Eschatology of Victory

Much of this article is a compilation of thoughts taken from books and articles I have read and is a revision and extension of several of my previous compilations. 1996-1997 Now as of 9-14-01 and please excuse the rambling I posted it here. Why? After looking at the devastation in N. Y. and knowing something about the origination of the stress, and turmoil and hatred, behind this I thought I would post this as it is.) Added a list of Books/sources. 4-6-02

There have been many philosophies applied to the governing of people. Most, if not all, involved an approach to the future. Eschatology is doctrine that concerns the future and the ultimate end of all things. It has to do with the end of the world or of humankind and also concerns the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment. When I use the term eschatology in this article I will be applying it to the ultimate and final destiny of the Church and of humanity.

Let us look back at the reign of Saul.

First, let us look at the system that was in power just ahead of his reign.

Samuel had been the seer and judge of Israel for many years. Through him they received instruction for all major decisions relative to both their spiritual needs and their governmental needs.

The following is a part of Hanna's (Samuel's mother's), prayer and praise to the Lord at the consecration of her only child.

1 Sam 2:10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." (NIV)

Please note that her statement here involves both prophecy and eschatology. "Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered" This is the ultimate situation. This is concerning the future as she saw it. Then she refers to a King. Israel had no King. So in the beginning of Samuel's life his mother speaks prophetically in an eschatological sense. In the following setting we see the people have looked to the future and have desired a king. Note how Samuel warns them.

1 Sam 8:17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us.

Israel wanted to take their future into their own hands. They ended up with Saul. We know that he failed to obey God and died in disgrace. Yet, Hanna had spoken prophetically of a great king. David followed Saul and became a successful king, but he was only a type of the future glorious messiah.

All down through history we have stories of rulers who set out to shape the future.

Plato had something to say about governments in his thoughts concerning the ideal republic. He actually contemplated the possibility of having a near utopian republic. In one place he mentions there being a need for a very wise and benevolent dictator and came to the conclusion this would provide a peaceful situation. We who believe in Christ have met this benevolent dictator.

Jesus and others in the New Testament speak of the kingdom of God.

Luke 11:20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. (NIV)

Augustin around 400 AD wrote about the glorious city of God as if it was already here and compared it to many of the futile and wicked governments of history. He defended Christianity and repeatedly pointed to it being the Glorious City of God. I will detail on down in this article something peculiar in the timing of his writing relative to what others had said and were to say some 1000+ years later.

Two of the most recent and notorious rulers were Hitler and Stalin. They had a vision of the future, a plan that was to cover the world and usher in peace. They had eschatological designs for the world. I want to ask where has the Church been down through the years? Under Christ she alone holds the future in her hands.

The first settlers and governors of this nation had eschatological thoughts and designs for this country.

Most knowledgeable Christians are aware that the government of this nation was founded on Christian principles. I hesitate to say most Christians. I hope that this is true. There has been a systematic erasing of anything Christian from our school's history books, etc. Editors of these books are intent on searching out anything Christian and editing it out. This has been going on for over forty years. The politically correct response to Christianity is to forget it and put it down. While at the same time other religions are being looked upon with more and more respect and studied as something that will enhance your education and human experience.

I have come to the conclusion that, in the main, the problems our country is having, stem from perverted Christian religion; from heresy. There is a trickle down effect. Christianity, in its purist form, is to conquer the immorality of the world, and it will.

Going back, step by step, from the present, we can outline what has led up to our present moral crisis, and just now a war time crises has developed.

Are, we to look for a rosy future? Are there any scriptural reasons for expecting the Church to prevail over immorality? Here are two good witnesses.

1. The history of the world since the first century reveals an over all betterment of the human condition that has morality as its base. When Christ came less then fifty percent kept the other fifty percent of the population in slavery.

2. The scriptures tell us that Jesus came to save the world. You can put a negative spin of the following scriptures, but be careful for they are meant to be taken in a positive sense.

Saint John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

4:42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

1 Cor. 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (KJV)

Christ must reign, till - This speaks of a period of time when positive things are happening in his kingdom. Evil is being put down while righteousness is being crowned.

This should give us enough scriptural basis for understanding that we have a job to do. Continued below -

Please note: The position taken in this article will be referred to as being bigotry, and anti-Semitic.

The definition of this last word has come to mean a disbelief in Judaism and or including being against the right of the Jews to be in Palestine.

You may be for Jews in a general sense, however, if you are against their agenda you are now thought of as being anti-Semitic. Thus the historical and biblical Christian is automatically classified as being anti-Semitic. This infers that those who are a-millennial or post-millennial are also anti-Semitic, or bigoted.

This is the same tactics liberals use to promote their agenda. They redefine definitions to further their cause. This revisionism tends to stop all free exchange of ideas. Naturally, no Christian wants to be thought of as being a bigot.

I am not denying that the position taken in this article has had more than its share of bigots.

The furtherance of the kingdom of God is to be the Christian's agenda and their concern about the errors of the Jewish religion has little to do with this. However, the Church is obligated to tell the Jew about Jesus. It appears to me that the castigation of the Church for being a breeding place for bigotry has caused them to back down from Classical Christian doctrines. Instead of educating themselves and focusing on the heart of an issue they have tucked their tails and ran. It is easier to hold previous Christian leaders and their doctrines up to ridicule and develop new ones then it is to pray, study and glean and get involved in the heat of the battle. The opposition hide their immorality behind their attack on others. In their condemnation of past Christians and their doctrines they are making the devil laugh.

Continued from above

Those governments or charters set up by the first settlers in this country declared they were for the furtherance of the Kingdom of Christ. Before that time Columbus had declared he was here, in part, to further the Kingdom of God. The people who fought in our revolution against England spoke of this country having no other King then Jesus. Early American history has many such thoughts.

In the 1800's there were several new ideas or new thoughts, concerning the Kingdom of Christ. By the 1830's we find the beginning of what we now call Seventh Day Adventism and the publishing of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith. There was also another doctrine that promoted a secret catching away of the saints ahead of the great tribulation, it was later called Darbyism.

We know this today as dispensationalism. This had sprung from the congregation of a preacher, by the name of Edward Irving. He had held great open air meetings in Scotland and was then pastoring a Church in London. In 1832, because he had written a tract that inferred Jesus had a fallen nature, he was removed from his pulpit. Then in 1833, he was barred from the clergy and died the following year, 1834, suffering from disease and a broken heart.

(What do you think about the nature of Jesus?)

All the way back to the second century there were other individuals and small groups who who had promoted similar views. However, they did not follow through to the same extremes. In 1830, a Miss Margaret McDonald, of his Church, supposedly had a vision. In this revelation she saw Christ coming in great glory. Then toward the end of the vision she became aware of another coming of Christ, a secret coming. At this secret coming those who were ready would be taken up and miss the great tribulation. This thought was taken up by many of the Plymouth Brethren Churches.

This was only one more in a sequence of steps away from the stand taken by the Classical Christians of the past. This contributed to the beginning of a mass move toward the dispensationalist's version of the pre millennium position.It eventually became politically correct for Christians to abandon and rewrite their religious history.

Christianity used to teach that it was criminal to give help to the needy without taking the oversight as to how that help would be used. It is evil to support poverty, through making it profitable for those who are providing assistance or making it profitable to live in poverty. For in either case this will make poverty increase. Again, this is no longer a politically correct doctrine. Now, if you want the poor to work you are a bigot.

Let us look back and see why this happened.

When the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish temple form of worship was permanently interrupted, surviving Jewish leaders set about to preserve their religion.

So they added more, apocryphal like, uninspired, talmudic, writings; which were an expansion of the Levitical law.

At first there were probably not very many Jews who took up this new Judistic religion. Over one million had converted to Christianity. This may have been as many as one third of all Jews who lived in Palestine in the first century.

The study of the Dead Sea Scrolls reveals that the doctrines that led to the Talmud embody the same extremes of legalism that Jesus dealt with during his ministry. Jews, to this day seek God by observance instead of by faith.

There are reasons to believe that during the time of Christ that some held it to be a sin to relieve themselves inside the city of Jerusalem, anywhere. The rest rooms they used were more than a Sabbath day's journey beyond the walls. Just recently remains of rest rooms have been found that were built on the side of a steep slope just outside the walls that serviced a section of Jerusalem inhabited by these extremists. Because of this doctrine they fasted the sixth day. They held that the City was nearly as sacred as the Holiest of Holies. No sexual activity inside the city, etc. Josephus tells of another time when approximately 1000 Jews made up of fighting men along with women and children were smothered in the caves they were hiding in. They refused to defend themselves on the Sabbath day. Josephus also tells how the priests were slain with swords during the destruction of Jerusalem. They were going about their daily ritual of sacrifices as if there was nothing else going on. They did not even lift their hands in their own defense.

