...And I Feel Fine

When approaching this topic, I cannot help but recall a quote I heard from a Christian comedian named Brad Stine; “When the truth conflicts with my beliefs, I change my beliefs.” In reality, this is how all Christians should respond to the revelation of biblical truth, we are told to be Berean. (in Acts 17, the Bereans always compared what they were taught to the scriptures) I realize that this is not always easy, and though we as Christians are quick to believe that this is the way we do respond, the evidence at times points to the contrary. Even the Apostle Paul recognized that he could be off when he told the Corinthians, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

(1Co 11:1)

Quick Disclaimer: I am about to say a few things that will conflict with what 90 to 95% of the church believes, I myself believed them for many years solely because that is what I heard taught. I eventually found myself questioning these beliefs when I recognized how many times God says in the Bible to “fear not.” As such, I found that a whole belief system that raises fear in those who believe it should bear closer scrutiny. These are conclusions I came to after examining and weighing the relevant scripture. My own views on the Bible do play a factor in what I am about to say, so let God lead you in what you make of this or any paper.

So for those who do not know, dispensationalism, or dispensational theology is a complex theological system started by a man named John Nelson Darby from Ireland in 1830. The system was later brought to America by Cyrus Scofield, who also re-published Darby’s biblical interpretations as the Scofield Reference Bible. In essence, dispensationalism states that God communicates with us in secret words and codes. It has a huge influence on the current beliefs of many Christians pertaining to the end times.

I think this theology is biblically unsound. Whenever God spoke to people in the Bible (and during creation), He uses clear, concise language that is readily understood. God created us for relationship with Him, and clear communication is an essential part of any relationship. To further illustrate this, suppose I went to a restaurant where you work, and you ask me what I want to eat, and I reply: “the cow makes a noble sacrifice in the land of Idaho.” I’m sure you wouldn’t know what I’m talking about, though you may guess “steak and a baked potato” or “roast beef with mashed potatoes.” Yet in the same scenario, if I change my response to “A burger and fries,” you would understand what I am communicating clearly.

There is another method of biblical interpretation based on the idea that God communicates with us clearly. I don’t know of any official name for it, but for the sake of simplicity I call it Literalism. This view says that God communicates like we do and the plain meaning of the text is emphasized, and even the non-literal portions of the text, like idioms, figures of speech, or stories communicate clearly. Through this view, the cultural differences between the time of the Bible and the present provide the greatest difficulty in the interpretation and can give the appearance of a coded message.

·         My conclusions on the Second Coming:

The “literalist” view of the second coming of Christ comes from several scriptures where Jesus was asked about the second coming, and certain epistles that directly reference this event. A good place to start would be the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:

Mat 13:24-30  Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:  (25)  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.  (26)  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  (27)  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  (28)  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  (29)  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  (30)  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Assuming that the time of the harvest referred to in the parable is the second coming, then all that we can really discern from this parable is that God will take the entire field (world) and separate the tares (unrighteous) from the wheat (Christians). Seems simple enough, so let’s go to the next reference later in the same chapter:

Mat 13:45-50  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  (46)  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  (47)  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  (48)  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.  (49)  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,  (50)  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Here, we have the events explained a bit more clearly, angels will come and take the wicked from the just and cast them into the fire.

Mat 24:35-39 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  (36)  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  (37)  But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (38)  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,  (39)  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This adds the amount of warning we can expect when this all happens: virtually none. Again, this is a fairly straightforward passage, no one knows when the second coming will be except God. Like the days of Noah, we have eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, all very common events. It gives the impression that the second coming will come out of the blue with no warning. (dispensational theology commonly has many warning signs, and even a second chance at salvation after the rapture.)

