Kingdom Come

“They have belied the LORD, and said…neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine…

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence…?

But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men…their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich…Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonder – ful / shocking and horrible thing is committed in the land; 

• The prophets prophesy falsely,
• and the priests bear rule by their means;
• and my people love to have it so:
• and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jeremiah 5)

An extremely popular teaching embraced by “Bible-believing” Dispensationalist Christians is that what they do in the end thereof is bail out when tribulation starts.

It is most telling that instead of relying on the written word, Dispensationalism relies on direct revelation by a spirit. Note the first sentence by a dispensationalist teacher.

All three of these Scriptural Old Testament “gaps” or valleys have one thing in common: These are things that are spiritually discerned through the Holy Spirit, spelled out plainly in the New testament, which sheds light on what is written in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit reveals these things through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ – the source of all true wisdom. (See Revelation 19:10 & Colossians 2:2-3).  The Spirit of Prophecy certainly looks forward into the future, but it also can look backward into the past and you will be able to see this in the KJV Holy Bible. Keep in mind that what transpired in the past directly sets the course for what will happen in the future. This is why it is essential to understand why there is a gap between the first two verses of the Bible.

When we broaden our horizons, Bible-believing Christians can recognize Darby’s Dispensationalism for what it is. One of the many new religious movements that sprang up in the late 19th century on the basis of “new revelation.”

we the Church the Body of Christ have no relation whatsoever to Christ’s Second Coming. It is very dangerous to confuse the nation Israel with the Church the Body of Christ. We are to, “Study to shew ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). If we are to understand the Bible, we must separate the dispensations from each other…

At the rapture (which could happen at any moment), and before the seven-year Tribulation begins, God will secretly and instantly will remove from earth all people who have trusted exclusively in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour…

Jesus Christ’s Second Coming is to rescue Israel from the Antichrist and her other enemies. When we understand dispensational Bible study, we see that we have nothing to do with God’s dealings with Israel.

Seriously?

• “the disciples” were Jewish believers in Jesus the Christ
• came unto him privately, saying…what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
• And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you…
• they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake…
• ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…
• then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be…
• Immediately after the tribulation of those days…
• he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other…”

Despite the fact that the only series of trumpet blasts documented in the New Testament are in Revelation, Dispensationalists refuse to associate their pampered Christian Church with these. They claim another, totally undocumented set of trumpet blasts heralding their removal from the troublesome task of fighting to retake dominion of the earth.

Whaaat?? Christians don’t fight against evil? Isn’t that the the exact opposite of the theme of the Bible? Not to mention history and current events??

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.

That is so twisted and dishonest. A biblical mystery is an Old Testament prophecy that by its very nature couldn’t be revealed at the time of the prophecy, but only later as future events lined up with the past predictions. The Apostle Paul did not teach a “new truth” exclusive to Gentile Christians. He explained the existing, fundamental, baseline commitment made by Almighty God and passed on to all humanity by our common parents Adam and Eve.

• “For as in Adam all die,
  • even so in the Promised Savior shall all be made alive.
• But every man in his own order: Christ / The Promised Seed of the Woman the first…
  • afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

“Behold, I shew / reveal to you a mystery about how this happens:

• We shall not all sleep –  in context this is clearly a euphemism for die, as assumed always occurs prior to resurrection,
  • but we shall all be changed,
  • In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye – both the decomposed and the still composed bodies
• fat the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and
  • the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
  • AND we – both the dead and the few remaining alive – shall be changed.” (I Corinthians 15:50-52)

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.

This statement is explicitly contradicted by Paul himself who most absolutely, positively did not base his doctrine on what he learned from rabbis, Gamaliel or even the other apostles.

“I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12)

Thus because the Rapture is a “mystery”, it is a newly revealed event and it is distinct from the Second Coming of Christ Jesus.

That statement is simply and utterly irrational. A surprise party is a newly revealed event that only makes sense because it is specifically connected to – not distinct from – the main event of a birthday.  In the exact same way, the transformation of living people must be connected to – not distinct from – the Second Coming because it occurs at the same time as the resurrection of the dead KNOWN TO HAPPEN AT THE SECOND COMING.

