by David Heesen
IT IS A SAD THING to see the foolishness that passes for evangelical (yea, historic) Christianity these days. Several years ago we got a letter from a Christian friend. In it she described how the planets were going to align, and somehow that was a sign that Christ would return that very day, and how exciting it was to be alive during the consummation of the ages, or such-like talk. I didn't rend my garments and run for the mountains. I knew it was only another false alarm (false hope?) perpetrated by the prophetic speculators.
| I didn't rend my garments and run for the mountains. |
Sad too is how another great evangelist devotes much of his time in prophetic speculations, e.g. in 1972 he predicted there would be open sex in the streets of America by 1976. He's the same one who said that if God didn't judge America soon, He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. I beg your pardon, preacher, but God need not apologize to anyone; He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. Besides, God is judging America.
| The only thing that seems to keep this preacher in the pulpit is the incredible forgetfulness (or forgiveness?) of his hearers. |
Many people were duped, too, by the astounding foolery of the author of 88 Reasons Why Christ Will Return in 1988. And in typical fashion he came out with a slightly revised version for 1989. This was prophetic speculation run amuck! We know of one seeker who became disenchanted with Christianity over this book, and we are sure there are more.
These speculators have several things in common: (1) they're bad at forecasting world events, (2) they are usually premil in their eschatology (that means they believe things will get worse and worse until the end of the world), (3) they are very dogmatic (all other views but theirs are not only wrong but heretical), (4) they keep supplying their hearers with something new, and (5) they call themselves literalists.
(1) They're bad at forecasting world events. Which one of them was able to forecast the incredible events of the past year? More importantly, which one of them will not come out, after the fact, with all the scriptures that clearly predicted this seeming downfall of Communism? That's not prophecy; that's history. Communism has always been portrayed by them as the "great bear of the north," playing a major role in end-times drama.
(2) They are usually premil. I don't notice very many postmils or amils going around making wild speculations about prophecy. (Not that the amils don't have their own set of problems. Their extremists have been known historically to go around "burning heretics" in the interest of helping things "wax better and better" until the end of the world.)
(3) They are very dogmatic. They leave no room for any other view, even when unfolding world events prove them wrong. Many fine Christians have been kicked out of churches for the high crime of holding some more "outdated," or "liberal" view.
(4) They keep supplying their hearers with something new--some new interpretation, some new twist on an old interpretation, some new "sign of the times." And their audience swallows it all agreeably, and asks for more. When one of their predictions doesn't come true, no problem; they'll find new events, new scenarios, to forecast. Their audience just enjoys the suspense. In fact, the carnal curiosity of their carnal audience is what fuels their speculative fires.
(5) They call themselves literalists. Don't get me wrong; I believe in the literal interpretation of scripture, where it's warranted. What we're discussing here is an ultra-literalism which imbibes unsound hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation), forcing a literalism upon figurative passages, and, ironically, spiritualizing away those literal passages which, taken literally, don't support their theories.
Ultra-literalism would, for example, take a passage like Matthew 24:36 ("But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven . . ."), zoom in on the words "day" and "hour" and then speculate about some three-day period when Christ shall return.
The ultra-literalists don't practice what they preach. Every verse in the Bible, according to them, is literal, unless it doesn't support their theories. Spiritual passages, on the other hand, become literal when they can use it to support their literalisms. They read the rapture into Revelation 4 ("Come up hither") when literally it is not there; they excuse Christians from the Great White Throne Judgment when literally "whosoever was not found written in the book of life" implies that there were some found written there. They also excuse all Christians from the Great Tribulation when Revelation 7:14 literally says, "These are they which came out of great tribulation."
On the other hand, these ultra-literalists are good at spiritualizing, when it fits their prophetic scheme. Such was the case when one hyper-speculator found the 153 members of the United Nations in the draught of fishes of John 21:11! Sounds fishy to me.
The ten toes of Daniel Two have always stood for the nations of the European Common Market--as the number approached ten. Now that it has exceeded ten, propheciers have had to regroup, hoping we will have forgotten the suspense drama they built up.
The ultra-literalist end time scenario gets wildly speculative. The Jews will occupy earth for eternity; the Christians will occupy heaven. Let's look at a sample passage with its commonly understood (ultra-literal) interpretation:
Perhaps a little of my own background will help. I grew up in mainstream Dispensational teaching. Not too many people know what Dispensationalism is. But many, many carry with them, and read, its main textbook--the S-- Reference Bible.*
Let me review my experience with S-- and see if I strike some familiar chords. My earliest recollection of the name S-- was at about the age of 12 or 13 when everybody who was anybody at the church we went to owned a S-- Reference Bible and carried it under their arm to church. And sure enough, I began to yearn for a S-- of my own. Come Christmas at age 14 I received my first S--.
During the next ten years about the only thing I heard against this "Bible" was that it referred to the story of the prodigal son as a parable when it supposedly was not a parable.
Now this was a marvelous example of "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel," as I was to find out.
