Many books written about endtime Bible prophecy tend to endorse the positions of Christian Zionism. And, there are some who are turned off by this view or perspective, and for good reason. My book absolutely does NOT support these type of premillennialists ideas or premises. For those seeking a book written in favor of Christian Zionism, you might want to seek out books by Hal Lindsey or Grant Jeffrey or anyone promoting the dispensationalist perspective.
Israel is a beautiful country. I have been there multiple times, and I can say it is rich in beauty and history. I can say, however, that Israel is an apostate nation, because of their lack of acceptance of Jesus as the Christ. In the old dispensation, the Jews were the chosen one, but this is no more given their lack of acceptance of Christ. And yet, there are those like Hal Lindsey holding the current nation of Israel and its people as a "holy cow." The people of Israel, during this current dispensation, are no more or less special than the people of Europe, America, Asia, or Africa!
It is has been nearly 2,000 years and the Jews in Israel still do not even have a temple to worship in. They have only a wall with no roof better known as the "wailing wall." This "temple" has been under a curse ever since its destruction around 70 AD. Is it any wonder why the Jews have never been able to build another one since then? Could it be that God is behind this incredible phenomenon?
God allowed Jersusalem to be destroyed in 70 AD due to the wickedness of the Jews at that time. He used Rome (The 2nd Babylon) of the time to carry out this task, until God then allowed Rome to be destroyed several hundred years later. All "Babylons" tend to fall after their tyrannical rule....just a natural law of God.
Today, many Jews still do not accept Jesus as the Christ. However, there are some who have. Consider the many tribulations that the Jewish race have suffered over the last 2000 years. I think the evidence is glaringly apparent. In my book, I discuss some of the ways and means in which God rewards those who follow His Commandments and how He punishes those who do not. By the way, this has nothing to do with "good works" or "Christian legalism", and everything to do with what is in the hearts of men (my book covers "biblical guidance" in depth).
While some Jews still observe mosaic law, and the teachings of the Torah (Old Testatment of the Bible), many do not observe even the basic Commandments. Many serve "mammon" (money) over God, and that has been evidenced repeatedly throughout this entire dispensation up until today.
The Jews of Israel as well as Jews that live in every other part of the world are no more or less decadent than gentiles from America, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc! As a human race, we are all slavishly decadent! We all need to repent and change our ways, and then and only then might we see God's blessings!
To the Jewish and Christian Zionists, there are no "holy cows!" Your temple will never be rebuilt. The "New Jerusalem" is something entirely different from the Jerusalem of today or yesterday. It is to be a place beyond anyone's imagination. By the way, the real "chosen people" are those who are believers in Jesus the Christ, not merely Citizens of the modern day nation of Israel or those within its bloodline.
Hopefully, this blog posts strikes the hearts of those reading it, and DEBUNKS the hazardous Zionist myths that so pervade the common perception of Christianity perpetrated by establishment-based TV programs like the History Channel or National Geographic! This blog post provides a segue to the information in my book, which will give more details on just what all this really means, and what we should expect in the days preceding the end of the age. If you watch the History Channel, the chances are that you are holding a view which is misleading and will lead many astray.
[Jason, I found this exposure of a CZ leader on Google and am sharing it with all.]
ReplyDeleteTHE MOODY ERWIN LUTZER
by G. W. Rockwell
Pastor Erwin Lutzer at the famous Moody Church in Chicago is an outstanding preacher. But he can be moody at times - rapture moody.
Take July 29, 2012 for example. His "Moody Church Hour" sermon that day on "Philadelphia" (one of Revelation's seven churches) included the following:
"It is His coming, the rapture, that would keep the church from the hour of trial [a.k.a. the great tribulation] that is coming upon the whole earth. And isn't it interesting? He does not say 'I will keep you through the hour of trial but rather I will keep you out of - that's what the text [Rev. 3:10] says - I will keep you out of the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole earth.
"There is of course a disagreement as to whether or not we will go through the tribulation, or whether or not we will be raptured ahead of time, and we don't know all the details until it happens. But wouldn't it be wonderful if when we are going up in the sky we could look at all of those posttribbers and say with a smile 'I told you it was so'? Wouldn't that be wonderful to be able to do that?"
The congregation immediately applauded.
Note that Lutzer twice used the word "wonderful" when asking his audience how wonderful it would be to use spiteful pride against the only "rapture" view found in all theology books and organized churches before the year 1830: the posttribulation view!
On the "Moody Church Hour" web site the same day (July 29) Lutzer wrote that "great benefit was derived from John Stott's book WHAT CHRIST THINKS OF THE CHURCH when these messages [on Revelation's seven churches] were prepared."
Incredibly, the Stott that Lutzer leaned on disagrees completely with Lutzer. The same Stott book, p. 104, says this: "He would not spare them from the suffering [Rev. 3:10]; but He would uphold them in it."
It would be wonderful if Erwin Lutzer would visit Google and type in "Famous Rapture Watchers" and "Famous Rapture Watchers (Addendum)." Not only would he spot the very same Stott quote, but in the same summaries he would also discover that all of the greatest Greek New Testament scholars of all time have uniformly viewed Rev. 3:10 (the most important "proof text" for pretribbers) as teaching "preservation through" and not "escaping beforehand"! ("Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty" is another informative Google article.)
One wonders what will have to happen to change the Moody pastor's mood.
Rocky2:
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely true that the Pre-tribbers back their beliefs and assertions of an "anytime" pre-tribulation rapture using Rev 3:10 as well as Luke 21:36. I'll just mention Rev 3:10 for our purposes. It is literally true that believers will not face God's wrath. That part is true to my understanding.
Our deliverance from temptation is promised because the Lord provides avenues of excapes in each believer's situation. However, this excape does not come in the form of a "rapture" out of our temptation. This deliverance through God's grace has occurred numerous times throughout our current dispensation, and never once has He done it by evacuating a believer from the planet earth!
Another issue involves the historical context and application of Rev 3:10. And that is that pre-tribbers try to force this verse into the 7 year "Great Tribulation" period. The role of this prophecy, historically speaking, was addressed specifically to the Philadelphia church in the Asia Minor. Long story short, this church was saved through God's grace, not through a rapture, and that can obviously be verified historically speaking.
There are a fair number of points that I could also make, and much of those have to do with biblical chronology and timing of events. The anytime rapture violates those biblical principles.
Blessings,
Jason