“For I know that my redeemer liveth NOW,

• • and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
• And though after my skin worms destroy this body,
  • yet in my flesh shall I see God:” (Job 19:25-26)

Not only is Dispentationalism’s Rapture Doctrine frankly unscriptural, it begs the question – who on earth is available to rescue the perishing – including our own loved ones – if the Holy Spirit who indwells believers has left during the Adversary’s last and worst rampage on earth? This is beyond cowardice. This is betrayal of the LORD of hosts on par with Judas Iscariot.

This blog perseverates on Dispensationalism because so many Christians who claim to be fundamentalists basing their faith and practice on biblical truths are Dispensationalists. The Rapture doctrine demands the scrutiny of anyone who complaisantly believes both in it, and in their salvation through identification with YHVH’s Chosen Savior. You can’t have it both ways.

The validity of Dispensationalism is extremely prejudiced by the fact that it is a recent development. It only began in the late 1800’s with John Nelson Darby, and was popularized throughout North America only since the 20th century.

in 1909, a Texan named Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), published the Scofield Reference Bible, a King James Version that contained extensive footnotes demonstrating how various biblical passages supported the ideas of premillennial dispensationalism. It became a best-seller. It was largely through the influence of Scofield’s notes that dispensationalism became influential among fundamentalist Christians… [emphasis added]

This year became in a sense a turning point in the history of contemporary dispensationalism as the Reference Bible made an immediate impact among evangelical believers. This Bible is now practically a textbook in many Bible colleges…The Scofield Bible creates a false sense of authority by continually referring to its explanatory notes, based on Darby’s interpretation of Scripture. 

The reliability of Dispensationalism is extremely prejudiced by the fact that “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (I Corinthians 14:33)

Dispensationalism is a complex theological system and there are numerous shades of interpretation. The simplest definition is…A system of Biblical interpretation adhering to literalism in interpretation and distinguishing a series of periods in God’s dealings with man in which God introduced a succession of tests of responsibilities….Most dispensationalists hold to seven dispensations…Some have only four. Others have as many as eight…

Darby taught that Israel and the church are separate entities…God governs his relationship to Israel and the church according to quite distinct principles. Israel and the church belong to different dispensations, that of law and that of grace…

Champions of biblical orthodoxy…? Literal interpretation…? Darby’s teaching should raise alerts on many fronts.

• The claim that God inserted the exclusively Gentile Church into his plan after Israel did not accept Jesus Christ and demanded his death is patently false. The New Testament documents over and over that all Israel did not reject Jesus Christ, only the corrupt leaders who allied with the Gentiles. Paul himself, considered the founder of the Gentile Church, never stopped identifying himself as an Israelite, as did all the early believers of Jesus as the risen Lord and Savior. Even more important is that God’s plan had included the church since before time began, in eternity.
• Dispensationalism itself is split into many factions teaching different things. So which faction is correct? During his career, John Darby himself was a fractious man. “Perhaps he should be described as a petty tyrant, for he was most tyrannical about petty things…All who did not agree with his interpretations of the Bible were characterized as “not having the truth,”…and therefore as somewhat “apostate”…” Darby’s overbearing personality caused much friction. The early history of the Plymouth Brethren movement was dominated by rivalry and strife. Even within Darby’s lifetime several divisions within the Brethren movement took place.
• A forensic psychiatric review of his case file reveals common manic behaviors, leading to a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. “…a man with magnetic, electric personal qualities…he often demonstrated as much zeal in destroying a work of his own…He left a massive set of Collected Writings which are almost uniformly unintelligible.”

So if it’s not in the Bible, where does it come from?

“It comes from the ecstatic utterances of Margaret MacDonald in 1830…that were picked up by John Darby.”

The History of the Rapture

This doctrine is new; it was never taught or even discussed prior to the 1830’s. It seems to have first come from a “prophetic vision” by Margaret Macdonald, a woman in 1830, who was a part of the cult group the “Irvingites,” while having an emotional experience…After that, another cult group called the “Millerites,” predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844. It did not happen; that should have been a clue, but this would not die. [Miller…went on to play a role in the founding of the Seventh Day Adventist Church]…

At the same time, this belief was then picked up by Irish born…John N. Darby…who took this new fad to America in 1862 to 1877….He was, in fact, a failed lawyer who was very “intolerant to criticism” and prideful. This should be another clue…

It is supremely inconsistent that persons whose identity is based on the doctrine of biblical inerrancy rely on the new teachings of latecomer John Darby and the extensive footnotes of Cyrus Schofield.