At Bible school some fellow students began "discovering" the Puritans. They loved the Puritans, but felt that they lacked modern day enlightenment on matters of prophecy. Sitting in the cafeteria one day with two fellow students, I listened to their conversation. One of them was just speculating on some subject like Armageddon weaponry, when the other student shook his head in disgust, saying, "You don't really believe all that garbage, do you?" This is about the first time I had ever heard any doubts raised on our whole prophetic scheme. It started my mind working, for the first time in my life.
| I even had a bumper sticker on my Mustang: "IN CASE OF RAPTURE, THIS VEHICLE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT." |
Eventually I came across the fine book by Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope, which showed me that we have more to learn from the Puritans about prophecy than they have to learn from us. Murray, though a postmillenialist, posits that getting ready for Jesus to return and turning this world upside for Christ are not mutually exclusive. He puts Dispensationalism in historical context, tracing postmillenialism throughout history and then introducing H-- I-- in a chapter entitled "The Eclipse of the Hope." I-- was the theological father of J-- D--, who was the theological father of S--. In short, this "trinity" of doomsday preachers succeeded in changing the bright hope of Christendom into a dark cloud.
In all fairness, it must be noted that a "doomsday mentality" is an unjust charge against the movement as a whole. Very true, it is a lamentable effect seen in many of its followers. It seems ironic that today's great missionary programs are steeped in Dispensationalism. The irony disappears when one knows that the modern missionary movement did not spring from Dispensationalism, but rather from postmillenialism.
I found further insight into Dispensationalism by reading Mauro's The Gospel of the Kingdom, which is really a review of S--'s Reference Bible, written shortly after the "Bible" came out. What an eye opener for me. What S-- [Dispensationalism] does is divide history into several dispensations of time, putting the church in the "Church age", postponing the Kingdom until after the Second Coming. This dividing of God's history, hence God's purpose, if one might venture a guess, comes from a literal interpretation of the King James rendition of 2 Timothy 2:15, "rightly dividing the word of truth." Properly rendered, the phrase should read, "cutting a straight course through the word of truth." S-- himself authored a little booklet entitled "Rightly Dividing the Word."
Because of this dividing, all Kingdom language by Jesus is not to be regarded by Christians these days because it does not pertain to us but to a future Kingdom. [See page 1000 of the S-- Reference Bible. S-- attempts to nullify the whole Sermon on the Mount by stating that it is not for us to obey because it is for the future Kingdom.] Such is the bent of most of Fundamentalism today. Speak of the Kingdom and immediately you're thought to be a Jehovah's Witness. As a matter of fact, one reader of Kingdom Digest told me his first reaction to it was that it must be some J.W. material! (None of this is meant to disparage the many fine notes and helps in S--. Rather, we say that the intertwining of Bible truth and Dispensational opinion is damaging to simple Bible study.)
Where does the confusion lie? Well, it is commonly held that God has two purposes, an earthly purpose (the Jews), and a heavenly purpose (the church). The problem with this is that it does violence to Ephesians 2:14, "For he [Christ] is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us." To insist on a dual purpose is to build that wall up again.
It does violence to Romans 3:22/23, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." [emphasis mine] The Bible says there is no difference. Modern day interpreters say there is.
Also, many Jews are not "Israel" ["For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel"--Romans 9:6b], but all believing Gentiles are ["Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham"--Galatians 3:7].
Now there is nothing wrong (and everything scriptural) with noting that God still in some ways differentiates between Jew and Gentile (Romans 9-11) as long as we don't miss the great overriding truth of the New Testament, that God has one purpose.
Our problem is with accepting Dispensationalism "lock, stock, and barrel," as a "type of glasses which must be worn when reading the Bible." Many things the movement stresses are valid and wonderful truths. The movement has stressed the progressive nature of revelation and the fact that God has worked with different people in different ways, expecting more of those who have more light. The movement must be credited with helping stem the tide of social liberalism which threatened to make the whole world forget that anything (like heaven, hell, sin, resurrection, and the second coming) should be taken literally.
God has one purpose. Don't be misled by those who speak of His "earthly purpose", etc. Scripture is plain.
The usual series of sermons from the book of Revelation includes a veritable slough of speculations. Every vial, trumpet, horse, etc., has its modern-day fulfillment. The latest current events are brought into the picture. The latest whipping boy on the international scene becomes the Antichrist. The listeners are little edified by the whole speculative display, except to gain a general sense of awe that "God is finally going to get even with His enemies," and a gratification of their carnal curiosity.
"Blessed is He that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy" (Revelation 1:3a). But the verse doesn't stop there: "and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." The purpose of the Revelation is not to satisfy our idle curiosity, but to show us how to be happy while eagerly waiting--and working for--the return of our Lord.
K.D. has said--and will say--very little about current events in the light of prophecy. Our purpose is not to be sensational but hopefully edifying, holding to the "one sure word of prophecy".
We've had our say. Much of it has been negative, I know. For more positive reading, ask me for Pastor Steve's article via email (heesendr@beloit.edu) and I will send it to you. It has little for the carnally curious, but much for the spiritually hungry. And, on a positive note, we'll end by saying, Jesus is coming again. Literally.
NOTE
* For a scathing indictment against the S- Reference Bible, read Philip Mauro's book, The Gospel of the Kingdom.
written in 1990 by David R. Heesen
For other writings by David Heesen, click here.