Biblically Optimistic and Gospel-Based
"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
Posted on 11/13/2009 4:36:25 PM PST by topcat54
Do you feel unable to get up in the morning? Do you feel lethargic, powerless, and not up to the task? Do you feel like your manhood or potency has somehow diminished? Do you feel defeated and overwhelmed—like the waiting world out there is just too intimidating to even try to face? If so, then you may be suffering from E.D.… End-times Dysfunction.
End-times Dysfunction, also known as Eschatology Dysfunction, or ED’s Syndrome (named for Ed Smith, Captain of the Titanic), affect tens of millions of Christians worldwide. Afflicted by the mental and psychological effects of years of indoctrination by premillennial and dispensational views on Bible prophecy, these victims suffer from a profound worldview impotence, believing that Christians are supposed to live overcome, marginalized, and defeated lives. They then rationalize their apathy and begin arguing things like “the world is evil and Jesus will rapture us out of it in my lifetime,” “the antichrist is coming,” “Christians should not get involved in worldly things like business, finance, politics, or economics.” This compounds their apathy and leaves them averse to making any impact upon a society. Since they believe that this life will be overcome by the devil, they deduce that Christians should remain impotent and have no intercourse with society at all.
They then succumb to paranoia, like the fear surrounding the Mayan calendar and the year (and upcoming movie) 2012. Is this the date it will al really implode? I think I’ll just roll over, hide under the covers, and go to sleep! Their defeatist leaders can lead them no better than to decry this hype as more Satanism. Says Mr. LaHaye, “It’s probably satanic because there is nothing in the Bible about it. In fact, the Bible forbids us to even think about a day and an hour.” One should point out that the Bible says nothing about plastic milk cartons, or the internet, but this does not necessarily make these things satanic. The Bible also says nothing about LaHaye’s fictional antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, but that never stopped him from collecting royalties on the sales of 60 million books. And perhaps nothing has led to more Christian social impotence than the oppressive E.D. popularized by his series of books.
The condition is only worsened by lack of theological nutrition. A high-chartohydrate diet consisting of dramatized end-times fiction and fanciful “prophecy” charts left behind from the sawdust trail and big-tent revival manias leaves Christians vulnerable to theologies built on emotions and fears rather than sound Biblical exposition.
Christians who suffer from this Dysfunction are often unaware that there sound, biblical cures and remedies for their malady. If you feel you are suffering from this condition, it may be time to have “the talk”: a basic discussion of the present power and reign of Jesus Christ, from his present throne in heaven, through His people and providence on earth. This talk begins with the importance of Psalm 110 and the Great Commission Christ gave His people just after his declaration that “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18–20).
Once Christians understand that the Christian life is a victorious life, meant to be a life of spreading Christ’s power into the world and not cowering in fear of the world, they immediately feel a new vigor and potency for living. The initial renewal experience can have profound effects, almost as liberating as becoming a Christian for the first time. After reading about Psalm 110, on Christian wrote to say,
Wow Mr. McDurmon – you’ve knocked my socks off!!!I just read The Importance of Psalm 110 article from American Vision. I’ve never heard Eschatology explained this way before now. Your article makes this subject seem easy to understand. It is so enlightening! I feel as if a tremendous burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. I’ve always heard Eschatology presented from the dispensationalist mindset. Honestly, it only served to make me depressed! My basic thought was, “The world will just get worse and worse, and as Christians, all that we've got to look forward to on earth is torture in our future because we can do nothing to help make things better, so get ready for pain and suffering when the evil world finds you hiding in the shadows.” Or to say it more eloquently, I’ll quote from Gary Demar’s very recent article Why Young People are Leaving the Church where it states:
...“Who wants to be part of a religion that is continually preaching inevitable gloom and doom? A philosophy calling for an escape from time is not likely to involve itself in the battles of time.”…and…“Many in our camp have an all-pervasive negativism regarding the course of society and the impotence of God’s people to do anything about it. They will heartily affirm that Satan is Alive and Well on Planet earth, and that this must indeed by The Terminal Generation; therefore, any attempt to influence society is ultimately hopeless.”
(Yeah, that really makes you want to witness to someone doesn’t it?) But here you’ve shown me that Jesus is presently conquering evil and will continue to do so until He’s finished! Thus, I am motivated to take a stand for righteousness in every arena because the battle is being fought and won right now by our Conquering King! I can be on the winning team right now, not just when I get to heaven. Wow! This truth is so freeing and empowering! For the first time, I have hope, and I feel like I have a reason for living!
Thank you so much for opening my eyes to this crucial and liberating understanding of God's Word!
God Bless You!
Another successfully-cured client expressed their new-found vitality as well:
I wanted to write in and tell you all at American Vision that you guys are making an impact for the Kingdom of God! My whole life I’ve been raised up believing in an end time rapture of the church as we are being overcome by the forces of Satan and the Antichrist and all this one world Government business. I always had questions about what I was supposed to do with my life. Am I just going to be raptured out in 5, 10, or 15 years? Should I get married? Start a family?I’ve since been exposed to a different interpretation of “End Times.” Postmillenialism gives me so much hope! I’ve loved learning about theonomy and how to apply God’s Law-Word to every area of life. I’m actually excited about government now. I have such a more optimistic view of the church’s role in History. It’s exciting for me now to think about how I can make an impact for the Kingdom that will even affect the lives of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. My vision for the future has totally exploded. The possibilities for how we can affect change in our nation and society are endless. We have so much work before us and I am so ready for the Challenge!