In 72 AD the Jew's physical worship in a temple situation was destroyed, still they continued on with their previous nonsensical extremes. They further developed their ridged class system relative to their spiritual leadership. At times these Rabbis and their traditions and laws were given such extreme reverence to near worship.

Missing Ten Tribe Myth

As a basis for the Jews rejecting Christ they developed the myth that ten of the twelve tribes were not in Jerusalem during his ministry. They argued, - the prophecies concerning the Messiah were to be for all of Israel, (the twelve tribes) and since they were not all in Jerusalem this proves that Jesus is not the Messiah. Continued below -

Somewhere along the line the gap theory came along. This is sometimes called a parenthesis. This is a long period of time that takes place between the iron legs of the Image in Daniel and its toes that were mixed with iron and clay. Two thousand years and counting? The Church was set into this period. Earlier Christians knew that the toes were only representative of a divided kingdom. One that was immediately connected to the Roman Empire and were under the control of Nero the beast and later the Roman Catholic Church. This is history, but of course this is no longer a politically correct doctrine. (Bigotry?) The true and essential priority for the Church is to preach that Christ and his Spiritual Kingdom are in the hearts of his people now. Christians are the Israel of God. The kingdom is here in the now. The coming of Jesus happened and is still happening.

Continued from above

They admitted to their people,- yes they were punished, but now they were to go out and bless all of the nations of the world, before the true Messiah would come. Some of them have estimated that he will come around 35 hundred years from the date of the destruction of their temple. They also said the true Messiah is to physically reign in Jerusalem and he will never suffer for his people. As a result they refused to accept Jesus or his spiritual Kingdom; which we call Christianity.

Note, the New Testament speaks of Israel "as if all Twelve Tribes," were represented during Christ's ministry. However, Jews still refuse this witness and so do many Christians.

In a more recent time, in 1600 AD, the Catholic Church was assailed by the reformation for being the beast system. Many Protestants said the Pope was the man of sin. Because of this, Jesuit Catholic, theologians set about to interpret the book of Revelations as being fulfilled in some future time. So, they developed a doctrine that placed the tribulation period at the end of the age, just before Christ returns. This some-what agreed with the position of Judaism. Both are futuristic. I will have still more to say about this further down in this article.

It has been said that Christians in the first century prayed for the continuation of the Roman Empire, or the ruler then on the throne. It may have been they were praying that Nero would not become the emperor. They were suffering then, but many of them believed the next ruler or system would produce the beast and the man of sin and would be worse than the rule of their present Roman ruler. However, many Christian theologians still think the Roman Catholic Church, which came much later, was the more evil system. This position has been supported in part by a religious history that was based on unreliable mythology.

There are now numbers of Bible scholars who feel there are good reasons to believe that the Gospels, Acts and the book of Revelation were all written before the destruction of the Temple. They also believe that Matthew 24 and Revelations forewarned the disciples about many things that happened before the destruction of the Temple.

The following scriptures provide a good reason for agreeing with their point.

Matt 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

Mark 9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Matt 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

26:64 Jesus saith unto him, ( the Priest) Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus told the people they would see him coming.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (KJV)

Jewish theologians were and still are extreme literalist's in their interpretations of Old Testament prophecy.

In 1655, Cromwell, the great Protestant protector of England, invited, that great Jewish rabbi and theologian, Manasseh Ben Israel, to present a petition to him and the British Parliament. This produced a great interest in the Talmudic doctrine of "their restoration." Cromwell became a great friend of the Jews. After this happened Christian theology started picking up on the "preserved lost tribe" theory and the "restored literal Israel" doctrine. These two, futuristic, (Catholic and Jewish), doctrines became well known by those clergy who were coming out of the orthodox seminaries in England. Many of who were against the reformation.

So here we have two major influences working on the Church during the time of Miss Margaret McDonald's vision. The Jew's theology had postponed their Messiah's coming to a future time.

Some of the anti-reformation Churches were promoting the Catholics position concerning a, yet future, Great tribulation. It appears that those churches that have the appellation "Reformed" came from those denominations who could see the derailing of the more positive aspects of the Protestant movement. They would not accept the futuristic Judaized and Roman Catholicized doctrines being accepted by those Churches that were involved in the counterreformation movement. There are Roman Catholics today who readily admit that their Church brought forward elements of the Old Temple worship system and reincorporated them into their services. Roman Catholicism is far more Jewish then Protestantism.

The counter reformation period involved repeated changes in the ruling parties of government. There were times when the Roman Catholic influence would regain control then the Protestants would regain control. This happened through local wars and through politically arranged marriages. There was a lot of blood shed and there was legislation that involved everything from new prayer books to the design of Church buildings. The Protestant ideal had been to return to the simplicity of the earliest first century church buildings, which was nothing more then a rectangular building with benches around the four walls. The communion table was moved from the Protestant position, in the middle of the building, to the east end by semi-Roman Catholic influences. Then the table once again was raised. Then it became an alter again and then the lectern and choir areas were raised, etc. These subtle changes are to be found in some degree in all Churches today.

As a result of the power of the counterreformation these two pro- Roman Catholic, and Jewish, eschatological doctrines were soon spread to other Churches. There they were further elaborated on and preached by uninspired Christian leaders as a way to promote interest in the things of God. They wanted some new measure, to preach, that would motivate their ministries and the church. One such man was John Darby. Having a strong personality and being a strong motivating influence, he captivated the thoughts of most of the Brethren movement. (He also had some heretical thoughts about Jesus suffering, to some extent, for his own disobedience.) He too taught that the Kingdom of God was to be natural Israel and was to come in the future. This doctrine eventually included the thought that the Rapture was to catch up the believers just before the great tribulation. Then the Jews would be converted and within three years turn the world upside down for Jesus; as they give their lives in martyrdom. Christ having failed to do this when he was here and since the Church will also fail, it is taught that the Jews are to step in and save the Kingdom.

With the doctrine of dispensationalism there is no need of expending any energy in building a spiritual effective Church and it would be wrong to do so.

To put effort into building the Kingdom would be to go against the fulfillment of prophecy. ??

The rapture then becomes nothing more than the Lord rescuing us from our own lethargy.

To them it seems that the gentile Church had been given special grace because they were incapable of obeying the law. But, God's chosen people, the natural Jew, would eventually live in obedience to it and so have a far greater influence. This is to all happen after every born again Christian has been taken up and without the influence of the Holy Ghost??

Christ is to come back to the Earthly Kingdom of David. Animal sacrifices are to be resumed and will remit sins. They teach that Christ would not have needed to die on the cross if the Jews would have only accepted him as their King. Also, the Gospels are only written to the Jews? In other words, The Church is but a parenthesis, a fill in, until the Jews come to their senses? Christ can come at anytime? His coming is eminent so look up and be ready? Also, sin will not keep you from being in the rapture as long as you believe? You are saved by faith alone. No works needed. If you are very much into doing good you are too religious. The blood of Christ covers your sins so the Father can't see them. (Just as the animal sacrifices did.) It does not cleanse.? You can never be free of literal sin in this life. We all sin hundreds of times every day. Yes, some of these doctrines are basic, but they take many of them to the extreme.

Theirs is a Futuristic, Judaized and Catholicized Christianity.

Following John Darby's lead, C. I. Scofield, took up this same futuristic, pre-millennialism position. He eventually wrote a complete commentary for the King James Bible and had it published.

In reading about Charles Finney I have noted that he believed there would not have been a civil war if Christians would have repented and preached the gospel. He believed there was nothing stopping the advance of Christianity other then ignorance and a lack of faith. He hoped that revival would do away with the need for extremist abolitionist activities. Unfortunately, many of his own close associates did not have his faith and became active in abolitionist's activities. Finney preached hard against slavery. He is mentioned in at least one encyclopedia as being very influential in awakening the minds of American people concerning the evils of slavery.

Scofield became involved with this new version of eschatology after the civil war. Finney had one view of eschatology, Scofield had a very different view. It could be that the cynicism that arose soon after the civil war helped to spur Scofield on in this new version of eschatology.