Mat 25:30-34 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  (31)  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  (32)  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  (33)  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  (34)  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

A re-iteration of a previous passage, this gives a little bit more detail about this event. Here we see what happens to the believers after this harvest, they are invited to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

1Co 15:51-58  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  (52)  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  (53)  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (54)  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  (55)  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  (56)  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  (57)  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (58)  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

These are verses that are commonly used to support the idea of the Rapture, but if you take them in context with the scripture already referenced in this post, this block from 1^st Corinthians becomes a more detailed description of the resurrection of the church.  While the believers are the only group referenced in this block, it does not disprove the resurrection of the unbelievers. Paul is using this group of verses to respond to inquiries about what would happen to the church at the second coming, the unbelievers are not mentioned because they were not asked about.

Joh 5:25-29  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.  (26)  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;  (27)  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.  (28)  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  (29)  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

This section from John reinforces what we have already been told about the second coming, again it is a simple, straightforward explanation. This, and some of the preceding passages also imply that all men, both righteous and unrighteous, will be resurrected and judged at the same time.

Act 1:6-11  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  (7)  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.  (8)  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  (9)  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  (10)  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  (11)  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

This section about Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, also gives us the idea that we will not know when He returns. We are also given an idea of how he will return to earth, the same way He left.

Now we will look at what the Apostles have to say about the second coming:

2Ti 4:1-8  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  (2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  (4)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (5)  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.  (6)  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  (7)  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  (8)  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Here, we again get a little more detail about the end times, Paul is talking about the judgment of all mankind at the second coming, and that the believers will receive a crown of righteousness at that time.

Heb 9:27-28  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:  (28)  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This makes a concise point about the fate of mankind, die and be judged. It also gives a clearer account of how many times Christ will return to earth, once. Note in verse 28 it says THE second time, implying that there will be only one second coming of Christ.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

This verse again makes a reference to a singular second coming of Christ, as well as what will happen to the earth at this time. From the description here, it sounds like there won’t be anything left to beset with plagues, desolate, or rule. This verse also tells us that the second coming will come as a thief in the night, I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of any thieves that warn you ahead of time that they are going to rob you, you just wake up in the morning and find your stereo missing. So this could mean that there will be no warning before the Second Coming, and when you also take into account the verses from Matthew 24, this argument is reinforced.

·         My Conclusions concerning the “end times” prophecies:

So what about prophecy? Dispensational theologians often use the prophecy from Daniel 9 to support their view of the end times:

Dan 9:24-27  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  (25)  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  (26)  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.  (27)  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This is what many of you may know as the ‘gap’ prophecy, meaning that after the 69 weeks of years (and almost all biblical theologians agree on the weeks being weeks of years) the prophecy just stops for an indeterminate amount of time until the rapture and Great Tribulation which will last for 7 years, or the final ‘week’ of the prophecy.

I take issue with the gap concept alone, when in the history of prophetic fulfillment in the Bible, has God ever used a gap in the middle of a timetable? In Genesis 7, God gave Noah the prophecy of the great flood He would use to destroy the earth. This had a specific timetable with it that the rain would last for 40 days and 40 nights. When Noah finished the ark and God flooded the earth, He was faithful to the timetable he gave Noah, the rain did not stop until the 41^st day, at the end of the timetable. God did not have it rain 39 days, stop the prophecy for an indeterminate amount of time, and then resume it for the last day. Noah knew that God would do as He said, and have the rain last 40 days and 40 nights.

In Old Testament times, people expected God’s timing to be literal and proved it by their actions. Here are two examples:

Jon 3:4  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

This prophecy gave the Ninevites 40 days before He would destroy their city. The only reason this did not happen was that the Ninevites believed the prophecy and repented before God. In fact, Jonah was so convinced of the literal time of 40 days that he was waiting to see the destruction on the 41^st day and only questioned when it didn’t happen, because he believed in God’s timing:

Jon 3:10  And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Again, no gap. God stopped the prophecy altogether, He did not pause it in the middle for an indeterminate amount of time, but stopped it altogether.

The second example involves Daniel and the prophecy given to Jeremiah about the end of the Babylonian exile:

Jer 29:10-14  For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.  (11)  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  (12)  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  (13)  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  (14)  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (emphasis added)

This is God’s promise to Jeremiah that He would bring the Israelites out of captivity after 70 years.

