All:
Have you ever stopped to think as to why "Dispensationalism" and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is hated by so many in the universal church? Do you know who is behind the attack of this view?
Critics of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture are so predictable. They use straw man arguments against Margaret MacDonald, John Darby, and always C.I.Scofield. In a previous post I gave you the background on how the vile attack of Scofield began. They begin by stating that "Dispensationalism" and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture are only a couple hundred years old; its a new doctrine. I should note that it in no way diminishes its validity or credibility.
Margaret MacDonald and John Darby are not the originators of either "Dispensationalism" or the "Pre-Trib Rapture". They may have resurrected the idea but they certainly didn't originate it either. Those that hate "Dispensationalism" or the "Pre-Trib Rapture" jump on this theme of it being a new doctrine as if it can be discredited by inferring it hasn't been around very long and it can't be credible.
The historical fact is belief in "Pre-Millennialism" or "Chiliasm" was the common belief and interpretation of Scripture by all the ancient church fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Irenaus, Tertullian, and many others. The first church fathers believed and taught 'Pre-Millennialism" in the first three centuries of the Church Age.
The change or shift from "Pre-millennialism" to "Amillennialism" took place in what was called called the "Schism of Nepos". Until about 270 AD, the church believed in a "literal" interpretation of the Bible. The "allegorical" interpretation started to gain ground around 290 AD. At that time an Egyptian bishop wrote a book entitled 'Refutations of the Allegoricalists'. However, by the end of the century, Rome had become the dominant church.
Most of you do not know why Rome became the dominant church in the Mediterranean Sea area. All the major cities from Syria to Spain, from Alexandria to Malta, had a Christian church, and the head of the church was a "bishop". The various bishops met together nearly every year, to discuss church matters and doctrine. Because of the primitive travel conditions and methods, it was agreed that a central location should be established for their gathering in order that travel distance be reasonably about the same for each bishop. Rome was considered "central" in that it was about the same distance for travel from the furthest points of the region. How do I know all this? I taught church history, philosophy from a Christian perspective, and basic theology for ten years at a Bible college. I have been bi-vocational; preferring to serve smaller churches and teach religious subjects. In fifty-one years of ministry, I preferred the "tent-maker" mode of ministry like the apostle Paul who was bi-vocational.
Rome was agreed upon for the nearly yearly gatherings. As so often happens, Rome used its host status to begin to implement certain favors for itself. To make a long story short, as its power grew, it claimed for itself additional privileges. When it came to power, no one wants to give it up, and will do everything it can to enhance and enrich its power, to the point where absolute power began to corrupt, and you know that absolute power corrupts absolutely. As one could guess, this did not set well with many of the established church bishops. I don't have the time liberty to go into about six-thousand pages on the struggles and conflicts that occurred during Romes rise to the pinnacle of church power. The in-fighting led to centuries of conflict.
By the fourth century the "Schism of Nepos" had become history. The "Allegorical" method of interpretation of the Bible had become firmly in place. "Amillenialism" and the "Allegorical" method of interpretation became church doctrine. Rome knew that if it could convince the people that the "Harlot" church of Revelation was symbolic or had already happened, no one would question it [the Harlot church] being Rome. However, if they [the early church] knew the ancient church and the apostles taught that the "Harlot" church was yet future, sooner or later it would become apparent the book of Revelation was really talking about Rome as the "Harlot" church. Rome backed "Amillennialism" (which means there will be no 1,000 year Millennium) and the "Allegorical" method of interpretation of Scripture.
What most people, including Bible colleges and seminary graduates do not know is that Rome has been at work for most of the nearly 2,000 years deceiving the world into believing in the "Allegorical" meaning of the Bible. They reject the "literal" plain-sense interpretation of the Bible. I live a block from a Roman Catholic church and I get into a debate every few weeks with the young priest and our focus of conversation is this very topic. I know that few Bible college or seminary students ever read the ancient church fathers. They are simply not taught in courses in church history, and any coverage is at most a couple paragraphs in the text books. There is too much for a church history professor to deal with in a course in church history and the ancient history is just that to them. Simply put, there isn't time for reading boring ancient history, in the mind of most students.
As I stated, Rome has been at work for nearly 2,000 years changing the history, even the manuscripts, both before the Reformation and well after it. They have infiltrated all of the major Bible societies, responsible for translations. They are tasked with putting the Bible into native languages around the world. This is even noted in David Daniel's book 'Why Did They Change The Bible' . David Daniels is a trained and educated language/linguist translator. He was a missionary for over twenty years in South America.
History has shown that the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) have engaged in the infiltration of Protestant groups, churches, and Bible societies sewing discord, deception, and disinformation. Despite the flaws of the "Allegorical" method of interpretation, it is well engrained in Catholicism and its daughter churches that emerged from the Reformation.
David Daniels details the strategy Jesuits played in influencing Bible translation efforts to move the Bible societies away from "Functional Equivalence" to what is now known as "Dynamic Equivalence" The Jesuits were undermining the manuscripts in the 17th century until the present day. I still have at least a dozen books in my library on Bible translation and how they (Catholics) managed to make changes, one verse at a time, bit by bit. You can read the works of Sam Gipp, Gail Ripplinger, and a dozen other experts to verify what I am sharing concerning Catholicism and "Allegorical" interpretation and manuscript changes.