What happened to “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (II Peter 1:20)

There are two ways to determine if Margaret MacDonald, John Darby, Ellen White, Joseph Smith, and all the rest of the hordes of prophets claiming to report God’s revelation through them are, in fact, God’s messengers.

First, external validation of prophecies that the claimant has made.  If a single prophecy fails, then the person is a false prophet.

“if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Let’s take a look at Darby’s Prophetic Map of the End Times developed in the late 1800’s. Note, according to Darby’s teaching, the rapture can occur at any moment. Therefore, if his prophecies are true, the political elements should have been in play over the last 140 years or so.

This article looks back over what Darby wrote in the light of various things that have happened in the world since then...we Christians should be intelligent as to events in the world, and also know what will happen here after the rapture of the church. Of course we will not be here!

• France, not the USA, becomes the dominant Western power instead of England.
• The USA does not become a world power.
• Russia dominates Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon.
• Islam is of no importance.

Clearly Darby’s predictions have not come to pass.

So in addition to marking him as a false prophet, how can Dispensationalists believe that the rapture could have occurred at any moment since Darby’s new doctrine was taught?

I’m hearing the dispensationalist argument – his predictions just haven’t happened yet. But they will! in an extremely short war where Socialist France allied with Communist Russia splits West and East they knock the USA and the Moslem countries out of commission.

But since Christians won’t be here when that happens, Darby is safe from judgment. But by the same token, without any proof of true prophecies, he is also barred from consideration as a true prophet, isn’t he?

Isn’t he?

So let’s apply the second proof. As with any other literature, internal consistency provides reliability on which to place our trust in the revelation of the many prophets claiming to speak for God.

Literary experts determine if any “newly discovered” composition is, in fact, the claimed work of a famous author from centuries ago by its consistency with previously established, i.e. canonized (secular as well as religious) works by the same author.

When William Shakespeare’s friends and fellow actors and authors published his collected plays in 1623, 7 years after the Bard shuffled off this mortal coil, that book, now known as the First Folio, established what was and was not to be officially “Shakespeare.” Yet, as with any other great artist, Shakespeare left us wanting more. The search for “lost” Shakespeare has spanned centuries…William Shakespeare & Others: Collaborative Plays, edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, uses the latest computer technology paired with old school critical connoisseurship…to coolly lay out all the arguments…beside the very texts in question…

fellow playwright Ben Jonson...calls Shakespeare “not of an age, but for all time,”…the publication of the plays would win Will…a lasting legacy.

Anyone who contradicts internal reliability to make him / herself the authority to redefine the authorship, credibility and meaning of parts of any ancient piece of literature is patently a deceiver. He / she doesn’t know enough about the circumstances in the time and place of the writing to support their claims.

The early Christians…produced translations in each of the major dialects.

The Armenian language first developed an alphabet around 406 AD. An Armenian translation of the entire Bible existed by 414. Early Christians were obviously very zealous about bringing the Scriptures into the languages of the people. There were also very ancient translations of the New Testament into Palestinian Aramaic, Georgian, Ge’ez (Ethiopic), Arabic, Nubian, Persian, Sogdian (Middle Persian), Gothic,  Slavonic, and others. The Early centuries of Christianity thus saw the Scriptures translated into a variety of vernacular tongues as the gospel spread throughout the known world…[emphasis added.]

The only way that the Dispensational view works is to take the original language out of the equation and justify their doctrine based on only the King James interpretation of the Scripture. This is understandable considering the large majority of Christians that are holding firm to the belief that the King James version is the only accepted version of the Gospel…We are instructed to study the Scripture to show ourselves approved and to light a path during the time of trial, not to divide the word to justify our translation. (Psalm 119:105)

The Dispensationalists want to twist the word to justify their translation, believing this brings light unto the understanding of Scripture. The basic principle behind this translation is to completely disregard the entire Old Testament and the Gospels as they were written for only the Jews and that only the portion of Scripture written for the Gentiles is relevant for the Church…

this fits your doctrine to justify your stance of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture (which is also false and not supported by your doctrine) but how can you call yourselves a follower of Christ when you no longer follow His words?…

The Dispensational view removes about 7/8ths of the Bible to support their claim of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Without removing these portions of the Bible, they have nothing to stand upon!!

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Revelation 22: 18-19)