Dan 9:2-3  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.  (3)  And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (emphasis added)

Daniel understood that when God told Jeremiah 70 years, He meant 70 years. Daniel waited until the 69^th year to start praying for the deliverance of Israel because he knew that God meant what He said when He said 70 years.

So we have established that God does not use gaps in timetable prophecies, so why should Daniel’s 70 weeks be any different? So if the 70 weeks are not referring to the end times, what do they refer to?

Daniel 9:24 lists many things:

To finish the transgression- Sounds like Christ’s payment for our sins on the cross.

To make an end of sins- Again, the cross.

To make reconciliation for iniquity- Still the cross.

To bring in everlasting righteousness- We now have access to this after the cross.

To anoint the Most Holy- Another consequence of the cross.

To seal up the vision and the prophecy- I deliberately put this one last because I think it needs the most explanation. In biblical prophecy, God sometimes told the prophet to ‘seal up’ the prophecy, which meant that the prophecy was not for that time, but would be fulfilled later. In this case, the prophecy is to be ‘sealed up’ until the command goes forth to rebuild Jerusalem. (mentioned in Daniel 9:25) When Artexerxes sent out the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the prophecy was fulfilled like clockwork.  After 69 weeks, Jesus began his ministry on earth, was crucified, rose from the grave after 3 days, and ascended back to Heaven.

 The end of the prophecy in Daniel 9 mentions the Abomination of Desolation, which is what precisely happened at the end of the 70 weeks. In the traditional end-times teaching, it is taught that this is when the Antichrist will declare himself as God. If there is no gap, however, then there must be another explanation. If Christ’s crucifixion marked the end of the old covenant with God, then that would indicate that animal sacrifices were no longer needed to obtain forgiveness of sin. I believe the abomination was the continuation of animal sacrifices in the temple after Christ’s final sacrifice on the cross. The word desolate means ruined or empty, so I believe that the desolation of the temple was a result of God leaving His temple to come live in Christians as part of the new covenant. This is the event that falls in line with the end of the 70^th week if there is no gap.

Another prophecy that is commonly referred to in dispensational teaching is Matthew 24, also known as the Olivet Discourse. This takes place after  Jesus finished telling his disciples  about what would happen to the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, this is also known as ‘the woes’ to biblical scholars. The chapter starts with Jesus leaving the temple:

Mat 24:1-3  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.  (2)  And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  (3)  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

I stop here because I want to clarify the context of this passage; in verse 1, Jesus just left the temple after prophesying doom to the Pharisees, and then declared that the temple would be destroyed. So it would logically follow that His disciples would be asking about the destruction of the temple when they ask in verse 3, “When shall these things be?” If you look at the rest of the verse, the second question, taken in context, relates to the first question. Also, the word at the end of verse 3 is translated ‘world’ but the Strong’s reference is G165; aion, meaning an age or period of time. Based on what Jesus was talking about in the temple, it is more logical that the disciples are talking about the end of the Old Covenant with God than the destruction of the world in this instance.

Jesus then begins to answer the disciples question in verse 4 all through the rest of the chapter. I won’t post this portion due to its length, but you can read the rest for yourself. During this response, Jesus warns the disciples not to be deceived by false Christs and false prophets, He gives many signs to look for, He makes a direct reference to the Daniel 9 prophecy in verse 15,

 (Mat 24:15)  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

 and then in verse 34, He states the following:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

While the word that is translated ‘generation’ (G1074; genea) can also be translated ‘age,’ the period of time referred to in all definitions of the word is that of a single lifetime, so Jesus was saying that these events would happen within the lifetime of the current generation.  Jesus would not have said verse 34 unless He spoke truthfully, so  I believe that this part of the chapter refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 as opposed to events that are thought to happen during a final seven year period at some unknown point in the future. There is a book called “The Wars of the Jews” by Titus Flavius Josephus that gives a firsthand account of the destruction of Jerusalem. This book is free to read on Google Books, and it is easy to find many similarities between Matthew 24 and this account. The accuracy of the prophecy to this event and its literal timing of 70 weeks of years convinces me that this is the fulfillment of the prophesy.