Dispensationalism is filled with cynicism relative to the world ever being anywhere near converted through Christ, by the Church. Revivals are still thought of as being necessary, but they are only so we can survive. They are thought of as being but a temporary fix. They are but a band-aide.

In contrast, Finney believed in an eschatology of victory by Christ through His church. He believed the Church could and was responsible for winning the world. And by its doing so would usher in the complete submission of humanity to Christ as their king.

Scofield also believed in eschatological victory, but his version would have us believe the Church is to be rescued by a rapture just before it reaches extinction. As if the Church is a liability, while the race, those we call the Jews, are far superior once they are converted and after all they alone are the apple of God's eye?

The Scofield Bible has some good helps, but it also is an unfortunate twisted crutch relative to the Kingdom of God. It has been to heavily relied on by many who were unwilling to study. Look over his notes that are on the page between Malachi and Matthew, in the Old Scofield Bible. Continued below.

Terrorism and More Terrorism

Anti-Israeli terrorist activities were nearly nonexistent prior to 1947. There now have been terrorist bombings and threats in this country and around the world. Most are motivated simply by the existence of Israel and its religious support. Some are for glory so as to present a hero status to those who are of the extremist position. Their acts portray the power of their group and is used to force other Moslems to support them, out of respect and fear of reprisal. Death to them is a fast track to glory, where a man will be serviced by seventy perpetual virgins. They can have three wives, plus some who they take responsibility for now, here in this life if they can afford to care for them.

Terrorist activity will never stop until we Christians repent of the support of this rebellion against God and purge our doctrine of this nonsense. Jews deny that the presence of their nation in that area has much if anything to do with creating antagonism and anger among the Arabic nations. The reason for them to say this is obvious. They do their best to identify themselves with the west, but they deny they are bigoted and racist. They have many skeletons in their closet, however, the radical terrorists make them look angelical.

The rebuilding of a nation called Israel by unrepentant religious Jews is rebellion against God, and our support is also rebellion against His word.

Yes, now that they are a nation - Christians should support them in their right to be free of attack. However, we must-

1. pray for their conversion and -

2. make it known we do not support their heresy and rebellion against their Messiah, Jesus.

3. We also must apologize exceedingly for encouraging them into jeopardizing their way of life and their very existence.

They are however, though a relic of the past, still a witness to history.

As of this date Israel is compromising their peace. The Jewish influence has elevated the morality of that nation. However, those people have been set up by mistaken Christians. The lie their theologians concocted is haunting them. They must understand that their Messiah was Jesus and that Christianity represents the very Kingdom of God they are looking for. Christ and his Church are their only Hope. The future holds a fiery dead end for the unconverted Jew. As a people they have suffered enough. We must pray, for these people do not deserve the evil that is being perpetrated on them by heretical doctrine. Our part in this is hurting the Christian witness in the world. If you have a positive attitude concerning an overcoming Church you are a heretic. It is foolish to paint a sinking ship. Just hang on, Jesus has a miraculous deliverance just waiting for you down the road, so don't fight it? This nonsense is very similar to what the false prophets were telling the Jews who were inside Jerusalem while Titus was waiting them out. Unfortunately, the religious politically correct theme is to expect Christians to miss the great tribulation. They are to look for an anytime return of the Lord. This keeps them from thinking of the uncertainty and brevity of life. If they would only listen to the Old Timers, the Classical Christians of the past, they would understand the Church is coming out of a period of great Tribulation, now, and so has much peace to look forward to.

Lethargy and Heresy are the biggest problems Christians have to face from here on out. I am not saying there will be no more persecution. Still, what the Body of Christ has to face from here on out would seem like a piece of cake to most who lived during the Dark Ages. If we will only open our eyes we can see there has been a great expansion of the Kingdom, the Church, since the beginning of the reformation.

It has been estimated that by the end of the first century one out of every 360 people in the world had converted to Christianity. Around 1900 it is estimated that it had risen to one in 27. It is estimated that now one out of every seven people in the world profess to be Christian. Polls taken at election sites now show that over 35% say they believe in God. This is expected to reach 50% within a few years. (This is relative to 1997.)

There has also been a great change in the area of the welfare of most earthlings since that time. Freedom has expanded across the world and especially freedom of worship. There are not to many nations who still hunt and Kill Christians. If the Christians of this nation keep sleeping on the job, relative to their political responsibility, there may be an open season declared on them here. It is being said, Christians are behind the spread of AIDS, because they refuse to have their children educated about sex. Churches are already being singled out by the IRS, AFT and the FBI, for investigation.

If you want to take Matthew 24 as being to Israel, and to those to whom Christ was speaking, then understand that the great tribulation was speaking of what happened to the Jews under Titus and Nero. If you think those verses were speaking of a later time then look at what happened to the Christians during Nero's reign and in later years under the Roman Catholic empire. There was a great falling away even before Jerusalem was destroyed and this continued to some degree up until the beginning of the reformation. In any case there are good reasons to believe we are on the best end of the age.

If you are not convinced that things are getting better, you should go to a library and study both world and Church history. Martin Luther said some very outlandish things after he took a stand on justification by faith. John Calvin attended a burning at the stake of a Christian with whom he disagreed. Neither Martin Luther nor John Calvin would be allowed to pastor today if they were to still hold to all of the beliefs they held during their life time. Churches tend to think that those other denominations around them are filled with terrible error. The truth is that most all denominations today are nearly angelic compared to the denominations in existence before during and just after the reformation. The conditions of the world in general, both in Church and outside are far better then they were just a few hundred years ago. Yes, there will still be some periods of spiritual warfare and persecution before the word of God dispels all of these negative myths. However, please note, the negatives that are produced by lethargy and dispensationalism are the first fruits of those coming wars. The sooner we walk away from them the sooner we will have peace.

It is inspiring to note that the glory of the nation of Israel spoken of in the Old Testament will be eclipsed by the positive effects produced by this New Jerusalem, here on this earth, before when we accept the thought that Christ did comes back.

You can keep looking for the defeat of the Church if that makes you feel good. I think it is an insult to Christ.

According to the warnings Moses gave Israel in Deuteronomy we can expect more and more problems. Judaism is a curse. We now have acts of terrorism being carried out around the world; who knows what will happen next. The erroneous thought that the rebuilding of this nation would be a fulfillment of prophesy is in direct contradiction of the Book of Revelations and will be a source of reoccurring plagues of destruction. This error is the same as adding to or taking away from the words of that book.

Continued from above

The result of this futuristic position is the undermining of the ministry of Christ. This position puts down the cross, the Church, and the beauty and overcoming position of the Kingdom of God in the now.

It is also heretical and raciest in its elevation of the Jews and their religion.

The truth is that the Jewish religion became but an apostate form after Christ's resurrection. Any attempt to glorify the Jew is a put down of the spiritual Godly descendants of Abraham. The Bible points to a Messiah saving a remnant of Jews out of Israel and Jerusalem before their destruction.

Isaiah 59:20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. (NIV)

This happened, then extended all across the Roman Empire. They were the first fruits. I have heard somewhere that a Jewish historian has estimated that 1.2 million Jews converted to Christ in the first century. It is also estimated that there were only 3 million Jews in Israel at that time.

Every Christian is a descendant of Abraham by faith. We have been grafted in. The unbelieving Jew was cut out of the tree and must be grafted back in through Christ. The only hope of Israel as a nation is Jesus Christ, not their restoration or the rebuilding of their temple. They are doomed to a lost cause until they acknowledge Christ as their savior. This alone will put them in the Church, the only Kingdom of God. However, their hope is now said to be the rebuilding of their temple and this is said by most Christians. Paul put his hope in the resurrection.

The following (near prophetic), statement was released to the press on Oct. 18th 1944, by the American Council of Judaism, Inc. This was based on the Balfour Declaration; which was the promise of British support for a national homeland for the Jews; and provided that the rights of existing communities would be safeguarded.

"We regard as fundamentally un-democratic the procedures involved in such an establishment, such as preferred status in immigration to those of one religious faith, and an arbitrary and indefinite postponement of self-government.

Such proposals will, we believe, embroil Jews now in Palestine in continual civil strife and place in jeopardy and equality of status the Jews every where who are integrated in their respective home lands and do not wish to be party to a Jewish state of commonwealth."

The following is a report taken from the Mount Zion Reporter's December 1994 issue, published in Jerusalem and taken from the Jerusalem Post.

