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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: The Troubling Worldview of the 'Rapture-Ready' Christian When the subject of the "end-times" comes up, many Christians and non-Christians don’t want to talk about it. Some Christians, annoyed with all the competing theories and terminology just say, "What difference does it make? Jesus is coming back and I just need to be ready." Non-Christians just assume that since Christianity isn’t true, then the whole issue doesn’t matter. Well, actually, it does matter. I will submit that the popular doctrines of the Left Behind series pose very real threats not only to Christianity, but also to the wider culture. Probably most conservative Protestants (though not all of us) believe that humanity is certainly in the final generation of life on earth as we currently know it. Not that we "could be," but that "we must be." That’s a big distinction. They believe this because of their views on a couple key Biblical texts. The first is the Olivet Discourse. This discourse by Jesus about the "end of the age" can be found in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21. Dispensationalists – a group that believes God has two separate prophetic programs for Israel and the Church and generally believes that Christians will be removed from the earth before a final tribulation – see all of the events or signs spoken of by Jesus as referring to events that are happening now or going to happen very soon. Never mind that Jesus was first and foremost referring to events that would occur within his own disciples’ lifetime (Matthew 24:34). They believe that nothing past chapter 3 in the book of Revelation has occurred yet. It is all in the future, and all relates to the tribulation period, which true Christians will avoid. Another key text is Daniel 9:27. It is from this verse alone that we get the idea of a "seven-year tribulation" during the end times. But the New Testament says nothing about a seven-year tribulation. The book of Revelation refers to a 3.5–year period – five different times. They are most likely referring to the same time period. Dispensationalists believe by prophetic necessity a number of things. First, they assume that the world must get worse in just about all ways. Second, they assume that Daniel 9:27 calls for the rebuilding of a Third Jewish Temple at the site of the Dome of the Rock. Therefore, prophetic necessity demands that the current Islamic al-Aqsa mosque must be torn down to build this new Jewish Temple. Halfway through the tribulation period, the antichrist will come and exalt himself in the new Jewish Temple, stop sacrifices in the Temple, break a peace treaty he had earlier made with Israel, and proclaim himself to be God. They get all this from cutting and pasting Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 together and then associating those passages with everything that will be going on in Revelation 4–19. There are all sorts of problems with these interpretations. First of all, the New Testament says nothing about a "pretribulational rapture." To see how bankrupt that position is, read my offering on the subject here. The evidence for a "pre-trib" rapture is not just weak, it is non-existent. Regarding the key verse of Daniel 9:27, see my refutation of the dispensationalist position here. Read those, especially if you are a dispensationalist who already presupposes that I’m wrong. Once you begin thinking of the implications involved, you begin to see why this doctrine is so dangerous to everybody. Dispensationalists seem to have a preoccupation with war. In fact, right now, dispensationalist mega-church pastor John Hagee is preaching that a war with Iran is not only the right thing to do, but is prophetically inevitable. Apparently, Bible prophecy demands a showdown with Iran. You see, if you aren’t on the side of war, then you aren’t on the side of God. Talk of peace now becomes irrelevant. It’s God’s will that we be militarists. In fairness, not all dispensationalists are militarists. Our own Laurence Vance is an example. But they are in a definite minority. The prevailing worldview of dispensationalism glorifies war, militarism, and the State. The dispensationalist view of Daniel 9:27 provides some troubling implications as well. They don’t care that tearing down the al-Aqsa mosque would result in a regional war and cause all sorts of global distress. This would not be a bad thing in their minds. They believe that it was all foreordained and is a sign that the end of the world would be soon upon us. Also, if you buy into these interpretations, talks of peace in the Middle East are futile. Jews and Muslims must continue killing each other at high rates. And who will be the one bringing peace to the Middle East in this popular end-time paradigm? Not Jesus, but the Antichrist. Therefore, talk of Middle East peace during this current "dispensation" is not from Jesus, but the Antichrist. When dispensationalists hear talk of peace summits or treaties in the Middle East, they assume it must have evil origins and be antichristic. If that’s the cause, why bother trying to make the world a better place? All we need to do is be good Christians and wait for our ticket out of this earth and make way for the Antichrist. Dispensationalists are numerous and popular. Well-connected preachers like Hagee have political connections. Dispensational preachers and lobbyists have the ear of the White House and are directly trying to influence foreign policy based on their very questionable theological views, which, by the way, are less than 200 years old. This is more than just a quirky theology that doesn’t affect those who do not hold it. Dispensationalists want to bring about world events that would have catastrophic implications for other Christians and for non-Christians. If they are correct, why should any of us bother trying to make the world a better place? Dispensationalists get very annoyed at this question. They say, "Final peace on earth will only come through Christ!" They basically insist Christians trying to do good in the world should only focus on "spiritual things." Trying to change social institutions for the better is futile and presumptuous. Apparently the only two options are handing the world over to