Other Passages that refer to the destruction of Jerusalem include:

Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

In “The Wars of the Jews,” Josephus mentions that after the battle was over, it was impossible to tell that a city even existed on the site because the destruction was so great.

Eze 5:9-17  And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.  (10)  Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.  (11)  Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.  (12)  A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.  (13)  Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.  (14)  Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.  (15)  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.  (16)  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:  (17)  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

This is a truly horrifying prophecy and Josephus makes a similar observation about the Siege of Jerusalem right before its destruction. He noted that food became so scarce that toward the end, the people began to eat each other- including their own children. (v.10) Josephus also noted that before the attack, the Jewish population of Jerusalem was 1.2 million. After the city was destroyed, Josephus noted that there were around one hundred thousand Jews that survived to scatter around the earth.

Luk 21:20-27  And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.  (21)  Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.  (22)  For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  (23)  But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.  (24)  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.  (25)  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;  (26)  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  (27)  And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Part of this passage also refers to the utter devastation of the Jews, but it also has a warning- where to run when the city is surrounded. Josephus noted that there were some Jews who took this warning to heart and escaped when they saw the armies. These people were saved from the destruction and suffering because they believed Jesus’ warning.

I have often heard people asking me if this means that I no longer believe the book of Revelation is biblical. My answer is an emphatic NO! I do believe Revelation still belongs in the bible; however, I have a different take on it than most. I believe that much of Revelation has to do with the Destruction of Jerusalem rather than the end of the world. Just look at Revelation 22:10;

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

Remember the prophecy from Daniel 9 where God told him to ‘seal the vision’ because it was not yet time for the prophecy to begin? He tells John the opposite here, saying not to seal the prophecy because the predicted events were about to happen. In fact, Revelation is believed to have been written in AD 70, the same year that Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed. I also believe that the 144,000 referred to in Revelation 14:3 indicate the survivors of the attack;

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

The word ‘earth’ (G1093, ge) means region or area, not the actual planet.

·         My Conclusions about other end times terms:

I will now look at key prophetic themes used in end times teaching, more specifically, the ones I have not mentioned yet.

Tribulation/Great Tribulation- According to end times teaching, this is a period of seven years where the forces of evil will reign and Christians everywhere will be greatly persecuted. A passage from Matthew 24 gives seeming credence to this;

Mat 24:21-22  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  (22)  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

This is from Jesus warning about false prophets and predictions about Jerusalem, the history of the Christian church is full of tribulation and persecution. This leads me to believe that this is an ongoing prophecy because even today, there are Christians in parts of the world that are still being tortured and killed for the sake of Christ. Christ Himself suffered tribulation on the cross:

Mat 27:36-39  And sitting down they watched him there;  (37)  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  (38)  Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.  (39)  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

Antichrist- this is the supposed incarnation of Satan that is supposed to rule during the Great Tribulation. Revelation 13 is the main basis for this belief:

Rev 13:16-18  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  (17)  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  (18)  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

I will address the mark later, for now, we will look at the term Antichrist, and see what the rest of the bible says about it:

1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

The word ‘antichrist’ is actually mentioned here, but the actual word used (G500, antichristos) means simply an opponent of the Messiah, of which there are many. In fact every mention of the word antichrist describes someone who is opposed to the gospel of Christ. (see 1John 2:22, 4:3 and 2John 7 for more examples)

The Third Temple- It is believed that another Temple of God must be built in Jerusalem before the Great Tribulation can start. Revelation 11 is where we find this reference:

Rev 11:1-2  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.  (2)  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

There is another area that stood out to me in the end times teaching. If we as Christians were now the Temple of God after the cross, why would there be a need for another physical temple?(see John 4:19-26, Heb 10:29, Heb 8:5, and 1Cor 3:16) The churches I attended continually told me that God had a different plan for the Jews than the rest of us, and that is why there was a need for a third physical temple. but Galatians 3:28 caught my attention.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

God’s preference toward the Jews ended with the Old Covenant and Jesus’ death and resurrection. The sacrifice of the cross made all us humans equal in the eyes of God, and He expected the Jews to accept the sacrifice of Christ and the New Covenant just as He expected everyone else to. So again I argue, why do we need a third temple of God if we are the Temple of God?