The Temple Mounts decision

The holiest place for Jews is, not the Western Wall but the temple Mount. That is where the First and Second Temples stood; that is where the Holy of Holies was. That the Moslems built two mosques on the spot, now deemed among the most sacred in Islam, is not just coincidence. It is a natural expression of their conviction that Islam superseded the Jewish religion and had the right to "inherit" its holy place.

Most very devout Jews will not set foot on the temple Mount until it is redeemed. The thought that they may be stepping on the grounds covering the ruins of the Holy of Holies is enough to keep them away. But, there are those who believe they have the right to pray in the grounds where the temple stood, particularly on Tesha be' Av, the anniversary of its destruction. Unlike the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the place of prayer is not limited to a disputed structure. Worshippers can pray anywhere in a large area outdoors.

The Problem is that Moslem leaders, aware of the centrality of the temple Mount in Judaism, have whipped up a paranoid frenzy among their followers by charging that the intention of Jewish worshipers (who had actually been turned away), triggered the blood drenched Temple Mount riot.

Under these circumstances, the police prefer to play it safe and avoid confrontation. The general attitude is understandable, particularly in light of the Hebron massacre, for it is they who are blamed for riots and bloodshed. But, there is a fine line between doing everything possible to prevent unnecessary clashes and surrendering to threats. To try to forestall the possibility of violent Arab response is desirable and wise; to let it dictate Israeli conduct is dangerous and counterproductive.

Only a few months ago, acting on information that Arabs might riot, the police prevented worshippers from praying at the Western Wall, the most important Jewish place of worship in the world. They denied permission to a group known as the Temple Mount Faithful to do what they have been doing for years: visit the area of the Temple Mount on Tisha be' Av, and they rejected a request by the Women in Green to march around the walls of the Old City on the holy day.

The ramifications of such actions are clear. Threats of violence, like threats of war, can make Israel retreat. Nothing encourages aggressors more.

The High Court of Justice has obviously carefully considered all these factors -- it ordered a compromise. It overturned the police decision to deny permission to these groups.

But, the court did stipulate that if the police receive intelligence warnings that riots may follow, they could restore the ban.

If the police do not abuse this discretion, the compromise should prove reasonable. But, it is difficult not to be disturbed by the argument presented in court by Jerusalem District police commander Arye Amit.

Responding to judge's suggestion that the Jews be allowed to enter one corner of the Mount for a half hour of meditation (without any ritual objects and without reciting prayers or lamitations), and that the Arabs be kept away from that corner during the duration, Amit said, "We don't have any basis for telling Moslem worshippers not to go anyplace on the Temple Mount."

The mind boggles. Israel, then, is the only democracy in the world in which Jews are forbidden to worship in an open space they consider hallowed. They must even avoid the appearance of worshipping, and they need a court order just to get permission to stand there.

But they cannot really do that either, because the police claim they have no authority to keep a threatening mob a safe distance.

Those who lived in this country under the British Mandate must be experiencing an acute twinge of deja vu. (1996?)

This article brings us up to the present situation. (1997?)

Note, there are some of the strict Jews who do not want to go up on the Mount, period, until it has been made ceremonially clean. Others are afraid they might walk on top of the Holiest of Holies. This strictness is akin to their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah. They are extreme literalists. This same type of strictness is found in dispensational thought. Yet, the dispensationalists feel free to deviate when to do so furthers their cause, such as when they spirtualize the book of Esther and apply it to the Jews during the Great tribulation.

Dispensational heresies make people have an inner feeling of defeat relative to the future of the Church.

1. Instead of being motivated in their building of the Church and its peripheral ministries, we have people talking of just hanging on until they are caught up.

2. They are expecting to be involved in diminishing Church activities with a terrible increase in immorality. Prayer revivals are but temporary fixes.

3. They are conditioned to expect the Church to become more and more ineffective against the inroads of sin. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

4. As a result of not having positive directions or goals they start picking on each other.

They are now caught up in splitting hairs over non-moral doctrine while failing to support morality in the areas of taking care of the needy.

They will give and visit the needy sporadically, but fail to be consistent. They are into doing things that make them feel good.

5. They ease their conscience by allowing the state to bring them into servitude through increasing taxes and inefficient use of welfare.

6. Since the Church will not be all that victorious it is evident that we need not be to concerned with being all that moral? The ideal of the early Church was evidently all pie in the sky; very unrealistic? Dispensationalism opens the Church up to immorality and disrespect for the Ten Commandments.

Bottom line; they do not have any moral absolutes. Grace to them is the equivalent of situation ethics.

7. Humanity or the carnal is more then God can influence through his experiment with the Church?

8. It will take the Law administrated by the Jew to deliver this world?

9. There have been numbers of Gospels preached down through the history of God's dealings with man? The Gospel preached to the Church was only one of them?

10. The final and greatest Gospel is that which the Jews will preach to the world during the great tribulation?

This list is only part of what is either openly taught or implied by ardent dispensationalists and includes some of the negative results. These are a menagerie of doctrines that do not fit. This is truly a collection of wild and imaginative thoughts that are built upon the spread of the heresy of the apostate Jewish religion and Catholicism among Christians.

This has only had success because of the ignorance and lethargy in the Church.

When people get lazy they like a lazy excuse.

I might ask what ever happened to the message of II Chronicle 7:14?

It has been noted that for over 1700 years the Lords Prayer and the Ten Commandments were read in every Sunday morning service in the majority of churches. However, now that dispensationalism has become so popular the Ten Commandments are seldom read and even more seldom taught. This means we have no absolute basis for repentance.

The Jews had two camps. One was very concerned with compromise and went into the ditch on the side of strictness relative to works and they added lengthy commentaries to their laws. They ended up adding more and more law as a way to stop corruption. The other side became political and compromised in the areas of morality. They could have many concubines and could divorce their wives for burning their food.

When Christians lost their love they went to these same type of extremes. Many laws, and ecclesiastical governors (or Lords), on one side with liberty and vice on the other. We still have the semblance of these same things. They are now dressed up in the form of religious, politically, correct thought.

They have the extremes of Grace on one hand, with the traditions of strict acceptable worship on the other. One espouses liberty while entrapping people in slavery to their flesh. Their freedom is addicting and has little to do with maintaining circumspect traditions or morality. Suicide, divorce, cheating on your income tax, fornication, abortion and being luke- warm towards the things of God are bad, but not really that bad?

You should vote, - but ..? Your worst enemy is your trying to be to religious. ??

The others have peculiar forms of worship and traditions and hold to them as being religiously politically correct. If you do it their way you are in. Some teach by example that Christians should not vote. However, you must go to their Church to be saved. The Baptismal formula is more important then taking care of the elderly, etc. The government is evil so if you cheat on your income tax that is all right, just as long as you don't get caught. The main thing is to support your Church and be very religious.

All of these extremes have their historic equivalents. Because of these extremes the United States and the Protestant movement are moving toward a good spanking. We have no excuse for the prevailing immorality in our country let alone our Churches.

There are numbers of Christians in both of the aforementioned camps. Many do not vote and so should have a heavy burden of guilt on their shoulders. However, this would be a natural for those who are of the ultra-dispensational persuasion.

We have the dispensationalists to thank for the Eschatology of Hitler and Stalin. If the Church would have been on its knees prior to W.W.I, and W.W.II, and been taught to expect the conversion of the world to Christ, nothing would have been able to stop them. The same goes for why we had to fight a civil war. The negative teachings of the majority of Churches around the world have set up the Christian community to accept defeat.

I will now insert Matthew 24:34 with the Comments of two Classical Christians who believed in the historical perspective. Followed by two who obviously were being influenced by both Judaism's anti-christian theology and Roman Catholic anti reformation doctrines.

First; Charles Spurgeon's comments.

"The King left his followers in no doubt as to when these things should happen:

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled."

It was just about the ordinary limit of a generation when the Roman armies compassed Jerusalem, whose measure of iniquity was then full, and overflowed in misery, agony, distress, and bloodshed such as the world never saw before or since. Jesus was a true Prophet; everything that he foretold was literally fulfilled. He confirmed what he had already said, and what he was about to say, by a solemn affirmation: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The Word of the Lord endureth for ever, and though that Lord appeared in fashion as a man, and was shortly to be crucified as a malefactor, his words would endure when heaven and earth would have fulfilled the purpose for which he had created them, and passed away."

Second; Charles Wesley's comments.

34. "This generation of men now living shall not pass till all these things be done."

