Posted on 06/05/2002 11:51:09 AM PDT by sheltonmac
Any time there is a flurry of activity in the Middle East you can count on evangelical Christians to put on a good show. They run around proclaiming an "End of the World Is Near" gospel in hopes of scaring people into the Kingdom of God.
I refer to such Christians as "they" because I happen to be one of those evangelical Christians who believe that God is no longer dealing with national Israel and that His chosen people are those who comprise the church—essentially, all who believe in Christ. This may seem like a radical concept to those who look upon writers of doomsday fiction as prophetic geniuses, but that's what happens when people are drawn away from that boring, dust-covered, leaherbound Bible on the coffee table by novels with flashy covers and catchy titles.
When it comes to end times "prophecy," premillennialists seem to have a monopoly on the market. Hal Lindsey burst upon the scene in the 1970's with The Late Great Planet Earth. It became an international best-seller. In like fashion, the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins has proven to be one of the most lucrative enterprises in the history of Christendom. Sure, these books are by no means examples of literary greatness, but the authors more than make up for that with pure, unadulterated prophetic sensationalism.
The success of apocalyptic authors like Lindsey, LaHaye and Jenkins stems from their ability to exploit the prevailing eschatological school of thought among evangelical Christians, that being dispensational premillennialism. (Thank you, John Nelson Darby!) When it comes to the end times, most premillennialists believe that all Christians will be "raptured," that is, taken up out of the world by Jesus Christ at his almost second coming. Those left behind will have to face the Great Tribulation, a seven-year period of unparalleled chaos which will also herald the rule of the Anti-Christ. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will return—his actual second coming—to set up his earthly kingdom and reign on the throne of David for a thousand years. After that millennial time of peace, God will do away with evil once and for all at the Great White Throne Judgment. (How there can be a thousand years of peace with evil present I cannot say. I suppose it's one of those things that just works it self out in the premillennialist model.)
With all the hype surrounding the end times, it is certainly understandable that theological misconceptions will filter down into our political ideology. This is not a new phenomenon. In fact, ever since the arrival of dispensational premillennialism on this continent in the 19th century our national political position has shifted to accomodate this line of thinking, thanks to the efforts of evangelical Christians.
Evangelical Christian influence has been around since the founding of this nation, and the beliefs of evangelicals have spilled over into politics. Ordinarily there would be nothing wrong with this, but flawed theology has since given way to a flawed foreign policy, and U.S. interests have become inextricably tied to the interests of modern Israel.
Strong political support for a Jewish nation began in the early 1900s. During World War I, Arthur James Balfour penned the Balfour Declaration which set the stage for British support of a Jewish homeland:
His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.Since dispensational premillennialism had already established itself as a part of the evangelical mainstream, it was only a matter of time before U.S. politicians who had been born and raised in that evangelical tradition began to let their theology affect their political ideology. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signaled his approval of the Balfour Declaration when he said, "The allied nations with the fullest concurrence of our government and people are agreed that in Palestine shall be laid the foundations of a Jewish Commonwealth."
American politicians have continued to voice their strong support for Israel, though little has been mentioned as to why Israel is such an important ally. But that really isn't the issue I want to explore. What seems to be driving the U.S.-Israel relationship, as far as evangelical Christians are concerned, is the popular belief that the nation of Israel still plays an important role in prophecy, and those not wanting to be caught facing the business end of God's wrathful sword come Judgment Day are pushing for more U.S. involvement in the Middle East. About the only reasons we hear are that we have a "moral obligation" to stand behind Israel or that it's simply "the right thing to do."
Dispensational premillennialists typically quote the Book of Psalms when speaking of our "obligation" to support Israel. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you'" (Ps. 122:6). This passage has been accepted by many Christians as a universal command by which all believers are bound to pray for the physical city of Jerusalem, lest they fall out of favor with God. Of course, that isn't the case.
While it may be good and practical to pray for the peace of modern Jerusalem, we should really be praying for peace all across the world—the peace that can only come about through the Good News of Jesus Christ. So, in a spiritual sense, Psalm 122 does apply to Christians today. We should pray for the peace of the spiritual Jerusalem, the church (Heb. 12:22), for the well-being of our brothers and sisters in Christ and the furtherance of the Gospel.
Many Christians, however, are too wrapped up in their flawed eschatology to realize that their first responsibility is to the church, the body of Christ, and not to a nation of unbelievers. As a result, eyes glance up in anticipation at the eastern sky every time Israel is mentioned in the media, and the practice of interpreting Scripture through newspaper headlines becomes commonplace.