Keep doing what you are doing! I am beginning to understand the “battle” now, and there are so many Christians who need to be awakened! I’ve begun to share these new teachings with my family and friends (calvinism, postmil, theonomy, presuppositional apologetics) They are being challenged! I love it! I’m so excited for the Future! We are in what looks like a hopeless situation in America right now, but I believe God will awaken America and will restore America to an even greater place than she was in her former Glory, where individuals, families, churches, and even state governments will bow the knee to King Jesus in every sphere of life in accordance to His Law-Word!! God Save America!!!
One particularly talented young lady experienced the conversion and wrote an article for American Vision telling her story. She told how she shared the talk, and then her husband also overcame Eschatology Dysfunction:
My very patient husband witnessed this transformation in my life and it inspired him to seek truth in these matters as well. He didn’t have the dramatic spiritual past that I did, but seeing the results of my transformation prompted him to gain a proper understanding too. Wow—as a wife, I can say that made a real man out of him. A victorious eschatology has changed this family forever.
Success stories like these roll into American Vision all the time: defeated Christians turned into real men, and happy, excited wives living reinvigorated, satisfied lives, left with wth nothing but that most satisfying of all reactions, “Wow.”
While some would tell you that Christians should learn to live with their E.D., this is merely compounded defeatism itself bred by the dysfunction is seeks to downplay. Consult a doctor today: I highly recommend Dr. Kenneth Gentry, and his books He Shall Have Dominion, The Greatness of the Great Commission, and The Book of Revelation Made Easy. Also consult Dr. Gary DeMar (he’ll tell you just plays a doctor on TV, but the truth is he’s really a doctor), and his books Last Days Madness (one of the most popular first-time remedies for E.D. available), and Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction. You can also see Dr. Gary North’s book, Rapture Fever.
I also highly recommend consulting with Rev. David Chilton. Although not a doctor, Chilton was very gifted in spiritual counseling, and delivered some of the most frequently and powerfully effective prescriptions for E.D. in with his books Paradise Restored, and Days of Vengeance, a 700-page commentary on the book of Revelation.
There are many other remedies. You have probably heard of SeeAllis (no, not Cialis, a drug for a different E.D.), but see-Allis, as in go see the book by the former Westminster Seminary Professor O. T. Allis, Prophecy and the Church. This 1945 critique of end-times defeatism and depression has helped deliver many Christians for over 50 years and has never been answered by the defeatists.
As with all potent treatments, these may have some side-effects. You may have headaches after cramming so much new information into your head. You may experience dizziness as your eschatological world begins to spin upside-down. You may feel light-headed as tremendous burdens are lifted from your back in a single instant, and slight upset stomach may occur as you properly digest prophecy for the first time (See Rev. 10:8–11). As you learn that most of the prophecies you have been watching the sky over were actually fulfilled during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, you may begin to contemplate that history excessively. If you experience thoughts of the destruction for more than four hours, you should consult your doctor immediately. He will direct you to move on to further implications of the victorious life.
So, if you think you may be suffering from E.D., call or write us today. Browse our pharmacy to find your remedy today. Say goodbye to depression and apathy in your Christian life. A new and satisfied Christian life awaits.
"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
Strange. I am a Christian, grew up in a Christian household, have attended Christian churches my whole life, have always had Christian friends and meet Christians almost every day. I’ve never met a sufferer of this cleverly yet crassly named ‘ailment’.
Am I hanging out with people from the wrong denominations to encounter this phenomenon?
This article is leftist spin, probably an athiest or agnostic or a liberal Christian who has been deceived by the social justice non gospel reading or preaching so called church.
Ed? You mean the guy on MSNBC? Yeah, he makes me suffer.
This article is leftist spin, probably an athiest or agnostic or a liberal Christian who has been deceived by the social justice non gospel reading or preaching so called church.
From American Vision? Unlikely.
LOL
No..there’s a cure for that it’s called Trust Jesus!
We’ve got two prescriptions for the sufferers.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_INDEX.HTM and http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm.
Please feel free to increase the dosage to the maximum in order to effect the maximum speed on the path to salvation.
As Lee mentioned...from “American Vision” so it's not likely. Gary DeMar et al, are Theonomists which makes their Eschatology beliefs either Post-millenial or Preterist...trust me...they are NOT into social justice theology or participants in “end times” madness driven by the latest headlines in the newspaper.
This article is leftist spin, probably an athiest or agnostic or a liberal Christian who has been deceived by the social justice non gospel reading or preaching so called church.
Yeah, unfortunately, some Christians may "buy into" the heretical and false doctrines of the Preterists (which is what you're reading). They teach that Israel has no significance in the future with God that it will not be His chosen nation before Him and neither will they have anything to do with the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah (Jesus) as a nation before God.