"The expression implies, that great part of that generation would be passed away, but not the whole. Just so it was. For the city and temple were destroyed thirty-nine or forty years after."

Now we have John Darby's comments.

He was one of the first to codify in detail the dispensational doctrine. This man was very well educated and appears to have been a genius. Still he stands prophecy on it's head.

(Darby is here speaking of the end of the age and God's governing this world, in connection with Matt 24.)

"The disciples confounded that which the Lord had said of the destruction of the temple with this period."

Now, I very seriously question many of the statement, made by Darby and dispensationalists. Here he says the disciples confounded what Jesus said. I, in fact, think they wrote extensively about what Jesus said and what he meant and with no mistakes. Here are more of Darby's comments concerning this chapter.

"Moreover the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus put an end, in fact, to the position which the Lord's instructions had in view. There was no longer any cognizable testimony among the Jews. When this position shall be resumed, the applicability of the passage will also recommence."

Evidently Darby and dispensationalists believe that in some sense the Jews and the Romans were able to override God's plan. Titus stopped what Jesus wanted to happen? Again, according to Darby something unexpected happened that stopped the clock relative to what Jesus said. The complete fulfillment was put on hold.

The following statements are made by Adam Clarke -

- and seem to reveal a struggle in his mind between the historical and the dispensational point of view.

Verse 34. This generation shall not pass—

"The Jews shall not cease from being a distinct people, till all the counsels of God relative to them and the Gentiles be fulfilled. Some translate h genea auth, this generation, meaning the persons who were then living, that they should not die before these signs, etc., took place: but though this was true, as to the calamities that fell upon the Jews, and the destruction of their government, temple, etc., yet as our Lord mentions Jerusalem's continuing to be under the power of the Gentiles till the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, i.e. till all the nations of the world should receive the Gospel of Christ, after which the Jews themselves should be converted unto God, Romans 11:25, etc., I think it more proper not to restrain its meaning to the few years which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem; but to understand it of the care taken by Divine providence to preserve them as a distinct people, and yet to keep them out of their own land, and from their temple service. See on Mark 13:30.

But still it is literally true in reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. John probably lived to see these things come to pass; compare Matthew 16:28, with John 21:22; and there were some rabbins alive at the time when Christ spoke these words who lived till the city was destroyed, viz. Rabban Simeon, who perished with the city; R. Jochanan ben Zaccai, who outlived it; R. Zadoch, R. Ismael, and others. See Lightfoot."

Unfortunately, Adam Clarke and Darby failed to believe Paul where he said the Gospel had been preached in all the world. This had already happened in Paul's short life.

Col 1:23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Col 1:5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. (NIV)

The following statements further reflect the thoughts of classical dispensationalists and should give us a picture of their attitude toward the lessons of history.

Oswald J. Smith said something like the following. -

"Few of the old commentaries are trustworthy. - The interpretations of those that spiritualize the predictions of the Old Testament are worthless." -

Scofield had much of the same opinion and his champion, John N. Darby, really put down any history that could have been applied to fulfilled prophecy. He did not want to hear about it, period. They turned their noses up at history and failed to notice that the New Testament applies spiritual interpretation to many Old Testament prophesies. This is why present day dispensational writers of books on the subject of the end time basically ignore nineteen hundred years of history. They start their thoughts as if nothing of prophetical interest has happened since the first century. (Take note, watch the lives of several of these popular authors. Check how many wives they have had, etc.)

On this basis it is natural for their followers to discount the sacrifices made by the founders of our various denominations and of our nation. We need not look back at the prices paid for our liberty? We can just assume our pioneers and fighting men were confused and suppose that God alone by his providence gave us this nation?

The actions of thirty percent of professing Christians shout out the opinion that voting is an unchristian carnal act for it is associated with this nasty world. Whatever is going to happen will happen without any human intervention. We shed tears as we send our children and relatives out to fight against enemies of our freedom. They shed their blood and die for us. But it is to carnal and to nasty for us to dirty our hands on a voting machine? Many Christians avoid any political discussions like the plague. They have fallen for the lie that says - "Never talk politics or religion." They act as if they despise both, not realizing their salvation would not exist were it not for the Christian religion. Nor would their freedom exist if Godly religious Christians had not placed their lives on the line while helping to create and then support this country's government.

Say what they will, if Christians would have just prayed, registered and voted over the last fifty years, our country would still be considered a Godly Christian nation. Our streets would still be safe and there would be few if any abortions performed with our taxes. Their fatalistic attitude and burying their heads in the sand will not cover their sins. God forgive them for they know not what they do. Their equivalents are the five sleeping Virgins found in the parable of the Ten Virgins.

There are also many Churches that have combinations of these extremes. Both vice and legalism.

The message about the ten virgins, five of who were wise, has no place in a dispensationalist's message. However, in the ten Virgin's message, lethargy was the only problem. There is no picture there of a defeated Church; one that is nearly down and out because of the increase of wickedness around it. Instead it portrays a victorious Church, but one where, due to the spread of peace, fifty percent of them have went to sleep and have failed to stay ready.

The small seed that becomes a great tree also project's victory. These parables along with the scripture that speaks of the mountain of the house of the Lord filling the earth, project the heart and will of God for his Church.

In support, of a coming age, of the defeated Church syndrome we have doctrines that make the teachings of Christ contradict those of apostle Paul.

Jesus taught the kingdom of God was at hand and that it would be in the heart.

Note I said the Kingdom of God. The Bible does not support making a difference between

the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.

These terms are used interchangeably. Check your concordance. He also taught we were to be obedient to the law.

And to be holy in the area of morality and that this would save us. This he expounded on. He said the first two commandments were the greatest. Jesus said if we love him we will obey his commandments. He said if we did not obey him it was proof that we did not love him. These statements are the essence of what he taught and First John and James as well as Paul's epistles follow up with the same thoughts.

Unfortunately, and due to ignorance, many Bible teachers say that the Apostle Paul, in effect, ushered in another Gospel. He had a new revelation that went beyond the teachings of Christ. His was a grace message for the parenthesis or temporary Church whereas the Gospels were only to the Jews? Paul spoke of our not being declared righteous by obeying the law and also declared that we are not righteous if we do not obey it. No contention here. Paul's theology is turned into a contradiction by extremist grace preachers and by dispensationalists.

Romans 2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous (justified), in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (NIV)

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. (KJV)

1 Cor 7:19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. (NIV)

7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing: obedience to God's commandments is everything. (WEY)

19. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing - "Will neither promote nor obstruct our salvation. The one point is, keeping the commandments of God; "faith working by love." (These are J. Wesley's comments on this verse.)

Note, It is practical religion, sincere obedience to the commands of God, on which the gospel lays stress. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary)

The question to be asked is not whether a man is circumcised or uncircumcised; but whether he keeps the commandments of God. (From Charles Hodges commentary.)

3:29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (NIV)

Some dispensationalists do not incorporate every doctrine I refer to in this article, yet many of them still teach as if this is just how it is. They make Paul contradict the Gospel messages of Christ. Not only that there interpretation is how many Jews and Muslims approach Paul's message and this make them despise it. Because of this they think he promoted lawlessness. I have told those with whom I have to do that they were looking at Paul's views the same way as most Christians. I told them He was actually a strict teacher of God's law.

Jesus said those who believed and were baptized were saved. John the Baptist said that those who refused to be baptized, refused the council of God.

Now the Apostle of grace supposedly taught that we did not have to be baptized? After all he said Christ did not send him to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. I say read the text again. What was Paul talking about? What is the context? There were those who associated their salvation to those who had baptized them and Paul was teaching against this.

The doctrine of indulgences was concocted by the Catholic Church, however it could not survive the scrutiny of the enlightened Protestant. This doctrine made it possible for a Catholic to pay for his sins ahead of time. If he gave, so much, he was absolved, of so many acts, of sin. They were able to raise tremendous amounts of money through selling indulgences. The influence of this doctrine in conjunction with the fight for the doctrine of justification by faith alone, (in the Protestant movement), gave rise to doctrines that pushed grace to the extreme.

If we believe the following -

1. The Gospels were only written to the Jews.

2. The Church has an inferior position relative to the Gospel of the Jew.

3. The Church is only a parenthesis, a temporary situation. 4. The Kingdom of Heaven type Gospel, as per what Paul preached, will be replaced by the Kingdom of God Gospel of the Jew.

