Let me continue with part of my thoughts about end times, in this second article in a series. Many things said today simply don't hold water when those things are poured into the mold of scripture. Instead, they all seem to come from the mind of man. It seems we tend to like fiction more than fact, which is seen in fiction book sales being far above non-fiction book sales. They don't give a firm answer to, 'What is truth?'
The Bible claims to be God's word to his people. So, the Bible is not meant for outsiders, except as an academic consideration. But for the believer, the Bible should be the revelation of God. Many churches have departed from this, as you will read in this article. There us a link to article one at the end of this article.
What Is Truth? Is the Bible True?
The Bible claims to be God's word of truth for the human race. Thus, the Bible is true by definition. I find it interesting that there are research institutes established trying to prove any 'major' thing in the Bible wrong. They have been unable to document anything wrong in the realms of (1) history, (2) truth for daily living, and (3) prophecy.
Of course, if people don't believe the Bible, then it is not truth for them. But that is simply their choice.
What Can We Believe? Can We Believe Church Denominations?
Our trust should not be in a church denomination, but in the Bible. If the Bible is true, then any church doctrine should basically subscribe to the Bible, given latitude in areas that human beings tend to find argumentative. But the fact is that many church denominations simply do not believe, or subscribe to the Bible. They are all the thinking of man.
In Corinthians, Paul talks about 'the wisdom of God,' vs. 'the wisdom of man.' He talks about our 'ears being tickled' by the wisdom of man. He talks about 'the enticing words of man's wisdom' (Col 2:4), and he says we are duped, beguiled, or led captive and held in slavery to this wisdom (I Cor 2:4). The thinking of man, in contradiction to the thinking of God, became prevalent in the early 1800s. This was possibly the outgrowth of 'The Age of Enlightenment,' born in Europe in the 1700s.
What About The End Times?
Let's now look at four very significant events that occurred at the turn of the 19th century (1800-1830) that changed a lot of thinking in this nation. As a lawyer, amateur historian, and gospel coach, I've done some serious study and thinking about these issues, and what formulates the content of our minds. These are things that escape most people's awareness unless study things like this. And these thing largely control our thinking about Israel, and the End Times, which I will continue discussing. And these four things do not mention our educational system that was also changed to our loss.
(1) The U.S.A.
The U.S.A. had just been born in a desire for religious freedom. Most people were focused on God, and we were declared to be 'One Nation Under God.' But then this religious freedom led to a lot of freedom of thought that wasn't biblical. Everyone wasn't a Christian, even though most believed in God, and in the truth of the Bible. So, a lot of divergent thought set in.
The 'Manifest Destiny' of this nation changed from a spiritual emphasis to a political emphasis. Our destiny became (1) to rule over the Blacks, and (2) to rule over the Native American Indians. "All men are created equal" was only a remote philosophy of man, not a human reality. Today, there is a constant effort to take 'In God We Trust' off of our money.
(2) Mormons
The Mormon Church was born, and it was the largest spiritual organization to switch thinking away from the Bible, to the thinking of man. Joseph Smith wrote 'The Book of Mormon' and began what was called 'Doctrines and Covenants.' The Bible was included in their thinking, but it was stripped naked of its divine truths if they conflicted with the thinking of Joseph Smith. Again, the mold of scripture was replaced by the mind of man. Mormons are the fastest growing religion in the world. A lot of people buy into Mormonism. It is very well sold by door-to-door salesmen in all countries. In fact, I understand that all young people, both men and women, must do this for up to two years.
But this led the way to the thinking of man, which is called theology. No longer was the spiritual thinking focused on Bible truth, but on the wisdom of man, and enticing words that tickled our ears. This means we were told things, and listened to things that we wanted to hear. Gospel truth was abandoned.
(3) Church Denominations
This led to the birth of all the churches and denominations we have today. We are engulfed in unprecedented organized religion controlled by man's thinking, not by God's. Paul mentions '10,000 instructors in Christ' vs. a very few 'fathers of the gospel' (I Cor 4:15). It's like we have the Second 'Tower of Babel' today. We have 10,000 different churches and denominations " all saying something different and all claiming to be right.
(4) The Future
There was a total change in church thinking with regard to the future. What today is called 'pre-tribulation rapture' thinking swept through America like a grassland fire. Everyone got on the bandwagon, including a man named Schofield. He wrote a translation of the Bible that adopted this new way of thinking into the Bible as being fact, and not just a theology. Of course, once people started seeing it in the Bible, everyone believed it.
About 2000, scholar Walter C. Kaiser Jr. wrote, "Two hundred years ago there was an unprecedented revival and upsurge of interest in prophecy, both in scholarly circles and in church members." He goes on to say that these fires of revival were fanned again about 150 years later " in about 1950. Today we are caught up in a type of 'Tsunami Tidal Wave' of end time prophetic interest. In a theology of man almost entirely focused on the future, many other things have been lost.
This Includes Thinking About Israel
As my last article said, I'm cautious about all the things I hear about Israel " especially from Christian thinkers. Most of them are brainwashed with this end-time thinking that was born in the early 1800s, and re-established again about 1950. They can see nothing else.
Please have no doubt: I favor Israel. I pray for Israel. She brought us our Savior and Lord: Jesus. I think the Jewish people are still very special in God's heart " like a first born child.
But things changed at the cross of Jesus, and at that time, Israel fulfilled her calling. They are now equal with everyone else in the world, but no longer have any 'special privileges' " like they once had. At least this the way I see it. Paul speaks of no difference between Jews and others (Gal 3:28, Rom 10:12). "There is only one name by which people may be saved." Jews, or anyone else, either choose to confess the name of Jesus as Lord, or they choose not to. Thus, Romans 5 speaks of all people being in one of two groups:
First, in Adam, or
Second, in Christ.
And it's no doubt Israel has broken its covenant with God " much like the United States has.
|
