Mat 7:15-20  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  (16)  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  (17)  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  (18)  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (20)  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

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Houses Built on Sand

By Prof. Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (August 2011)

A house built on sand is a house without a proper foundation – it is bound to collapse when it is battered by heavy storms, despite its solid appearance above the ground. The same principle applies to individuals and nations: without a sound spiritual and moral foundation they are heading for disaster when afflicted by the storms of life (cf. Matt. 7:24-27). Jesus Christ is the only true foundation that offers lasting stability against all the storms which are incessantly unleashed from an evil world: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).

The unpleasant fact about our present situation is that, despite a small minority of evangelical Christians, we are essentially living in a post-Christian world which has rejected the only true foundation. Politicians are the architects of a nation’s ideological foundation and they, as well as the electorate who agree with them and have elected them to positions of authority, must take the responsibility when things go horribly wrong. Everywhere in the world problems are rapidly mounting and they sure spell disaster. We already find ourselves in a situation in which most countries are heading for a major collapse in all spheres of public life – political, social, economic, moral, as well as religious. The signs of a dramatic breakdown are there for all to see.

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