5. Paul preached a Gospel suited to a weak and undisciplined people; a Gospel of easy grace.

6. The Jews will preach a far more ridged and perfect Gospel, that will be more pleasing to God.

7. The Tribulation will provide a second chance for those who fail to go up in the rapture. They can still make it if they repent, however, they will have to suffer martyrdom.

- It is then just a short step to incorporate Sloppy Agape, Believe-ism, Greasy Grace into Church doctrine.

After all Christians don't have what it takes to do it right. They must be given salvation on a silver platter for they cannot keep from sinning.

So, from this came more support for the extremism of the eternal security doctrine.

In this present dispensation, once you have believed in Christ, you no longer have to ask forgiveness for your habitual sins, you just claim it? You are insulting God when you say the Lords prayer, for Christ obeyed in your stead??

That prayer was given only to the Jews, they are the ones who will bless God by their perfect obedience, not the Christian. They are the only ones who can do the perfect will of God on this earth?? (This is ultra-dispensationalism nonsense.) Please note that the logical end of dispensationalism leads to these extremes and there are some who have said these very things.

The extremist position of the eternal security doctrine is more palatable then the old Catholic doctrine of indulgences. It is easier sold to the good Christian. Still, it has the potential to empower the hierarchy of those who preach it. Everyone likes to be told they are OK. This is a cousin to the false prophecies given by the prophets inside the walls of Jerusalem just before the temple burned. God is going to provide a miraculous deliverance, so don't be so worried about being repentant and obedient. We are the apple of his eye. We be Abraham's children, etc. We have been saved and God does not abort his children. (No, he doesn't, but he has disowned numbers of them, and has forgot them.)

He denies he ever knew them and he forgets their previous righteousness. Unfortunately, this is either denied or forgotten by dispensationalists.)

Please tell me you do not believe their nonsense.

The Bible tells us that Christ gave us a contract, a new covenant. This contract is written completely in our favor. There is no fine print. It is all above board and a total gift. Our actions are only our signature. If we do not want to sign with our obedience then we miss out on the benefits.

\\ Our signature is no big deal, for relative to what we get,

our efforts are like nothing. //

We are not trying to earn our salvation by signing on the dotted line. We are only excepting what has been bought and paid for.

Now what I am, saying here is considered heresy by most Christians, those who are of the futuristic, extremist grace, persuasion, but it is the truth.

Our obedience is both the least thing and the most we can do. Without obedience the contract is null and void.

Because of their negative attitude concerning the ability of the power of God to change this world and the people in it, they think we have to be saved unconditionally.

They think we have to sin every day. If you dare say otherwise you are a legalist, don't want anyone to go to heaven, etc. Besides, they imply, it is impossible to live without sinning habitually and it is the right of every Christian to sin a little all of the time. After all if they couldn't sin they wouldn't have any fun.

They have even expanded on the Ten Commandments. They teach that a frown, a heated exchange, failure to maintain a positive attitude, using a different baptism formula, or going to some other Church then where they go, are all approaching anathema.

Since we are all liable to do such dastardly things this is obvious proof that every believer will be saved though sinning habitually? Again all of this is just another slam at the victorious Church and is a put down of the power of God. The Moral law of God is perfect and not antagonistic to grace. Or, there is no tension between grace and obedience to God. Also, the morality involved in taking care of the needy was put above all other doctrine both in the Old Testament and by Christ.

The details of the Commandments given in both the Old Testament and by Christ and his Apostles are themselves proof that we can obey them. If we say otherwise we are logically saying the following. -

1. God was a liar.

2. He is cruel for he has implied we can obey him, when, in fact, we cannot.

3. He is wicked for he has conditioned his blessings on our obedience.

4. If he meant that Christ's obedience would be an acceptable substitute for our willful disobedience then he is not only a liar but neither is he all powerful. (For, in this case, his grace does not really empower us for true obedience. As a result our obedience is only an illusion; a lie.)

To say we cannot obey is heresy of the worst sort, for we are agreeing with the Devil.

The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, not his obedience. There is a big difference.

He died to redeem us, not to obey in our place.

If we habitually fail to obey we have no faith; no faith is the same as no salvation.

"If we sin"; this is to be the exception. We are not to live in it. We are to repent.

Repentance is an act of righteousness. If we keep doing the same sin over we have a grievous problem.

There are no sensible alternatives to quitting sin. If you find it is impossible to stop doing something you know is a sin, get some good help. Make love to Jesus, praise him from your heart, cry out to him, beg him for help and do not give up. As long as you are able to pray you have the ability to repent. Do some sensible fasting.

Remember living in habitual sin and then going to hell is not a viable alternative.

Our feelings lie to us, but the Word is true.

The will of God, for the well being of his people, is in harmony with our ability to obey. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. The traditions of men add paralyzing burdens to the back of believers that are foreign to God's moral commandments.

There is a way out of this subversive attack. We must make it a priority to study the Bible and pray. Watch and pray. Praise God and pass the ammunition. What is our ammunition? It is the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.

The fiery sword coming out of the mouth of the Lord is his word being preached and lived out in this earth. The pure word of God will burn up all opposing doctrines when we get with the program. Our ignorance gets us into trouble.

Because of our lack of preparedness in comes some new thought winging down out of the clouds. If we are not into the word we get caught up into heresy. We get blown away. We are so untaught that we cannot even talk to JW's who come to our door. We all pray that we can do something for God, but then when he sends people to our door we turn them away.

There are people who have been forewarned, but they have failed to get the word out. They don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. "Peace at any cost?"

We must never forget, the Church is both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and it is here and it is always going to win through God's help. The gates of hell will give way to the advances of the Kingdom.

Just as a small seed can grow up into a great tree so has and will the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is a never ending process. We must focus on being fervent in our love for God, then our oil will not run out and we will always be victorious. The Church through Christ is saving those who hear the gospel and the example of righteousness set by the Godly is judging and damming the ungodly. They are setting outside watching and gnashing their teeth.

We must never rely on worldly minded leaders.

If they are not serving God's people then they must be removed.

To often we follow leaders who lord it over the people and make allowances for sin. They are in effect selling indulgences. Go along with them and they will tell you, once you are saved you need not worry about sin, you are all right. They sell a band aid religion. They never use a scalpel. They just daub every sin sickness with white wash and send people on to hell.

The truth is, we are now ruling and reigning with Christ in heavenly places and we need to act like it.

We are Kings and Priests unto God, so we need to be a praying and expectant people. We must do away with immoral, inconsistent, ignorant, and lazy Church leaders. Our children must be taught righteousness, and must have righteous examples set before them. To demand this is to be a Protestant.

We are not to judge others, who have repented after having failed morally, relative to their salvation. But, we must judge those whom we put up as leaders by the fruit of their works relative to their ability and their obvious history of morality.

God does not have to rely on Junk to lead his people.

If a Christian leader fails morally and it is said that they must be left in their position or they will completely lose out with God or if any Christian cannot make it if they are not allowed to lead, they are an evil example and not really saved, and it is blasphemous to use them for leaders.

We must only allow those who can and have survived the rigors of being a common pew occupying Christian to be our leaders.

This is the essential legacy of first being a Christian and 2nd. being a Godly Protestant.

We do not have to worry exceedingly over the salvation of some leader who was removed because he has failed morally. They can repent. If we fear they may never make it as a Christian (if they are not put back up before the people), this is the best reason for not putting them up. We must have only those who will be faithful, in all situations, as our leaders. When we get with the program we will control our political arenas. Until we do we deserve what we get. If we keep going to sleep we may well end up in more persecution and it will be because of our own doing.

Self-discipline is to be a number one priority with a Christian. We must take responsibility for the negative things we do and give God the praise for what ever good we accomplish.

The false doctrines I have dealt with here all make excuses for the sloppy morality and failure of the Church. From this comes the failure of our society. These are self-fulfilling false prophecies. The attending failure is used as proof that Jesus is yet to return.

The Church is as a city set on a hill, it is to set the moral standard. We all need to repent. We are a very blessed people and must bring forth fruits meet for repentance. These fruits are proof of our obedience. If we want to live in peace we must sow peace. Righteousness, purity and justice has to come before we will have peace. Peace is to come from the Church.

These principles are eschatological in nature. They affect our future and the ultimate reign of Christ in this world through his church.

When we choose to put our eyes on Jesus instead of loop holes we will win. When we believe we can obey him and do it we will produce an overcoming victorious Church and not until. The Kingdoms of this earth were declared to be the Kingdoms of Christ. His will is to be done on earth.