Satan or believing that humans can do everything in their own strength. Not much room for nuance here. Ironically, many dispensationalists are involved in the Religious Right movement and want to stem abortions, ban gay marriage and make America more Christian. But at the same time they believe in a theology that says the world can only get worse, that there’s nothing any of us can do about it, and that it’s about to get so bad Christians are going to be taken off of the earth. If the ship is irreversibly sinking, why try and patch up the leaks? If you need more proof that many dispensationalists hold troubling worldviews, just take a visit over to the Rapture Ready message board. The main site is one of the bigger dispensationalist/pretribulational sites on the web. You can read for yourselves how they view the world, how they can’t wait to escape it, and their obsession with war. One angry pre-tribber wrote me a few weeks back. He had this to say: When the RAPTURE of the CHURCH takes place, and mark my words it will, maybe them you will see the light! After you have been left behind you are going to look back on all the people that you deceived, who will probably be in your face at that time, and hopefully repent of the false gospel that you were teaching! It's not to late to be saved during the 7 year tribulation period but it will be harder when you hear that Christians, who become Christians after the Rapture of the Church, are being beheaded for the witness of Jesus! Hopefully you and those who partake of your beliefs will see the light before Christ comes for the Church! Notice in his mind I’m not even a real Christian. The reason? Because I happen to have a different position than he does on the issue of the "rapture." I’ll also apparently be too much of a coward to "convert" during the "7 year tribulation" because other people who become Christians after the pre-tribulational rapture are being beheaded. Ever notice with people who so strongly believe this doctrine that they assume everyone who will be "left behind" is going to be absolutely clueless? Maybe I too will just assume aliens came and abducted the "true Christians." Apparently I’d be too scared to be beheaded, even though I’d find myself instantly in heaven along with all the real Christians who were taken up in the rapture. Finally notice the great confidence of this guy. He is so convinced of his position that only an idiot or heretic would disagree. Well, I challenge people like this, and the crew over at Rapture Ready to actually put their interpretations up against the Scriptures and think about the logic and implications of their beliefs. The logic and implications are clear. Society is going to hades in a handbasket. There’s little we can do to stem the tide of evil. The Middle East must further deteriorate. Anyone who disagrees with Israel’s foreign policy is opposing God. The third most important site to Muslims must be crushed to make way for a new Jewish Temple. Good Christians should support the building of a new temple with new animal sacrifices taking place inside of it (compare Hebrews 10 to the theology of Darby and Hal Lindsey). And in a strange sense, war is kinda good and peace is kinda bad – since war is a sign that the end is near and peace on earth is a sign of the Antichrist. Any Christian who doesn’t agree with all this is deceived at best and a heretic at worst. When you understand that millions of Christians believe this way, and that some of them are actually fairly influential on the political scene, you begin to see why this theology needs to be refuted. By refuting it, dispensationalists think you’re trying to refute God. I would argue that you’re being more faithful to God and the very Scriptures themselves. This is not just an in-house debate that only affects myself and other Christians. Dispensationalists have a vision for the world and it is bad news for everybody. Therefore, it would do you all good to spend some time in the Bible and see what exactly the Scriptures have to say on this subject. February 2, 2007 Bill Barnwell [send him mail] is a pastor and writer from Michigan. He holds both a Master of Ministry degree and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree from Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. Visit his blog. Additional Data: 1830 The initial development of the pre-tribulation doctrine, either by the trance-induced 20-year-old Margaret Macdonald for by John Nelson Darby. 1855 John Cumming announces that Russian will invade Israel: The End; Or, The Proximate Signs of the Close of This Dispensation, Lecture 7. 1878 Publication of the immensely popular book by William E. Blackstone (W.E.B.), Jesus Is Coming. 1909 C. I. Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible is published by Oxford University Press. 1917 Balfour Declaration promises British support for the creation of a State of Israel in Palestine. 1925 The Scopes' "Monkey Trial" results in a public disgrace for William Jennings Bryan and the voluntary withdrawal of American fundamentalism from public discourse. 1926 Founding of Dallas Theological Seminary. 1948 The creation of the modern State of Israel, May 14: the "generation of the fig tree" supposedly begins. 1970 Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth creates a huge new market in "ticking clock" prophecy books: an unstated but obvious rejection of traditional dispensationalism's doctrine of any any-moment Rapture, which insists that the 70th week of Daniel begins only after the Rapture. 1980 The presidential race and victory of Ronald Reagan: the New Christian Right becomes visible in the U.S. 1981 Rapture postponed: 1988 (40 years after the creation of the State of Israel), minus 7years for the year of the Great Tribulation = 1981. 1988 Rapture postponed: May 14, the 40th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel. 1988 Rapture postponed: Edgar C. Whisenant's prediction of a September Rapture during the Jewish Rosh-hosanna. His book sells millions of copies, July through early September. 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall in October. 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait on July 2. Dallas Seminary's Charles Dyer announces the revival of prophesied Babylon. 