Mark of the Beast- This one is a doozy. It is believed that this will be a secret mark of allegiance that the end times Antichrist will somehow trick Christians into taking, thereby causing them to go to hell. Here is the passage this belief comes from:

Rev 13:17-18  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  (18)  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The number seemed significant, so I looked for the number elsewhere in the Bible, I found it in 1Kings after the Queen of Sheba leaves Solomon:

1Ki 10:14  Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

This is the verse that starts to mark the downfall of Solomon. He takes this gold and makes all sorts of ornate decorations for his palace and throne. Right after this, Solomon is mentioned to have many wives from other nations, which was directly against God’s command at that time that the Jews remain a people set apart. Soon after, Solomon turns from God and starts following the religions of his wives. The number given to the mark of the beast signifies the apostasy of Solomon, and compares it to men.

 The significance of where the mark is placed comes from Exodus:

Exo 13:9  And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

The forehead and hand were spots where God would place a mark telling the world that they belonged to Him and that they followed His law. The mark in Revelation signifies that man had placed another mark on himself, giving himself to another master.

Armageddon- This is another big one. The end times teachings say that this will be the final battle between good and evil, mentioned here:

Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Like the number of the beast, I decided to look for other places in the bible that mentioned Armageddon:

2Ki 9:27  But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

The name Armageddon comes from two words, Har, meaning mountain, and Megiddo, meaning place. The previous passage tells of a king of Judah that died there. Ahaziah was considered to be an evil king, but the saga of Armageddon does not end there:

2Ch 35:21-24  But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.  (22)  Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.  (23)  And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.  (24)  His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

Unlike Ahaziah, Josiah was one of the most godly kings Judah ever had. God had sent Necho, the pharaoh of Egypt to destroy another country, but Necho had to pass through Judah in order to get there. God warned Josiah not to get involved and let the army pass. Josiah ignored the warning and went to fight with Necho disguised as a soldier. In the valley of Megiddo, Josiah was shot by archers and died from his wounds. This event made the word Armageddon synonymous with Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to the Jews. I believe the previous passage indicates a similar tragedy would occur in AD 70.

In conclusion, I would ask you not to believe something just because “an authority” says it is true. Again, I confess that for many years, I believed all the things that I have disputed here simply because I was told by church “experts” that they were true. Also, I admonish you not to believe my arguments just because I believe them to be true. Ask God to reveal the truth to you and study my claims for yourself. Agreeing with this teaching or not will not matter in the big scheme of things if you are a Christian, but I will say that since I stopped believing in them, I feel like a big burden has been lifted from my shoulders because I no longer worry about these things. When God  says “do not worry about tomorrow” and that He will provide for me and keep me  safe, I believe He means it!

God Bless,

Bryce

It's the end of the world as we know it...

Don't worry, the title of the post does not mean that I am closing this blog, It has more to do with the subject matter of the paper I am posting today. Fair warning, This is an 11-page document in Word, so it will be a lengthy read.

An apology and explanation.

Over the last year, I have received countless requests and suggestions that I should post more often on this blog. Unfortunately, I have not been able to do so due to certain circumstances in my life.

I attempted to post more often last August by starting the Proverb of the Day, and as you can see, that has been my last post for the better part of 5 months. When I started this blog, I asked God to speak His words through it, and to let it reach those who needed it. I firmly believe that God is and has been faithful to that end, and in that regard, He has been the one determining when each post should be made. Over the last few months, God has been working out some deep-seated issues in my life, (and still is) and this has taken priority over finishing new posts. I am still working on a couple of lengthy posts and have been this whole time, so rest assured that they are coming.

