Kingdom Come

“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. ” (James 3:13-15)

The flourishing of dispensationalism in the twentieth century was due largely to the advent of “prophecy conferences,” the widespread use of the Scofield Study Bible, and the establishment of dispensational Bible institutes and colleges. 

What really blew Dispensationalism onto the religious world stage was the teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture.

The miraculous removal of millions of people from the earth!

Look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 24:37 “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be…

This disappearance spoken of by Jesus…is called the “Rapture” by those who know about it.

It is simply a “taking out” or “taking away” of Believers in Jesus Christ from the earth.

Uh, no.

Noah and his family remained on the earth.

Or we wouldn’t be here. You may recall that they repopulated the earth.

The days of Noah are referenced by Jesus because they are famous for unimaginable wickedness. By  diverting attention from the true reason Jesus references the “days of Noah”, the false prophets disarm their followers, leaving them helpless to face the worst era of history coming upon mankind.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life…Persecutions, afflictions…Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (II Timothy 3)

While Dispensationalists claim that their doctrine is based on literal hermeneutic interpretation of scripture, the historic fact is that its pre-tribulation rapture teaching comes from the ecstatic utterances of Margaret MacDonald in 1830 who was a part of the cult group the “Irvingites”.

John Nelson Darby brought this new fad to America in 1862 by imposing their own translation of this very clear Greek word “apostasia” to mean something completely out of context in the passage.

“be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away / apostasia first, and that man of sin be revealed / apokalupto, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things.” (II Thessalonians 2:1-5.

The fact that apostasia most likely has the meaning of physical departure is a clear support for pretribulationism. If this is true, (Dr. Tim LaHaye and I believe that it is), then it means that…Paul teaches…that the rapture will occur first, before the Day of the Lord commences. It is not until after the beginning of the Day of the Lord that the Antichrist is released…This is the only interpretation that provides hope for a discomforted people.

For starters, these teachers are relying on each other’s reputations, not scripture interpreting scripture.

Secondly they have got the Day of the Lord all mixed up with the Reign of Antichrist, which in itself tells us just how unqualified they are to teach anything about either event. The reign of antichrist has to occur prior to the Day of the Lord’s Christ.

Thirdly, how anyone can convert “falling” into “rising” is simply astonishing.

Fourthly, a basic investigation of how apostasia is translated reveals that the claim that this word has the meaning of a physical departure is just a flat out lie.

According to Strong’s Concordance, “apostasia” can be transliterated directly into English as “apostacy”. What is translated “falling away” in II Thessalonians is translated “forsake” the law of Moses in Acts 21, establishing by two witnesses the meaning of “apostacy”. This is in keeping with the context of the passage in that apostacy / powerlessness / falling away to the enemy in the church allows the empowerment / rise of Antichrist.

This one investigation into the pre-tribulation rapture teaching should shock us into awareness of “because they received not the love of the truth…God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:9-11)

Fifthly, the argument of the passage itself does not allow a pre-tribulation rapture interpretation. Paul is assuring Gentile converts that the sight of Antichrist in the temple is a sign that Yahweh’s Savior / Yeshua / Jesus will shortly return to rescue them.  Ergo, believers must be on earth to see it.

Sixthly, using one verse to prove one’s private interpretation is a violation of the scriptural – and legal -requirements for at least two witnesses to establish truth. The other passages describing the action of falling away associates this with spiritual matters – the faith, defecting to the enemy whose lies they choose to believe. Seriously, people – spiritual matters!

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (I Timothy 4:1-2)

aphistémi
Phonetic Spelling: (af-is’-tay-mee)
Definition: to lead away, to depart from
Usage: make to stand away, draw away, repel, take up a position away from, withdraw from, leave, abstain from.

• Luke 2:37: departed not from the temple, but served God night and day.
• Luke 4:13: when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed
• Luke 8:13: for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
• Acts 15:37-38: departed from them and went not with them to the work.
• II Timothy 2:15-19: depart from iniquity.
• Hebrews 3:12-13: an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God
• II Peter 3:15-17: beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.”

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)

Ruckman may be considered the founder of the modern KJV-Only position.  He began publishing defenses of the KJV in the 1960s and took a much more extreme view…that the TR [Textus Receptus, the Greek New Testament]…was ultimately inferior to the KJV itself.  This meant that God’s Word was not preserved Greek and Hebrew manuscripts but through an English translation: the King James Version…

John R. Rice, who as editor of the colossal Sword of the Lord, was probably the most influential independent Baptist leader until his death in 1980…stated…”When Peter Ruckman sets out to say that only he and a few others in the world are right on the matter of manuscript evidence for the Bible…then we know that that arrogant attitude…shows the man cannot be trusted in doctrine.” (Ibid., 74)…

I personally use the King James Bible only because of its translators’ expertise in the original languages. This is entirely different from the English language only King James Only Movement of the Fundamental Independent Baptists.