Obedience and faith are the more painless path to take. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard.

The following is an impression I came by from reading and studying on this subject.

The conscientious 17th century Christian communities were probably filled with revulsion against anti-Semitism and the bigotry found in the sleeping historical Churches. The term hook nosed Jew, their harassment, blaming them entirely for the death of Christ, the hate fostered by the anti-Roman Catholic and anti-Pope fervor, were all anathema to a God fearing, people loving, Christian.

Previous to this time Jewish and Catholic theologians had successfully communicated their grievances and doctrines to both Christian and political leaders. In popular works of fiction and philosophy there were secular attacks being made against the theology and bigotry of the Church.

Out of this situation came the motivation for the Church of the Brethren's pre-millennial position.

What sincere Christian would not want to run from the thought of being a hate monger? Their heart's were right, but they bent the scriptures. This is the trap the heart of a liberal sets for himself and for others. They think they are so righteous, but they are naive and self-righteous. In the end they become vicious.

Liberals have now created new definitions for bigotry. So, now the Church no longer even tries to maintain its biblical and historical position on the second coming of the Lord or his Kingdom and has let down in many other conservative areas. In fact those who do hold to the historical view are now suffering from a form of reversed discrimination. It is worse for those of us who believe He did return in the First Century.

This same thing has happened repeatedly down through time. The Jew struggled with his conscience when he saw what he perceived was compromise. What did he do? He started adding to and revising the law. Making it more stringent. Conscientious Catholic and Protestant leaders did the same thing. The problem is, - this manipulation is an act of unbelief. Faith in the Word, as it stands, as it has been proven, as it has been rightly divided, is akin to faith in God. Faith is trusting in God. When we seek salvation and the cures for this world through nonsensical, or extremely regimented and/or other bent interpretations we have departed from the faith. These things are related in a sense with the temperance movement and the abolitionist movements and the right of women to vote, etc.

Christianity in its purist form heals the problems these movements tried to overcome. However, they tried to use discipline alone aside from conversion. They eventually became very political and less fervent for souls.

We must instead contend for the faith. This faith was fully delivered to the early Church. This contending demands consecration, prayer education and study. Then we must glean from the works of the classical Christian's of the past. We must stop casting aside the lessons of history. Time and the Bible have proved some positions to be true. It is nonsensical and an act of pride to always start from scratch.

Much of what I have written here was inspired by, and written about in, the books I have listed on one of the last pages. I want to spark your interest in this subject. These points hold the key to faith in Christ's ability to produce a victorious Church. The Church is not going to be chased out of this earth and saved by a fire escape called the rapture. Yes, the Church has much ground to gain and it has been doing so even though it has embraced so much ignorance and superstitious based traditions. This article is an introduction to only a very small part of what these books contain. I did not include that list, but please check this web site - www.preteristarchive.com

The Church is the New and only Godly Jerusalem and it has won and it is going to continue to win. Adam and Eve were given this world and they gave it away. Through Christ the elect are taking it back for God. The Church is not going to rule this world with a rod of Iron. But, it is going to win it for Christ by love and truth. I tend to believe - the rod of Iron that is involved has to do with the crushing blows to wickedness that is delivered by the truth.

Disobedience through unbelief lost it; obedience through faith and the grace of God are going to take it back.

The first Adam introduced sin and defeat. The second Adam reverses this completely.

What about the few that are to be saved, versus the multitude mentioned in Revelation? The few may be referenced to those few Jews who were saved in the first century. I do not know? However, here are some scriptures that intimate a large number. It would seem that on their basis God intends to have a glorious Church. His will is to be done in this earth through his people.

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Ps 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.

72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 117:1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

ISAIAH 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 60: 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Zech 2:11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

Romans 15:9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Heb 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (KJV)

These verses sound positive to me. To me they intimate a great and glorious Church being in this earth when Christ receives them up to himself. Jesus spoke of a little flock. I suggest he was addressing the remnant, the Jews, who made up the elect. These were the charter members of the Church. Paul later speaks of God calling everyone to repent.

The Gospel was to be preached in all of the world. This is the language we are to be speaking. We are not preaching to a small group of Jews who are facing the great tribulation. We are now speaking to a great multitude who cannot be numbered. The new Israel. The true Israel of God.

We have the instructions Christ gave the Church.

Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things what- soever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Then we have the instructions given to us in -

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (KJV)

From the tenor of these scriptures it would seem reasonable that we are to always go out and win the world for Christ. If we are to do as we are taught in these texts we will always end up with a glorious Church.

The stone that was cut out without hands fills the earth.

More Scriptures we need to deal with. -

Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Speaking to natural Israel he prophesies doom.

65:15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: (KJV)

Now the Jews are thought of as those who rejected their messiah while his elect are called Christians. However, Paul spoke of the true Israel of God.

The following scriptures portray the heart of God for in them we see his desire toward his elect portrayed. Yes, this was for the natural Israel, but note God's Israel, his Church, are in line to receive the blessings promised to Abraham. We are the seed of Abraham by faith. We are spiritual Israel.

Isa 65:17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. (NIV)

Isaiah 65:22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. (NIV)

Exod 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. (KJV)

These scriptures speak of prolonged life and many natural blessings. We cannot interpret them in a complete literal sense. They will not fit. Christians can see that these things have never come to pass literally, but we are afraid to think they are both natural and spiritual blessings that are to come upon his Church. Please note, these things are not going to happen in heaven. No one dies or gets sick in heaven. Did you know that in the 1600's the average life span was 1/3 less then it is now. What do you think might happen if ½ of the people, in the earth, commit to Christ? There are sources of free, unlimited, nonpolluting energy.

The above scriptures can be compared to some in the book of Revelations.

Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (KJV)

In this text we see healing mentioned and we can, if we look hard enough, see the Church. We are now ruling and reigning with Christ. We are children of the light or of the day. We are new creatures. We have the kingdom in our hearts. We are presently in the New Jerusalem that is from above.

I am thinking that as a result of our being present in this world - there will be and already are great natural blessings down here in the now. This has already been the case. It is history. What we know as science begin to grow exponentially, first in Europe and England, because of the reformation. This was because Protestantism dispelled much superstition. It may be dark around us now, but if we will obey II Chronicles 7:14 we are to overcome this present darkness and lead many, even multitudes to Christ.

Most all present day eschatology believes that in some way Daniel and the apostles missed it. Daniel thought his seventy weeks were consecutive, and the Apostles thought Jesus was coming back in the first century. They were all mistaken?

In the process of believing this we have stopped Daniel's prophesy from being fulfilled by Christ and have also sealed the Book of Revelation.

I think we should see Jesus and Calvary, and the resurrection and the New Testament Church as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy and reopen Revelation and accept the destruction of the Old Mosaic system and the establishing of the Church as being the story told in the Book of Revelation. Daniel and the Apostles knew what they were talking about, please believe me.

I would like to take another short mental excursion in history back to the first century.

The first major Christian experience on a nation wide scale was the Egyptian Coptic Christians. Around three AD they evolved into a spiritual political force and were in control of much of what was to later become the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire covered what had been southern and eastern section of the Roman Empire. Both the Coptic and the Byzantine Christian doctrines were a mixture of pagan philosophies and mystical Christian practices. This was a deterioration and departure from pure Christianity. However, they were still a big step away from the idolatry that had previously permeated those areas.

The Coptic and Byzantine influences had a very positive effect on the moral and civil laws of those times and they elevated the standard of living for the average person. Unfortunately, they were both adversely affected by power struggles from within their own ranks and were set upon by other warring nations. The Roman Catholic Church later evolved into a formidable organization during the late Byzantine period. They became a world power, but also departed from basic Christian doctrine.

It appears that Mohammed stepped into power during a period of Christian lethargy and may have been used as an instrument of judgment on the apostasy of the Church. Judaism as we know it today developed during the first three centuries and has been a thorn in the side of the Church ever since. However, the Church is not even aware of where the pain is emanating from. They have come to believe that Israel and Jews are favored by God when it is just the opposite. It is the Church who is spiritual Israel.

(The religious fervor to rebuild Israel and the temple that emanates from both Judaism and apostate Christianity qualifies both for God's wrath. Judaism will be held less accountable then Apostate Christianity. In spite of all of the ignorance in the Church it still has had a very positive effect on this world. Judaism has also had a very positive effect. However, it is the spiritual Godly Church that has changed the world.)