Initially, critics of the "literal" plain-sense of the text interpretation would have Christians believe Darby invented the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. As I stated, their reasoning was it was less than 200 years old and it couldn't be Biblical or Christians would have known about it much earlier. Well, they did know about it!
A cursory examination of the ancient and early church fathers reveals that they were predominantly "Pre-Millennial" or "chilasts" (belief in a 1,000 year) Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ on Earth. Clearly, the writings of the following were "Pre-Millennial":
Barnabas (100-105 AD)
Papias (60-130 AD)
Justin Martyr (110-165 AD)
Irenaeus (120-202 AD)
Tertullian (145-220 AD)
Hippolytus (185-236 AD)
Cyprian (200-250 AD)
Lactantius (260-350 AD)
The Apostle Paul spoke of the Rapture as a "Mystery" in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. A "mystery" is a new truth that a New Testament writer reveals as part of God's Plan for the church age. This supports the notion that the Rapture is for the church and is a separate event from that of the Second Coming.
The Second Coming was predicted in the Old Testament (Daniel 12:1-3; Zechariah 12:10; 14:4). Paul would not identify the Rapture as a mystery if it was revealed in the Old Testament. His rabbinical training and his mentor Gamaliel would have precluded this possibility from the record.
Thus because the Rapture is a "mystery", it is a newly revealed event and it is distinct from the Second Coming of Christ Jesus. This understanding supports the Pre-Trib Rapture view, which places the Rapture before the Tribulation and the Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation.
The attack on "Dispensationalism" is Satanic-inspired. That is a thread that began as far back as the days after the ascension of the Lord Himself. Follow me closely here. Roman Catholicism has its roots in the Gnostics and the Babylonian Mystery Religions.
The apostles were keenly aware that the "Spirit of Antichrist" (1 John 4:3) and the "Mystery of Iniquity" (2 Thessalonians 2:7) were already at work in their own days. This means the apostate spirit predates all modern churches as we know them today.
If Pre-Tribulationalists are correct in assuming the Rapture of the true church will occur before the Tribulation begins, then all 'Christian' churches that remain will become apostate regardless of their labels. All the psuedo-Christians who are left behind may well align with one another in a common cause of unbelief -(2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). Make no mistake in understanding what I referring to. I am referring to a "One-World" church headed by the Vatican. After all is said and done, the Roman Catholic Church is already in the hip pocket of Lucifer.
In summary:
1. The Spirit of Antichrist and the Mystery of Iniquity were already at work in apostolic times.
2. Apostasy has progressed throughout church history, predating the modern church.
3. A large portion of the modern church is already apostate. Unbelief is rampant in liberal circles.
4. After the Rapture of true believers, all professing 'Christians' who are left behind will be apostate believers
regardless of their denomination.
5. The False Prophet will arise to lead apostate Christendom in its acceptance of the Antichrist.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12, Paul indicates that this process will begin during the "Church Age". The "Falling Away" ("Apostasia") will occur before the coming of our Lord and Savior -(2 Thessalonians 2:1,3). But its final explosion as a form of worldwide unbelief will not occur until after the restraining ministry of God (indwelling in the true church) is removed at the Rapture. This seems to indicate that we may but probably will not know positively who the False Prophet is prior to the Rapture. Only those left behind to face the Tribulation will know his true identity.
The Apostle John had many enemies. His arch rival was the Gnostic Cerinthus. Most Christians of John's day simply ignored the ravings of Cerintus the Gnostic. But some early Christians rejected the book of Revelation. Many changed from the "Literal" understanding of the Bible to switch to the "Allegorical" and "Amillennial" view. By the mid-fourth century AD, "Amillennialism" was the standard mindset; and the legend that the book of Revelation was never originally designed to be read or studied by the average Christian was firmly in place.
Who caused that? Lucifer through ROME!
This fact helps to understand why today we see so much confusion and deception that exists currently. Especially, this is true at the prophecy forum site, the one that almost daily has attacked this site and host. Unless the reader is a trained theologian, the result of what you find there is nothing more than deceptive syncretism. Syncretism is drowning the Christian community, having a cafeteria-style theological entree menu. The smorgasboard effect leads to confusion, and I am suggesting that is not by accident. It is simply another aspect of "Replacement" theology. Lucifer hates the Jews with a passion, for several reasons. Furthermore, he hates anyone that is "Dispensational" - believes in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture - believes in a Literal plain-sense reading of the text. Here is a list of why Lucifer hates the Hebrew or Jewish people:
1. God "chose" them to be the witness to the world.
2. Through the Jews God gave the world the Bible.
3. Through them God gave the world the Messiah.
4. God has promised that He will save a great remnant of them.
5. God has promised that through that remnant He will bless all the nations of the world through the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus.
The "Allegorical" or "spiritualizing" is a terrible abuse of God's Word. It has led Christians to reject the Genesis account of creation as well as the promises of God for the future.