It is interesting to see the ensuing pandemonium among evangelical Christians brought about by rumors of war in the Middle East. Believers ignore sound biblical instruction and start buying up extra copies of Left Behind to use as witnessing tools for reaching their non-believing friends. Christian columnists all across America crank out editorial pieces on the Jews' divine claim to the Holy Land and the importance of remaining steadfast in our nation's support of Israel. Jack Van Impe goes on television with an air of righteous vindication and says, "See? My latest reinterpretation of my previous reinterpretation of Revelation was correct! The time of Christ's coming in the clouds is fast approaching!"
Who can blame these Christians for becoming so enraptured (no pun intended) with the idea of being whisked away in the blink of an eye while the world is left to fester for seven years in its own evil juices? It is comforting for people to believe that they will escape tribulation when the end comes.
But ask anyone who holds to the premillennialist view what Christ had in mind when he proclaimed, "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place" (Matt. 24:34). Ask them what the apostle Paul meant when he said, "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham" (Rom. 9:6b-7a). Ask them why God felt it was necessary to establish a New Covenant (Heb. 8) if the Old Covenant is yet to be fulfilled. Chances are the answers you receive will be less than satisfactory.
The truth is that the covenant God had with Israel finds its fulfillment in Christ. "And if you are Christ's," Paul reminds us, "then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29). Advocating an "End of the World Is Near" gospel that appeals to gullible Christians and poll-driven politicians cannot be edifying for the body of Christ. If anything, it detracts from the work the Son of God already accomplished through his death and resurrection.
I certainly do not hold myself up as a theologian or biblical scholar, but it doesn't take one to see that the premillennialist paradigm is rather precarious. When a fundamental part of our foreign policy is based on a shaky biblical exegesis and championed by the very people who should know better, it gives one reason to question the immediate future of our nation.
At least we can rest in the fact that God is ultimately in control. His true chosen people, those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, will not be forsaken, and the glory of the Almighty will shine forth for all the world to see.
Actually, the 69th week culminated with what is referred to as Christ's triumphal entry, or the public advent of "Messiah the Prince." That fulfills Zech. 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee..." Prior to that He had consistently told His disciples not to make known anything about Him and His Messiahship. Our Lord's last visit to Jerusalem was the crisis point in His life on earth. He was publically proclaimed as King and Messiah, and as such He rode to His death on the cross. Therefore, this fulfills the angel's prophecy in Dan. 9:25, "unto Messiah the Prince." His baptism does not do this. Furthermore the date of His entry can be established and the number of days some scholars have calculated the interval from the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the public advent of "Messiah the Prince" to be exactly to the day 173,880 days, or 7 times 69 prophetic years of 360 days. This is the first 69 weeks of the angel Gabriel's prophecy.
You are correct on the "gap." The prophetic clock only runs when God is dealing with Israel, which He isn't doing right now since God set Israel aside temporarily as He forms the church, the Body of Christ. The "gap" started with the public advent of Messiah the Prince and will end with the "prince that shall come" who "shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." This "gap" will continue until following the rapture of the Body of Christ. An example is found in Isa. 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder." The colon here represents the gap that now spans nearly 2000 years since the second part of this verse is yet to be fulfilled.
The correct number is 200,000,000 and the only reference is in Rev 9:16...John does not say they were in fact horses. He says what he saw in the revelation looked to him like horses. Not quite the same degree of specific certainty as has been discussed here.
There's all sorts of disagreement on these horses and even the number of them. Some feel these are the same as the locusts that were "like unto horses" in Rev. 9:1-11, which is a definite possibility. Both these locust/horses and the horses of the horsemen of verses 16-19 are supernatural entities. The number is considered by some as meaning an uncountable number, such as in Rev. 5:11 where it states the number of the congregation around the throne is "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Pretty impressive number. Ps. 68:17 tells us the "chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands." I would imagine the "chariots" of God are not exactly like the Roman chariot Ben Hur drove. I choose to take what is stated in Rev. 9 as literal not figurative.
It's not enough to "believe the Bible." Mormons, JWs, Moonies, and unitarian pentecostals all "believe the Bible." Christians believe what the Bible teaches as well. Now, the foundational creeds of the church are handy summaries of what the Bible teaches concerning God, man, salvation, and eschatlogy. The creeds affirm that our Lord will physically return and we will be raised. The creeds have little to say beyond that, however, concerning the anticipated course of history.
I'm not much into the creeds, primarily because our focus should be on the Scriptures themselves.
OK, I will try one more time to explain this to you. The word "now" in the verse we were discussing does not prove by itself the overall teaching of Premillinialism, but it does answer the question about what Christ meant in the context of that verse. Therefore it does answer the question you originally asked. I noticed that you don't deny that it is there or offer any explanation for it's meaning, but choose to ignore it entirely. It is there for a reason.
