What End Time Concepts Mock the Return of Jesus Christ?
Mar 12, 2014 20:30:15 GMT -5
Post by PurplePuppy on Mar 12, 2014 20:30:15 GMT -5
What End Time Concepts Mock the Return of Jesus Christ?
Lamb & Lion Ministriea
What end times concepts mock
the return of Jesus Christ?
Dr. David R. ReaganBy Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries
In the spring of 2012, I believe the Lord began to move on my heart with a very troubling message. I turned it over and over in my mind, and I wrestled with it in prayer. Finally, it burned so hot in my soul that I had to put it on paper. When I finished it, and it was published in June of 2012, I called it A Prophetic Manifesto, and I gave it this stark cover because it contained a very stark message.
Scoffing and Mocking
I believe that America is finished, for we as a nation have turned our back on God. We have kicked Him out of our schools and out of the public arena. We have declared Him to be off-limits. We have given the boot to the very One who made us great and showered us with blessings. We are in the process of becoming a thoroughly secular and pagan nation. And in the process, we are courting the wrath of God.
I now want to share the message from the second half of my booklet. It focuses on the Church and its failure to prepare people for the imminent return of Jesus.
Jesus is about to return, and the Church at large seems to be oblivious to the fact. In the Church today, Bible prophecy is neglected, it's abused or scorned. Most pastors simply ignore it as irrelevant or too controversial. Many abuse it by spiritualizing it to mean anything they please. Some just write it off as nonsensical gobbledygook.
The irony is that all this is a fulfillment of end time Bible prophecy, pointing to the fact that we are truly living in the season of the Lord's return. Here's how the Apostle Peter wrote about it:
"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'"
I used to think this prophecy referred to unbelievers, but they could care less about the return of Jesus. To them the whole concept is an absurd myth.
It is Christian leaders who are mocking and scoffing. Some are liberals who are Christians in name only. To them, the idea of Jesus returning to reign over the world for a thousand years is a joke. They consider it to be as ridiculous as the Virgin Birth or the Resurrection. Others are true believers who either know nothing about Bible prophecy or else have some perverted concept of it.
Postmillennialism
Increasingly, those who have a perverted concept of Bible prophecy are espousing the unbiblical concept of Postmillennialism.
Postmillennialism is the idea that the Church will take over the world either through political action or evangelism, or a combination of the two, and that the Church will then rule over the earth for a thousand years. At the end of this reign, the Church will surrender the kingdom to Jesus who will transport the Church to Heaven and burn up the earth.
Few concepts could be more unbiblical! The Bible makes it clear that the vast majority of humanity will always reject the Gospel. And the Bible makes it equally clear that as we approach the end of the Church Age, society will grow increasingly evil rather than increasingly righteous.
Furthermore, Postmillennialism is based upon the Humanist assumption of inevitable progress which, in turn, is based upon a belief in the essential goodness of man. Again, this is a very unbiblical concept. The Bible teaches that man is born with a sin nature that makes him inherently evil. Man cannot elevate themselves by their own effort. Nor can man be perfected by education or the revolution of society. God will prove this during the upcoming millennial reign of Jesus. During that time, all the world will be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice. And yet, at the end, when Satan is loosed, he will be able to lead a worldwide revolt against Jesus.
Jesus' rule with a rod of iron may produce outward conformity, but inwardly, there will be boiling resentment that will explode into an open rebellion. Man will not be transformed by life in a paradise on earth. And that's because people can only be truly transformed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that comes through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Amillennialism
The end time viewpoint that is held by the Catholic Church and the majority of Christian denominations today is called Amillennialism. It is the strange concept that teaches that the Millennial reign of Jesus began at the Cross and continues to this day. Like the Postmillennial view, this view is based on a spiritualization of Scripture, which is a nice way of saying that it is based on an outright denial of what the Scriptures plainly state.
Logic alone is sufficient to destroy the Amillennial viewpoint. For example, the Bible teaches that during the Millennium, the earth will be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice. Can anyone truly argue with a straight face that such an atmosphere prevails today? Or, the Bible says that during the Millennium, Satan will be bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations of the world. Is that a present reality? Of course not. All the nations of the world, without exception, are deceived and exist in a state of rebellion against God.
The Bible says six times in the book of Revelation that the Millennium will last 1,000 years. And yet, Amillennials say the Millennium began at the Cross and will continue indefinitely until the return of Jesus. Who is correct? The Bible or the Amillennialists?
Premillennialism
The correct concept, I believe, comes from a literal reading of end time prophecies. Seeking the plain sense meaning will produce what is called the Premillennial viewpoint. According to this view, society will disintegrate in the end times, becoming as immoral and violent as it was in the days of Noah. The Church will be taken out of the world in an event called the Rapture, and then God will begin to pour out His wrath during a seven year period called the Tribulation.
At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return in majesty and glory. A great remnant of the Jews will accept Him as their Messiah. Jesus will then regather these believing Jews to Israel and establish them as the prime nation of the world. Jesus will then begin His thousand year reign from Jerusalem during which time the earth will experience peace, righteousness and justice.
See what else the Prophetic Manifesto has to say!
Video here.