And finally, I want to apologize for trying to live up to the standards and expectations of keeping a blog over doing what God was asking me to do. Above all else, I am a Christian, but I am also an imperfect man who stumbles more often than he would like to admit. I will be attempting to finish a post about dispensational theology in the next couple of days and in the meantime, I encourage you again to study the things I have posted for yourselves.

About the Strong's Notation

In todays post, I made a reference to a word in the Strong's Concordance. The Concordance is a reference book on the Bible that lists each word found in it alphabetically, and lists each verse that contains that word. Needless to say, it is a hefty book with a lot of words in it. The Strong's Concordance also has two dictionaries in the back of it that list all the words used in the original texts and their meanings. these words are numbered for easier locating and have either an H in front for Hebrew words from the Old Testament, or a G for Greek words from the New Testament.

e-sword has a KJV Bible with an integrated Strong's concordance, very useful for finding the meanings of the more obscure words.

New Feature: Proverb of the Day

Wow, 4 months without a post, I've been slacking. I have been spending the summer on my school capstone project, or practical final, which can be seen here. During the summer months, I have been pondering ideas for things to post daily, or semi-daily. God then gave me the idea to look at some of the verses in Proverbs, and share my insights on them. I still plan to make a larger post once every one to two weeks. So here is the first PotD:

Pro 21:11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

One of the overlying themes in the book of Proverbs is the comparison of the simple, or fools, to the wise. Every time I read something from Proverbs, I often wondered what exactly defined a man as wise or foolish. The obvious answer aside, (trust and leaning on God) I wondered specifically about what these men looked like, and what examples pervaded the lives of each of these men.

The answer hit me recently that most verses in Proverbs really answer this question, in this case, the PotD. The scorner, coming from the Strong's Concordance word H3887, means a mocker, one who has little respect for others. When God sees fit to bring these people punishment, it makes an example that can change the hearts of men. That is a major difference between a fool and a wise man, is the attitude of their heart.

This difference in attitude is better explained in the second half of the verse, "and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge." The wise man knows that he doesn't know everything, so he is willing to accept instruction, and learn from his mistakes. The fool thinks that he knows everything and is unwilling to be corrected. I think that to some extent, we are between these two examples, wise in some areas and foolish in others. It is an essential part of the Christian life to be continually brought out of our foolishness and into wisdom by the Source of all Wisdom.

So ask God what wisdom He has for you today, and ask him to change your heart to be more like the wise man.

What is Realistic Christianity?

I figured that out of all the topics in the previous post that this one should probably be the first one posted. The concept of living as a Christian and 'walking the walk' is a topic that can be rather elusive in some churches. Throughout my life, I have come across a wide variety of opinions on this matter just from the churches I have attended. I have found that many churches believe that salvation is the final step in the journey, and once you 'get in' you no longer have to worry about anything spiritual again. These churches tend to promote evangelism above all else and do little to nothing for the betterment of the body. Sermons at these churches can either be of the hellfire and brimstone variety, or lots of shallow 'feel good' messages one would almost associate with the hippy movement. I regularly attended a church that followed this philosophy a while back, while it was good at bringing people in, the environment stagnated after a year. When I asked one of the elders if this was all there was to the Christian walk, I got the reply, "Yes, isn't it great?" In fairness, it has been 11 years since I attended that church, so whether or not it still carries that attitude is unknown to me. I did have the honor of becoming a Christian while attending that church, but I really did not grow much as a Christian afterward.

Another group of churches that I have come across are ones that promote growth as a Christian, but tend to fall short with specifics. The so-called 'Mega Churches' can be bad at this due in part to the sheer number of members. I also attended a church like this. At first I was excited when I realized that salvation is actually the first step in a spiritual journey that would last the rest of my life and into eternity. I started to become closer to God as I discovered the joy of pursuing a relationship with Him. The charismatic style of worship was a stark contrast to the simple singing I participated in at my previous church, and the wide variety of teachings and ministries kept me busy for the many years I attended. The biggest problem I came across was when it came time to put these things into practice, I failed miserably and I felt very guilty about it. The church was not helpful in this aspect either, as there was an implied expectation of perfection throughout the church, and the members seemed to be putting up false personas in this regard. When a major dispute caused all but one of the elders of the church to resign, the church no longer felt like home, but a political arena and I believe that most of those people who were pretending that everything was okay could not handle the exposure, resulting in half of the members leaving. This was what made me realize what was happening in that church for the previous 8 years.