The new covenant required Christ's death and shedding of blood a priori. In hindsight, this is abundantly clear even in the law of Moses. There is simply no way for Christ to have ever come to earth for any reason except that death pursuant to the establishment of the new covenenant. Therefore the "now" in that verse can not refer to a change in direction on the part of God.
This is what I was referring to you not being interested in a true discussion, because you are not answering my questions and you are rebutting points that I don't hold to and agree with you about. Just more straw men to easily knock down. Can't you stay on the topic? If you have another question for me about Premillinialism or Dispensationalism then ask. But most of your assumptions about my beliefs are incorrect. I don't believe God ever changed his mind. Christ said he came only to Israel. In fact, over and over he said it. He had to present himself to them and be rejected by that generation of Jews, but God doesn't punish all generations of Jews for the actions of that generation. Of course Christ's death was foretold in the OT. That proves that he didn't change his mind. Your arguments don't prove your views and don't disprove mine.
Finally, someone who has it RIGHT!!! Thanks for a very clear exposition.
in response to my comment It's not enough to "believe the Bible." Mormons, JWs, Moonies, and unitarian pentecostals all "believe the Bible." Christians believe what the Bible teaches as well.
Is it just a coincidence that cults uniformly violate one or more of the standards mentioned in the creeds? Or is it possible that we can learn from godly folks who have gone before us, in order to go further in our own lives? You might enjoy G K Chesterton's short story "The Broken Sword." The villain "read his own Bible" by himself -- and found in it such things as harem keeping! The bottom line is, that we as Christians are a body, we need one another, and we need to read God's word together!
For that matter, even the Jews of that generation who repented were saved through Christ. The Mosaic covenant is gone, and with it earth-bound nationalism.
Daniel clearly tells us that the kingdom would be set up in the time of Rome. That kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that will never pass away. Of what use is a temporary, earthly kingdom when you have an eternal, spiritual kingdom?
Which is more real and lasting, physical things which you can feel and touch, or spiritual things?
I agree that believers need to fellowship (Eph. 3:9; Phil. 1:3-5) and that fellowship can actually be ministry (2Cor. 8:4). But fellowship can be potentially harmful and disruptive if the believers aren't like minded. We're even told to separate ourselves from those who claim to be believers, but engage in activities in their churches that lead you to believe otherwise. As you state, they may use the Bible, and even believe the Bible, but the focus is not on the Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean to become hermits, but to fellowship with those you agree doctrinally with.
Wow, now THAT is a new one on me! I didn't know any dispensationalists believed that.....I know I never did...
I see an overlap in Romans, the wrath of 70AD on the Jews, and grace to all who believed.
To believe the preterist view is to use extra-biblical information rather than the Word of God.
Perhaps you have been misled as to what exactly the Preterist view is, or perhaps you are just repeating what you have heard from somewhere else, but you couldn't be more wrong! I'll use myself as an example. I believe the preterist view, and I believe it based solely on the Word of God.
The Word is clear as to why God is now dealing with Jew and Gentile on equal footing rather than dealing with the Jew only. Unfortunately, people read the Scriptures, or more likely, what someone has written about the Scriptures, with biases that cloud and distort the true meaning. If 70 AD concluded the Jewish program and God said the church, the Body of Christ is now Israel, why does John not mention this in the book of the Revelation?
You're kidding, right? A brief review of Preterist belief will answer that one for you. The Woman and Babylon are both symbolic pictures of the Jews and/or Jerusalem in Revelation.
There is nothing in Scripture about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, therefore any meaning attached to that event is based on the will of man, not of God, and is from extra-biblical sources, such as Josephus. You know what it says about adding to the Word of God!
Again I ask, you are kidding, right??? Have you ever even read Matthew? Try starting with Chapter 23 and see what Jesus said about the Temple...
“When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.”
How can you not see this as a promise specifically to the nation and people of Israel?
The first (non-preterist) commentary I found states that this passage is Messianic in nature. It is a promise, and it has been fulfilled. Christ came! Who believes that this is unfulfilled?
I find the above sentence about years beneath the analyetical skills of a number of 12 year olds I know. I certainly don't find it a great point.
You find it simple, beneath a 12-year old, and 'not great'.....and yet you didn't rebut it! *heh*
Please, can we keep this as a nice friendly debate and leave the personal derogatory remarks offline? Thanks...
*LOL* Frankly I find my old dispensational pre-mill beliefs much more comfortable, but thanks for asking. :o)
Thanks for the correction on the number.
So it is literally 200 million, but it is only symbolically horses? *LOL*
BLESSINGS,
No no no....I said I found my OLD dispensational and pre-mill beliefs much more comfortable. But just because they are comfortable doesn't mean that they are in line with scripture. :o)
We are out of town this weekend ourselves, but I'm taking along many downloaded books on eschatology...lots I am still (re)learning!
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