The King James Bible, one of the most printed books ever, along with William Shakespeare’s secular literature at this same time, whose “works contributed significantly to the standardization of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary…and 1,700 original words into the language”, essentially created the English language as we still know it today. “[A]stounding, compared to Shakespeare’s prodigal 31,000-word vocabulary, the KJB works its magic with a lexicon of just 12,000 words.”

The King James version remains “the number one bestseller of unprecedented literary significance“.

The proof of a true interpretation of any piece of literature is internal consistency providing reliability on which to place our trust in the explanation by any interpreter claiming to reveal the meaning by its author.

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 (meaning authorized 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.

That applies as well to translations of original works into other languages. Without knowing the cultural, vernacular, and historical context of the original literature, translations can veer wildly off the intended meaning. The greater the distance in time and culture that occurs, the greater the loss in understanding the original meaning. So, fortunately for us newbies to God’s word, his prophetic utterances were immediately transcribed from the original documents.

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.]

During the Dark Ages learning languished, but was reborn a thousand years later.

Translations of ancient texts exploded in the 15th century [during the Renaissance of classical knowledge].Scholars in Italy, Holland and elsewhere perfected the Latin of Cicero and learned Greek and Hebrew. The “rediscovery” of these languages and the advent of printing allowed access to knowledge not only secular (the pagan Classics) but also sacred (the Bible in its original languages)…Its fulfillment was nowhere better seen than in the foundation at Oxford University in 1517, by one of Henry VIII’s personal advisors, of Corpus Christi College — the first Renaissance institution in Oxford, whose trilingual holdings of manuscripts in Latin, Greek and Hebrew Erasmus himself celebrated.

The only reason the King James Bible is authoritative is because of its translators’ expertise in the original languages and cultures, and its internal consistency from cover to cover.

Then Dispensationalism adds to scripture! Despite the fact that the only series of trumpet blasts documented in the New Testament are in Revelation, Dispensationalists claim another, totally undocumented set of trumpet blasts heralding their removal from the troublesome task of fighting to retake dominion of the earth.

“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)

There is a second and inescapably conclusive way even illiterate believers can 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.

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?

the book, Jesus Is Coming by evangelist William Blackstone…sold more than one million copies…in 1957, when respected Theologian from Dallas Seminary, Dr. John Walvoord, wrote a book called, “The Rapture Question”…it seems he did not check his facts and read into the passage a presumption he saw as fact because it was in his favorite work, Scofield Study Bible. But he did not declare it a dogmatic fact, but left it open for further research and debate…Then, the rapture gets popular with the publication of Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth, which sold over 15 million copies;

The Late, Great Planet Earth is a best-selling 1970 book by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan. The New York Times declared it to be the bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s.  [Emphasis added.] The book was first featured on a prime time television special featuring Hal Lindsey in 1974 to 1975 with an audience of 17,000,000…it was adapted…during 1976 into a film narrated by Orson Welles…Lindsey and Carlson later published several sequels, including Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth and The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon.

The Late, Great Planet Earth is a treatment of dispensational  eschatology. As such, it compared end-time prophecies in the Bible with then-current events in an attempt to predict future scenarios resulting in the rapture  of believers before the tribulation and Second Coming of Christ to establish his thousand-year (i.e. millennial) Kingdom on Earth. Emphasizing various passages in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation, Lindsey originally suggested the possibility that these climactic events might occur during the 1980s,

Didn’t happen.

foretold a Soviet invasion of Israel (War of Gog and Magog)

Didn’t happen.

Lindsey also predicted that...the European Union, was destined (according to Biblical prophecy)…to become a “Revived Roman Empire” ruled by the Antichrist…

Didn’t happen.

America would not be a major geopolitical power by the time the tribulations of the end times arrived…

It is now 2020 and America is still the world’s major geopolitical power.

the Tribulation or the Rapture would occur no later than 1988.

Didn’t happen.

According to the Bible’s judgement on prophets, Hal Lindsey is a false prophet. But he’s still going strong, because he and other rapture teachers like him give a false hope of evading suffering.

What is it that the Church — or all true believers — is watching and preparing for? The “Blessed Hope” that the Apostle Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17)

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:13)

But this scripture does not at all state that this occurs prior to tribulation. In fact, believers are promised tribulation, and the “blessed hope” is what sustains us through tribulation!

“we glory in tribulations also…and hope maketh not ashamed.” (Romans 5:1-5)

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation” (Romans 12:12) 

“praying always for you…For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven…whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:” (Colossians 1:1-24)

“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope…having received the word in much affliction…ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (I Thessalonians 1:3-10)

Tribulation is what true believers suffer.

Wrath is what God pours onto the unbelievers, and our blessed hope is that we will be delivered us from that.