Later we had nations who were positively influenced by the Christian reformation. Germany, England, Russia, and the united States.

Over time the Christian influence has educated people away from superstition. In the process it has produced some of its own superstitions. However, the Christian religion has a far better track record for uncovering superstition than any other. It was Puritans who set up the first successful scientific organizations.

Christians were behind the first efforts to educate the masses.

(Judaism, and Roman Catholicism were involved to some slight degree but had relatively very little to do with any of this. It was done by Protestants in general.)

This happened here in the United States. Hospitals, nursing, higher education, and science were all heavily supported by Protestant Christian efforts. Again, Protestant Churches were the first to provide education for everyone in this country.

The Christian nations I mentioned above were a step above all previous nations in their ability to promote the betterment of the human condition. Germany, and Russia were at one time known to be great Christian nations. They both walked away from Christianity and suffered. Looking back it can be seen that they were not the first to do this and they will not be the last. This nation is presently in the process of walking away from its Christian heritage. The Churches of this country have been moving away from both reverence for the Bible and the moral law of God.

I am not speaking of a sign of fulfilled prophecy that has to do with doom and gloom. This country will either repent or suffer as all other countries have who went down this same irreverent road. Judgment against sinning nations has been going on continually since the resurrection. But there have also been blessings poured out on the more godly nations who have reverenced Christ and his word.

Christians in this country are not shedding any blood in trying to resist sin. They have the freedom to pray, study their bible, and preach and witness and vote, but few are doing it. If this nation fails to repent and obey God there will be other nations in the future who will rise up and become even more righteous and blessed. History projects a positive curve so I am not really guessing.

The devil was or is to be bound for approximately 1000 years. Most bible prophecies were fulfilled within a one hundred year period and most were fulfilled in far less time.

Constantine helped support the establishing of a system patterned after the mosiac system of worship and soon the Roman Catholic Church became as controlling as had that Jewish system. This happened around 1000 years after Christ. Then the Bible was printed and became available to the masses. This destroyed the control of the Roman Catholic Church. The fire of God, his fiery sword, the word, began to devour His adversaries. Hence the Protestant successes.

The devil is to be resisted and it is said that if we do resist him he will flee from us. He only has limited power. "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." Satan is a deceiver.

Let us go over this again.

The lie that met Jesus when he started his ministry was that he was to reign as an all powerful earthly king, kick the Romans out of Israel and then produce both a spiritual and a return to an Eden like situation. He was to ultimately rule the world from Jerusalem. However, He said that his kingdom was not of that age , system or not of this physical world, for if it was then would his servants fight.

There was a great falling away during the time of the Apostle Paul. This fulfilled prophesy. This physical earthly millennium story resurfaced in the Church before the end of the Apostolic age. Previously the believing followers of Christ had expected a spiritual kingdom, one that was universal and by faith. They had become children of Abraham by faith and were in the body of Christ, his church, etc. They looked for the destruction of the temple and for the destruction of Israel, but not for a rebuilt temple or an earthly religious government. However, this was soon to be forgotten by multitudes of Christians. Almost immediately, upon the death of the last apostles many began to look for a future utopia that would deliver them from their distress. This physical millennium doctrine appeared to prevail in the apostate church for over 400 years. However, then Augustine looked back and was able to see the spiritual city of God. Finally, from 500 AD to approximately 1575 the Church as a visible organized structure stood against a physical millennium. But then from 1575 on an erroneous doctrine of a physical millennium began to seep into the Church in general. The millennium influences of the several heretical messiahs began to stick. Shortly after this the dispensationalism that we are now taught came into being. If you will do some math you will see that this deceiving lie was stopped for a little over 1000 years. There were few messiahs in the Christian communities after the destruction of Jerusalem until 1100 AD. However, Judaism seemed to never cease to have their share of messiahs through this same period.

There is evidence of a 1000 year period that starts in the last of the first century and ends around 1100. This cannot be proved, but it appears that it is possible that a good number, that constituted the truly spiritual body of believers and who either were seldom accepted into offices in the visible organized Church or refused to associate with it, had never accepted the physical millennium deception. It may have been their constant insight into truth that protected the greater body of those who were considered Godly Christians until 1100 AD. Then somewhere between 1000 AD and 1600 AD the millennium heresy resurfaced and started to flourish again through the ministries of numbers of messiah type leaders. These charismatic leaders were received because of the terrible conditions that prevailed among the poor and because of the depths of spiritual ignorance and hateful over bearing actions of both the Roman Catholic Church and the rulers that prevailed in all of these communities. Millennium doctrines appear to be spurred on by the laxity and evil that creeps into spiritual leadership of the dominant Churches and ruling parties in government.

Instead of repenting and digging into the word of God and educating themselves people tend to rather abdicate their personal responsibility to some guru who will promise them the moon. This allows them to become insanely inspired by lying wonders, challenges them with a goal and provides them with a group of like minded people which gives them a feeling of security and provides fellowship.

Forget objective truth - "We have the spirit and are getting results. People are getting healed and saved." Many Godly people have succumbed to believing in a future physical kingdom here on earth. I do not see this in the New Testament. Again, the city that I see is in heart and was established in the first century. It will fill this earth and it has and will produce many physical blessings. However, these are secondary to its spiritual impact.

It is peculiar and is probably not coincidental that during the revival of the physical kingdom type millennium doctrine with its attending messiahs that the bible was being translated into the language of the common people. Then came the advent of the printing press. Though the camp of the saints was being surrounded from every quarter by error the breath of His mouth was being released and began a cleansing process. A fire of truth began to burn up superstition. The Church was being protected and began to grow in spiritual depth.

The kingdom exists with the good inside and the bad locked outside and this is being sorted out as the truth is being sorted out. The true Godly Christian is about sweeping and cleaning in an effort to find the truth and or the kingdom. Said in another way; since the time of the reformation many errors in doctrine have cropped up. However, during this same period there has been a resurgence of apostolic truth. The breath of Christ's mouth is in the process of destroying Satan and casting him into an eternal lake of truth never to live again. He was bound and tormented for over 1000 years. His ability to deceive was curtailed. However, he is now in the process of being doomed forever. (At least we hope this is the case.)

(It is something to pray for anyway. I am wondering if it may not be the truth?)

There have been many advances in technology that have greatly benefited mankind around the world. Tesla the inventor of the AC motor and florescent lighting and the first to pioneer radio transmission in the area of remote control, proved that we are surrounded by unlimited sources of energy. He believed that every individual could have their own free nonpolluting unlimited energy source. The first problem is that he died with his secret. The greater problem is that this same unlimited source could be used by the wicked as a holocaust precipitating weapon. Those who get this energy first can control the world and could aim weapons accurately at any point in this earth and kill all of the people in that locality without disturbing one blade of grass. Tesla has scientific followers who are on the trail of his secrets. The proper and safe use of this power depends solely on the evangelization of this world. This power will some day be available. The question is: will the Church believe it is to be used for a blessing or for a curse? Dispensationalism would have us believe that this power is to be used to destroy this world. Christians should believe that its use will be a blessing and a byproduct of the effects of the kingdom of God.

If we keep believing in a future that requires the exodus of the Church through a catching away, else it goes into extinction, we are laying a foundation for destruction. We are building a self fulfilling prophecy of defeat. I would rather believe that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. The defeat of the Church and the steady advances of the devil do not portray the power of my God, nor the glory to be revealed in his Church. As Moses said to God. The heathen will say you brought us out here in the desert to kill us. No! God brought them out to take them into the promised land. How did they win? Through obedience and victory over the enemy down here in this earth. That is a type of the future of the Church.

We look at what Jesus said about Noah. They were all eating and drinking until the flood took them all away. Their life style was not the point. The suddenness of the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem and the lack of its anticipation by Israel was the point. That is past. The Kingdom is here. We will save ourselves and the world untold amounts of confusion and pain when we accept this and began in earnest to build the kingdom through obedience and evangelization.

The sky is not falling!

Please feel free to use this material or copy it.

I dug this up and did some quick reediting, because of the destruction of the World Trade Buildings and at the Pentagon.

I have posted it here just in case someone might find my travels in eschatology helpful or interesting. I started this before I accepted the (full) Preterist position, and my views have changed as I went along. That is why the rambling.

Your friend Vern Friday, September 14, 2001

Back to "Why Did It Happen?"

Theology of the Land: A History of Dispensational Approaches

(Very appropriate since 9-11-01)

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