It's all heresy and false teachings and doctrines and they've fooled themselves and some others into believing that they Bible does not mean what it says (and apparently they don't think God means what He says either... LOL...).
You can see the techings of the heretical doctrine of Preterism exposed below...
Here's a good study series of sermons about Dispensations and the Rapture, from Mark Hitchcock at Edmond Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma. Pastor Hitchcock just put up his own blog, too, recently.
A little bit about Mark Hitchcock (because you should get to know this prophecy teacher as he's a prolific writer and a good prophecy teacher and a good teacher in general.
Mark Hitchcock is a leading Bible prophecy expert, prolific author who has penned over 20 books on the end times, senior pastor, and adjunct faculty member of the Dallas Theological Seminary. He has appeared on hundreds of radio programs and in print as well as The History Channel, MSNBC, Fox, The Glenn Beck Show, and CNN. A leading Christian voice on Mayan 2012 prophecy, he is scheduled to appear on an NBC sci-fi special related to 2012 airing fall, 2009.
A former attorney, Mark initially worked for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Following a call to full-time ministry, today he serves as senior pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, just outside of Oklahoma City. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1991, where he subsequently earned his doctorate in 2006 and more recently has served as an adjunct faculty member.
Hitchcock has been a contributing editor for the Left Behind Prophecy Club for many years. His new book 2012, the Bible, and the End of the World (Harvest House Publishers) will be released September 15, 2009. He has also recently released Cashless (July 1, 2009, also published by Harvest House), showing how today’s headlines foreshadow a new and vastly different economic future—a one-world economy that is consistent with Bible prophecy in Revelation 13. Some of his other titles include: The Late Great United States: What Bible Prophecy Reveals about America’s Last Days; Armageddon, Oil, and Terror; Iran the Coming Crisis: Radical Islam, Oil and the Nuclear Threat; The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; What On Earth is Going On?; Is America in Bible Prophecy?; The Coming Islamic Invasion of Israel; Is the Antichrist Alive Today?; Seven Signs of the End Times; and What Jesus Says About Earth’s Final Days.
Hitchcock maintains an active speaking schedule, appearing frequently at prophecy conferences, seminaries, and churches. He and his wife, Cheryl, live in Edmond, Oklahoma with their two sons Justin and Samuel.
Faith Bible Church
600 N. Coltrane
Edmond, Oklahoma 73034
Phone: 405-340-1000
Fax: 405-340-7504
SERMONS
The teaching of Dispensationalim / Pastor Mark Hitchcock and Dr. Charles Ryrie
Left Behind - What's It All About? / Tim LaHaye and Gary Frazier
The Rapture
The Pre-Trib Rapture
And..., here's one to educate yourself about End Times Controversies, especially when you are challenged on the Rapture. It's about the false and heretical teachings of Preterism, which is the teaching which denies the future prophecies are related to and significant for Israel and denies that Israel is still the chosen nation before God and that it will have future significance in God's plan in the Millennial Kingdom (the 1,000 year Kingdom, before the final judgement at the Great White Throne) that Jesus, the Messiah sets up here on this earth
I would say this one is essential as it's jam packed full of necessary information. Mark Hitchcock did his Doctoral Paper on this subject at Dallas Theological Seminary and wrote a book about it, too.
About the Errors of Preterism and End Times Controversy / Pastor Mark Hitchcock
Faith Bible Church Teaching
Holy Scriptures
We teach that the Bible is the Word of God, supernaturally inspired so that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and has been preserved by God, so that it is the divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life.
The Godhead
We teach that there is one God eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient manifesting Himself in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one in nature, equal in attributes, essence, power and glory.
Jesus Christ
We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate, very God and very man, that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, suffering the full penalty for sinners. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to intercede for us as our advocate and High Priest.
Man
We teach that man, as a consequence of Adam's sin, is subject to the wrath of God, justly condemned in His sight, wholly unable to save himself. Although man was originally created in the image of God, apart from God's salvation through Christ man is eternally lost.
Salvation
We teach that salvation is wholly by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and entirely apart from any ordinance, ritual, human merit or works. Salvation is the free gift of God and once it is received it cannot by any means be lost. While sin may interrupt the joy of a believers fellowship with God and bring the loving discipline of the Father, the true believer is eternally secure.
Spiritual Gifts
We teach that Christ gives to each believer, at conversion, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, some gift or gifts to equip him to serve the Lord and edify other believers.
The Church
We teach that the universal Church consists of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the Rapture. Each local assembly or church should be a miniature of the universal Church, expressing the great truths of the latter. The local assembly consists of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who meet regularly for teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer and evangelism.
Ordinances
We teach that there are two Christian ordinances: water baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the testimony of a believer showing forth in solemn and beautiful emblem his faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, and his union and identification with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We teach that the Lord's Supper serves as a commemoration and proclamation of Jesus' death until He comes.
Last Things
We teach the following future events: the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus to rapture the Church, the tribulation period, the second coming of Christ, the millennial reign of Christ, the judgment of the lost, and the eternal state.
And here is the Faith Bible Church page with all the sermons on it.
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