This is a blog about why I have
abandoned my previously held beliefs regarding the Anti-Christ, the rapture,
and the end of the world. I explain it
through personal experience, statistics, and scripture. Buckle up, this blog is a lot longer than
most of my blogs (it takes 15 minutes to read, I timed it) and will probably
prove quite shocking to some of you.
My eschatological
beliefs were founded long before I ever heard the word eschatology (the study
of the "end times"). Like
most churched Americans of my generation I was raised with the typical Left
Behind-ish teachings that the world was getting worse and worse and that as
Jesus predicted, it was going to be totally uninhabitable for true Christians
pretty soon. In fact, Jesus was going
to return at any time and rapture the few people who didn't have the mark of
the beast and then God would pour out his wrath on the world until it was
totally destroyed. I didn't know it
then, but this view of our future is referred to by theologians as the
"dispensationalist" view, which is a "futurist"
interpretation of the Bible.
Those beliefs were
first shaken my sophomore year of college
in my mandatory Bible class. Our
first assignment was to sit down and read the book of Matthew. That was it.
Sit down and read the book of Matthew.
Then we had to write a couple paragraphs on what we thought the point
of the book was. Those 2 hours changed
my whole life. Surprisingly, I didn't
find that Matthew was about anything I had learned in church. It wasn't about heaven and hell, it wasn't
about going to church, it wasn't about avoiding the mark of the beast, and
Jesus never even mentioned the sinner's prayer! Oddly enough, the book appeared to be about
the "Kingdom of God." I
didn't really know what it meant at the time but I knew that I had been
missing something really big. I didn't
think to dismiss what I had been taught about the end times, but I figured it
just must not have been as important as I once thought.
The last two years
I have spent travelling the world trying to be a part of this so-called
Kingdom. I quit my job, sold all my
possessions, and started working with random missionaries and pastors in other
countries. I saw literal miracles
happen before my eyes, I saw huge groups of people dedicate themselves to God,
I saw lives transformed by love, broken people made whole, and I saw God doing
really big things all over the world.
My eschatological views were being tested even more and I still hadn't
even heard the word. Later though, I
would look back and start to ask some really big questions. If the world is ending soon are the things
that I'm seeing God do around the globe fruitless? It doesn't seem like everything is getting
worse and worse, in fact, it appears to be getting better and better. Every time I meet someone touched by God, I
see them causing this unstoppable domino effect of love, change, and
life. If this keeps up, Jesus is going
to have to rapture the whole earth!
In fact, it wasn't
a product of my imagination, let me take a moment to share some shocking
statistics with you.
- The Church is growing at a faster rate than ever before - including the first 500 years when it went from 12 people to the entire Roman empire
- Over 200,000
people are now becoming born-again Christians every
day
- In 100 years
Africa has gone from 9% to 45% Christian
- In 50 years China
has gone from a couple million to over 50 million Christians
- In the last 2000
years the percent of humanity enslaved has reduced from 16% to 0.4%
- Countries among
the most impoverished in the world will see acute poverty eradicated
within 20 years if they continue at present rates
The remnants of my
faith in the Left-Behind theology were destroyed at a missions school in Spain
last year. We started studying the
story of the Bible. (spoiler alert for
those who haven't read it) The central
theme of the book is about Jesus.
It starts out with God creating this fantastic world and then suddenly
it seems to get ruined by the free will of Adam and Eve. Right away God promises that he will one day
send someone who will redeem everything and bring it back to its original
condition. He picks some people who will
eventually produce this character, the anticipation builds, and then finally
one day it happens and surprise! It's God himself! He sets up his Kingdom and plants the seed
of redemption. The end. Guess what?
God's plan worked. Jesus was
able to defeat the devil, conquer sin,
and rule earth from the right hand of the throne of God. God never failed and He never will. He always wins.
- "The scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of
the nations." Gen 49:1 (Jacob speaking of Jesus)
- "I will raise up your offspring
after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom
forever" 2 Sam 7:12 (God speaking to David)
- "And of the increase of His kingdom and peace there will be no end" Isaiah 9:7 (God's prophecy about Jesus)
- "I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it" Matthew 16:18 (Jesus speaking to Peter)
- "He raised Him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And
he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to
the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all." Eph 1:20-23
To me, this sounds
very hopeful. It sounds like Satan
lost and the church/Kingdom of God is victorious. Jesus crushed Satan, conquered death,
established his church, and now sits at the right hand of God ruling the
earth! Pretty good news huh?
So then why were
you taught the bad news that the church is going to fail and Jesus will have
to come rescue it from Satan's clutches and destroy the earth? Well, there are only a few passages that
dispensationists use to support their doctrine. These are prophecies from Daniel 2 and 9,
Matthew 24-25, and some chapters of Revelation that, in my opinion, were not
interpreted literally enough.
Unfortunately, this is a blog, not a book, and I don't have space to
post the specifics of every dispensationalist interpretation error, so let me
give you just a few facts about dispensationalism and then I'll explain just
one passage (arguably the most relevant one) from Jesus' teachings.