1991 January-February: U.S. obliterates Iraq's army. 1991 August 21: Defeat of the attempted Soviet coup; Soviet Union begins to break apart. 2000 The final year of the second millennium after the birth of Jesus. What if the Rapture is again postponed? 2001 The beginning of the third millennium after the birth of Jesus. What if the Rapture is again postponed? Poster Comment: I have for some years now had a few misgivings and outright objections to Dispensationalism, not so much due to my own theological misgivings as I had no real knowledge in the area, but from the actions and behavior of its followers. Curious by nature I wanted to understand the world view that could simultaneously claim to be followers of the "Prince of Peace" and at the same support horrific wars, mass murder, and the ongoing recreation of Sodom and Gomorrah that is the modern Marxist-Racist State which names itself Israel. As well the Christian Fatalism i.e., "it just doesn't matter" and acceptance, without opposition, of great evil as somehow fulfilling some great design further offended me as it is a total absolution from responsibility for creating a better, more sane, world. It would seem to me to be antithetical to the teachings of he whom we call Jesus Christ. That by their inaction, and even active support, evil is allowed to flourish at the expense of the innocent and that horrors of murder, torture, war, rape, and degradation are taken with a fatalistic aplomb as though it just doesn't matter as the world is coming to an end last Tuesday. And then to top it off is the apparent belief that by mouthing the correct phrases one will be absolved of creating, by inaction and lack of moral opposition, even supporting it, a great conflagration of evil and veritable hell on earth and be lifted magically away among the righteous for having done so. In effect, under dispensationalism, it appears that one somehow becomes more Christian by not being one, and more righteous for having turned a blind eye to the horrors that inaction, and at times open support, has brought to pass. Equally troubling is the penchant for hating which many of its followers seem to possess. Hate of muslims, hate of this, and hate of that and yet no time to hate and remedy the evils that beset our world. So, much for their following the path laid forth by he who was named Jesus. The contradictions and the results become only starker, and more malignant, the more I learn of the issue. I cannot begin to express the revulsion I feel for such a world view with the evil and misery it spawns.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 51.
#5. To: Original_Intent (#0)
While I am trying to approach the issue with intellectual detachment I don't disagree. I have visited the "Rupture Ready" forum and the detachment from the reality of the world in which we live is simply mind blowing. It is a viewpoint of the sanguine acceptance of evil as routine and to be applauded because, as has been periodically predicted by various and sundry apocalyptic "holy men", the world will soon be coming to an end and "Jeeeezus will lift up all his chilluns who mouthed the right 'key words and meaningless shibboleths'" so they will not have to endure the HELL they have helped to create. So, evil can be allowed to flourish because it proves how righteous the "Rupture Ready" are. The insane logic is almost too much to comprehend.
I was taught the rapture and truthfully I still believe though I have seen and understand the evidence against it. However, I am ambivalent about it. It will either happen or it won't. Doesn't change what I do or how I live. I live that philosophy when fighting the government. I believe that the one world government will happen but that doesn't stop me from fighting it with my last breath. The hard part for me is the idea that I'm possibly working against God's will. I move forward anyway believing that if I am doing something wrong, he'll let me know.
Good post. I agree with you and find all the references to "rapture nuts" and all the other names Christians are called very mean spirited. And I stopped reading the article at the point where the author seemed confused about the Book of Revelation being in the New Testament. If he can't even get that right what else did he get wrong?
One problem. The Book of Revelations IS considered part of the New Testament.
#53. To: Original_Intent, James Deffenbach (#51)
Yes Revelation is the last book in the Bible and a part of the new testament. *** The author, named John, has traditionally been identified with John the Apostle, to whom the Gospel of John is also attributed. According to the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, modern scholars are divided between the apostolic view and several alternative hypotheses which have been put forth in the last hundred years or so.[3] Historical-critical scholars, in particular, conclude that the author did not also write the Gospel of John.[4][5] Most scholars think that Revelation was written near the end of the 1st century.
That's what I was saying. The author didn't seem to understand that little point. He seems to be in disagreement with much of the Bible. But that's between him and God. I just don't like all the hateful descriptions of people who believe what the Bible clearly teaches.
Original_Intent: One problem. The Book of Revelations IS considered part of the New Testament. I didn't get the impression that the author was confused about that. It's my opinion that there is no "Battle of Armageddon" in the Book of Revelation. Refs: Revelation 16:16, Revelation 19:11-21. There is a gathering for battle by the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies but the beast and the false prohet are captured and thrown into the fiery lake of brimstone, a word which has the conotation of purifying. The others there are "slain" by the sword of the Faithful and True rider on the white horse, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords -- by the sword of His mouth, symbolic of Truth. The word "slain" has the conotations of being destroyed by Truth, abolished by Truth, and deprived of spiritual life by Truth. Ark means gathering place in Hebrew. Armageddon can mean "place of crowds" - Megiddown. The UN, for example, is a gathering place of "kings" and it has crowds.
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