>From the beginning to the end of the Bible, we need to interpret God's Word first for its plain-sense meaning. The failure to do so will produce tragic doctrines like "Replacement" theology, Kingdom-now, Dominionism, the Emergent Church, the Purpose Driven Church. As noted, it has been going on since apostolic times and continues to this day. I'm not denying the sinfulness of the Jews, however, God will deal with them during the Tribulation.
Ezekiel tells us in Ezekiel 36:22, "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O House of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went." This theme occurs several times, particularly throughout the prophets and if you are prepared to say God is a liar by "replacing" Israel with the Church then you risk being associated with the abomination that has resulted in virulent anti-Semitism that has in turn resulted in the death of millions of Jews. There can be no doubt that a perversion of Christianity called "Replacement" theology or "Supersessionism" has been the source of most anti-Semitism in the world today and through past centuries. There are anti-Semites in this world who are neither Christian or Muslim and who have never even met a Jew.
By the end of his life, Martin Luther had turned against the Jews with a vengeance. In 1543, he wrote a pamphlet entitled "Concerning the Jews and Their Lies". The document was an anti-Semitic diatribe that summarized the Jewish hatred that had accumulated for over a thousand years. In it, he referred to the Jews as:
* "A miserable and accursed people."
* "Stupid fools."
* "Miserable, blind and senseless."
* Thieves and robbers."
* The great vermin of humanity."
* Lazy rogues."
* Blind and venomous"
Having dehumanized and demonized them, Luther then proceeded to make some startling proposals for dealing with the Jewish people:
1. Their synagogues and schools should be burned.
2. Their houses should be destroyed.
3. Their Talmudic writings should be confiscated.
4. Their rabbis should be forbidden to teach.
5. Their money should be taken from them.
6. They should be compelled into forced labor.
Adolf Hitler, a Roman Catholic, who was never excommunicated from the church, gleefully quoted Luther as he rose to power and launched the Holocaust. Hitler talked about the influence of Luther on his own life: "Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my life. Luther was a great man. He was a giant. With one blow he heralded the coming of the new dawn and the new age.. He saw clearly that the Jews need to be destroyed, and we're only beginning to see that we need to carry this work on."
At the Nuremberg, Germany trials after World War II, the Nazi leader Julius Streicher, defended himself by saying, "I never said anything that Martin Luther did not say."
The terrible truth that Christians do not like to face, and which many are unaware of, is that the Holocaust was the product of 1,900 years of virulent Christian anti-Semitism, incited by Lucifer!
A good example of the new form of anti-Semitism can be found in a document issued by the late Dr. D.J. Kennedy's Knox Seminary in 2002. It was entitled, "An Open Letter to Evangelicals Concerning Israel". It has been signed by several thousand theologians, pastors, including the well known Dr. R.C. Sproul.
In direct contradiction of "Replacement" theology, the Bible teaches that the Jews have never been replaced by the church by God because of their unbelief. In Romans 3, Paul asserts point blank that their rejection of Jesus has not nullified or cancelled God's faithfulness to the promises He has made to them. Paul reiterates in Romans, chapters 9, 10, & 11 God's plan for the Jews. May I suggest that you refresh your understanding of the relationship God has with the Jews, despite any personal opinions you may hold concerning the Jews.
The words of Paul can be summed up in Romans 11:25-27: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceit; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, unto the fulness of the Gentiles come in. And so all Israel shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins."
Paul began the chapter, 11:1-2 by stating, "I say then, hath God cast away His people? God forbid, for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away His people which he forenew."
Romans 11:8 reads, "According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day." Verse 11:11 says it so eloquently , "I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealously."
Those responsible for perpetuating the idea of the Church "replacing" Israel were and still are Satanically inspired! This is because if they had read the whole Bible, all of it, they could have seen the "Con" of Lucifer. Lucifer had tricked them into believing the lie! The Old and New Testament were codified by the middle of the fourth century AD. It became engrained in Roman Catholicism and has continued to the present through the daughter churches from the Reformation that came out of Rome.
Those today who teach this heresy are themselves repeating the errors of "Allegorical" interpretation of the Bible. They follow the 'Spirit of Antichrist' at the very time when they ought to be repenting of their sin. I have to conclude that those who teach and believe in the "Allegorical" interpretation of Scripture, and the "spiritualizing of the text to mean something the author never meant, wrote or said.
Chances are these folks have or they have been duped into "Replacement" theology by teachers or the teachings of men upon which they have hung their beliefs on. But even more of concern, is the question how that affects the destiny of those having owned their plight by buying into the "Allegorical" system of interpretation of Scripture. Doing that is to call God a liar! The branch these people are standing on or hanging from just might prove to be their demise when that call from up yonder comes!
Those of you still claiming Margaret MacDonald or John Darby or C.I. Scofield originated the idea of "Dispensationalism", and the belief in a "Pre-Trib Rapture" - YOU HAVE BEEN BUSTED! "Millennialism" began and existed right after Christ Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father! It was taught by the ancient church fathers for the first 300 years. "Allegorical" interpretation of the Bible is of the devil, Satan himself, or by his angelic name - Lucifer.
Keep looking up! We are getting so close.
God bless
Pastor Bob