- Dispensationalism/futurism
was invented in 1909 for the Schofield Reference Bible and has only risen to popularity within the last 60
years
- The fundamental
view that the church will rise in victory and power before the return of
Jesus (called the partial preterist view - the opposing interpretation to
dispensationalism) has been the predominant view for the past 2,000 years;
from Augustine to John Calvin and Martin Luther to Charles Spurgeon and
George Muller.
- "The
Anti-christ" is never mentioned in Revelation, or Daniel, or Matthew;
only in 1 John (which had the same author as Revelation by the way) and
each of the 4 references specifically says that he was alive at the time
the book was written.
- The Rapture is
never mentioned in the Bible
- The "great
tribulation" is only mentioned in a couple verses and refers to the
destruction of Jerusalem
- Each time the
"end times" or "end of the age" is mentioned in the
New Testament it is accompanied by a declaration that the author was
currently living in the end times (so maybe they weren't referring to the
end of the world but something different...)
- When Jesus talked
about the end of the age, Jewish persecution, and the destruction of the
Temple he clearly stated all this would take place within one generation
which is definitively supported by historical events in 70 AD
Most of the theories regarding the great
tribulation (and dispensationalism in general) are taken from Matthew 24:1-34:
"Jesus left
the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the
buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not?
Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that
will not be thrown down.” As he sat on
the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us,
when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the
end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead
many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are
not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines
and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the
birth pains. Then they will deliver you
up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations
for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and
hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And
because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But
the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom
will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations,
and then the end will come. So when you
see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in
the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take
what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to
take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are
nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or
on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been
from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no
human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be
cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There
he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and
perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the
elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is
in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’
do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far
as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is,
there the vultures will gather.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in
heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the land will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet
call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other. From the fig tree
learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its
leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things,
you know that he is near, at the very gates.
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things
take place. "
What were the
disciples asking about when they said, "When will these things take
place?" They were asking about the
destruction of the Temple. Jesus is
predicting the destruction of the Temple and actually all of Jerusalem here,
which had already been prophesied many times in the Old Testament. This happened within one generation just as
Jesus prophesied. Within 40 years after
Jesus
declared judgment,
20,000 Roman soldiers, under the command of General Titus, surrounded the city
and cut off all supplies of food for four months so the people would starve.
Then the soldiers came into the city and mercilessly killed more than one
million Jews. The soldiers set the Temple on fire and led away 97,000 Jews as
captives. At that time the Jewish population was decimated. Historically,
little is known about the Jews’ lives for the following 60 years. It was not
until A.D. 130-135 that they began reassembling with enough strength to
attempt one last rebellion against Rome. Then after three years of battling,
the Romans were able to crush that rebellion killing 580,000 Jews, and Israel
no more was recognized as a nation (until 1948). It also was at that time that
the Roman commander ordered the Temple in Jerusalem to be demolished so
completely that each and every stone was carried away and the land upon which
the Temple had stood was plowed over completely. The Temple was destroyed
totally, as Jesus said it would be. A
detailed description by a non-Christian Jew who was there at the time
(Josephus) still exists. He describes
mothers cooking and eating their own children, murders over crumbs of bread,
the defilement of the survivors by the Romans, and in general horrific
inhumane acts such as the world has not experienced before or since. This
interpretation of the passage becomes obvious if we compare this passage with
its parallel passage in Luke 21 (Luke was writing to a more gentile audience
who wouldn't have had as much knowledge of the scriptural prophecies in the
Old Testament)
And while some were speaking of the temple,
how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these
things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one
stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” And they asked him,
“Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these
things are about to take place?” And he said, “See that you are not led
astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at
hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be
terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at
once. Then he said to them, “Nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in
various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great
signs from heaven. But before all this
they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for
my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it
therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will
give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to
withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers
and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be
hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By
your endurance you will gain your lives. But
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has
come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and
let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the
country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is
written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants
in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath
against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led
captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And there will be signs in sun and moon and
stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the
roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with
foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will
be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power
and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and
raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. And he told them a
parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come
out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of
God is near. Truly, I say to you, this
generation will not pass away until all has taken place."
One more thing I
would like to point out about this passage is that Jesus later said nobody
knew when He was coming back, not even the angels, not even himself! He made this point very clear by sharing 6
parables about how when he returns there will be no signs, like a thief in the
night. So obviously, these signs are
not about Jesus' second coming but about the destruction of Jerusalem.
In summary, the reasons I switched from
dispensationalism to partial preterism are my personal experience of a world
growing closer to God, statistical evidence, and a more literal interpretation
of eschatological prophecies in the Bible.
I don't expect this blog to completely change your mind, no doubt it
raised more questions than it answered, but I do hope that it has sparked some
interest and made you question some things. That being said, I still hold the
conviction that eschatology is not as important as a lot of American
Christians make it out to be. Jesus,
and the Bible in general, just doesn't talk much about it. There are many things more important than
our eschatological convictions, one of which is unity of the body of Christ;
however, I believe it is worth bringing up because there is a lot of potential
for hope in this area that many people have lost, and hope is the foundation
of our faith and the Gospel. If you
would like to pursue the matter further I would highly recommend reading
"Victorious Eschatology" by Harold Eberle and Martin Trench who go
through each passage of scripture and topic of interest individually.