Yet another group of churches I have seen tends to ignore the concept of salvation altogether and believes that no one will be condemned because a loving God would not send those he loves to hell. I will simply reply to this concept by stating one of the more basic beliefs in Christianity. While God did create man for relationship and loves all men fully, the fall of man in the Garden changed the situation a bit. Assuming that sin is defined as a characteristic or behavior contrary to the nature of God, (i.e. lying is a sin because God cannot lie) it soon becomes apparent that God cannot peacefully coexist with sin. In this way, there was no alternative but for the fallen man to be separated from God at the time of death. Yet in His infinite wisdom, God found a way to have the penalty of sin paid for so that man could have relationship with God again through Jesus. This is the pivotal event in the Bible, the turning point in the spiritual history of man, and the basis of the Christian faith.

So, to start bringing all this together, what does the Christian walk look like from a realistic point of view? If the journey really did end at salvation, I expect that the Bible would have ended after the gospel of John. If the walk was supposed to be perfect all the time, why does the rest of the New Testament after the gospels portray so many imperfect men attempting to follow the example of Christ and failing miserably time after time? The apostle Paul, whom so many Christians seem to regard as a superman of the faith, freely admitted his imperfections and his struggle with doing what God wanted him to do. Sound familiar? Romans 7 spells out that struggle pretty well in Paul's own words. The point is that while Paul did not always follow all the actions perfectly, his heart was always directed towards God and through salvation, he was a Christian not by what he did, but who he was:

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This is true for all of us as Christians. While the transformation is by no means instant, the truth is when we accepted Christ as lord and savior, we became Christians not through our actions but by the concept of having Christ live in us and becoming part of us. This does not make the 'old things' disappear entirely, while the old man dies at salvation, his corpse still causes problems until we die, placing us in the situation of having to die to our old selves every day and continually choosing to follow Christ as He leads us deeper into relationship with Him. It is out of this relationship that the Christ-like behavior comes, instead of the behavior creating the relationship.

(Quick interjection: The NIV Bible translates a lot of words into forms that convey instant action, not process. E.g. John 8:32 is translated '…set you free' in the NIV instead of '…make you free' in the KJV. The word 'make' is a better translation from the original Greek word used than set.)

So what does this all mean for us today? First, we need to cut ourselves some slack as well as each other. If God doesn't expect us to be perfect, we shouldn't expect it either. This is why grace and forgiveness exist. I know we are called to become like Christ, but I also know that goal cannot be achieved by any of us in our lifetime. God desires relationship over performance and is willing to wait as we stumble our way along. Second, we should encourage each other and pray for each other when we do falter, as well as hold each other accountable. Third, don't be afraid to screw up! If God wanted us to be afraid of failing, the phrase 'fear not' would not appear in the KJV Bible over 100 times! Lastly, do not be discouraged if you don't find yourself following this perfectly.

Rom 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

So there you have it, my thoughts on what realistic Christianity should look like. Until next time…

God Bless

The second post and things to come

Okay, I warned you that I was not very good at keeping things going, I have been busy this last month with various things. In lieu of a full post, I will put up a list of topics I plan to write about when I have the time.

The Raunchy Bible- The Bible is full of concepts you would not say to a child. Don't believe me? Read Song of Solomon and tell me if you would read it to a five year old.

KJV vs. NIV- There is more to the differences between these versions than just rewording. Lets just say a thesaurus was not properly used during the creation of NIV.

Dispensational Theology- Why having God speaking to us in code is ridiculous.

Being a Realistic Christian- having my blog name explained further.

For now I will sign off and let you read something else. (or whatever you do when not here)