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“When Shall These Things Be?” —————PART #1————— by General James Green
THIS IS WHAT JESUS’ disciples asked Him two millennia ago (Matt. 24:1-3). This same question has been asked a million-plus times over the centuries by anxious disciples of Christ, and by the world’s people. “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the END of the world?” As it is taught: Jesus began to tell His disciples (1) “general signs of the course of the age leading up to the LAST days” (24:4-14); (2) “special signs to indicate the final days of the age; the Great Tribulation” (vv. 15-28); (3) “spectacular signs to occur at His triumphant coming with power and glory” (vv. 29-31); (4) “admonition to Tribulation saints to be alert to the signs leading up to Christ’s expected coming immediately after the Tribulation” (vv. 32-35); (5) “admonition to believers living before the Tribulation to be spiritually ready for the unexpected and unknown time of Christ’s coming for His faithful” (vv. 36-51; 25:1-30); (6) “a description of the judgment of nations after His return to earth” (25:31-46)—So went the way I was taught in my Pentecostal church that I was trained in (for 5 years).
Before the “Tribulation” CONCERNING BELIEVERS living before the Tribulation period, Christ tells His disciples they cannot calculate or even estimate the time of His return at ANY MOMENT, for He shall return to take them (us!) to Heaven (i.e., to His “Father’s Home”: see Jn. 14:2-3) at a time when they do not think He will. The “Pre-trib RAPTURE,” the hope that our Savior will return to TAKE us OUT of the world to “ever be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:17), is said to be this time. This “Rapture,” I was taught, is the “blessed hope” of all the redeemed (see Titus 2:13). The 1 Thessalonians 4:17 verse has, in fact, become THE MAJOR source of comfort for nearly ALL believers!
Raptured! ZAP! IT all happens...just before that horrid “Great
Tribulation” presents itself to the nation of You see,
Christ is coming in two “stages”: the first is the “Secret Coming,” the
“Pre-trib Rapture”; the “Second Stage” is His coming to resurrect the dead
saints and to transform the living from earthly bodies to glorified bodies.
This is followed up by Christ destroying the ungodly and reigning on earth
for a 1,000-year period, ruling and reigning in the rebuilt
Books, Books, Books THERE NEVER seems to be an end of END-TIME books! Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” novels enjoyed TOP BILLINGS when they first came out, grossing MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of $$$ since 1994. This misguided evangelical pastor (retired now) and influential “theologian” (as Time Magazine calls him) and “prophet” has changed the world with his (along with author Jerry Jenkins’) unBiblical novels. True, these novels were written in fiction fashion—indeed, so as to escape the flawed Biblical interpretation of his texts, especially 1 Thes. 4:17 and Matt. 24:37-41, which read as follows: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:17). “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (Matt. 24:37-41).
LaHaye’s Hermeneutical Disease ONE CAN see the above “one taken and one left (behind)” emphasizes the exact opposite of what the pre-trib dispensationalists teach. Get serious, LaHaye! The ones “TAKEN” were NOT the ones “taken out from among the wicked when Christ calls the faithful to Himself at the RAPTURE/SECRET COMING,” but were the ones “TAKEN” by way of DEATH! The ones “LEFT BEHIND” were the righteous ones. LaHaye’s title for his novel “LEFT BEHIND” (and the equally silly movie by the same name) is misleading: it instills FEAR, not FAITH in the people. But isn’t this the name of the game—FEAR?! It SELLS!
“Pre-trib Rapture” or Righteousness? THOROUGH RESEARCH reveals that the Patristic Fathers never taught a “Pre-trib Rapture” view. However, they were divided over their interpretations of the details of Daniel’s prophecy of the “70 weeks,” as they call it. Seems like we ought to be more concerned with being RIGHTEOUS/PERFECT (which = “MATURE/COMPLETE”) before His Second Coming than being INFATUATED with the apocalypse/”Rapture”/etc. Besides, why are we FEARFUL of going through a Tribulation period? Could it be that the Church, as it stands, has so little faith that it feels it CANNOT STAND in the face of Great Tribulation and an Antichrist? Hasn’t the LORD/Lord always made a way of escape/endurance for His people throughout the centuries? YES!
Others Not “Left Behind” MR. LAHAYE is not the only one who has the “hermeneutical disease” (hermeneutics deals with the way Scripture is interpreted). Many authors, using Scripture, have written books that are total fabrications. LaHaye uses 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Matthew 24:37-41 as his “golden texts,” but also twists many Scriptures in Revelation. The book Tribulation Force (by LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 6:3-4; Nicolae (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 6:12-17; Soul Harvest (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 7:1-8 and 8:7-12; Apollyon (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 9:1-11; Assassins (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 11:7-12 and 13:3; The Indwelling (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 11:14; The Mark (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Revelation 12:12; Desecration (LaHaye/Jenkins) uses Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 16:1-3; The Remnant (LaHaye/ Jenkins) uses Revelation 16:4-9—ALL books that promote FEAR!
END Is Out There TIME REPORTER Nancy Gibbs writes: “It’s not the end of the world, our mothers always told us...but it was also our introduction to a basic human reference point. We seem to be born with an instinct that the end is out there somewhere...” And our misguided/dispensationalist friends (in “La La Babylon-land”) take advantage of this “lurking fear.”
From BAD to WORSE! NOW WE have Ronald Emmerlich’s epic “2012.” This END of the WORLD theme “assaults...” as one Bible minister said, “viewers’ senses with scenes of unimaginable destruction, as moviegoers watch helpless human beings struggling to survive.” This FEARmongering movie isn’t “Christ-centered” but “New-Age” centered. Trust me, this movie has caused a “hysteria” surrounding the year 2012. I’ll tell you folks again: There is NO “PRE-TRIB RAPTURE,” and there is NO END OF THE WORLD AS PROJECTED BY THESE MONEYMONGERS/FEARMONGERS.
When Will It END? WHEN IT does! Until then, there will be plenty of false prophets, “Bible scholars,” “prognostication,” “crooks” and “crazies” predicting earth’s cataclysmic destruction; wars, Israel-watching, etc. While the Church predicts Jesus’ coming back to set up His earthly “Millennial Reign,” the New Agers predict/expect the dawn of a golden “New Age.” The date? December 21st, 2012.
Why December 21, 2012? SO FAR, all the Christian “Bible Prophecy Experts” have had their predictions—all failed, of course! Now the New Agers will try their hand at this “prophesying” thing. Their date comes from an ancient pagan calendar.
Long Count Calendar HISTORY BUFFS tell us that the Mayan (Indian) civilization kept many different calendars to track time cycles. The Long Count Calendar (LCC) marked the days that had been since the Mayan’s mythical creation date of August 3114 BC. According to the LCC, December 21, 2012, marks the END of a 5,100-year-long era. Interesting!
New Age/Occult ACCORDING TO occult/astrological messengers, the December 21, 2012, is set. But those familiar with the Mayan LCC are warning the New Agers not to trust that date. But, again, FEAR (or “HOPE” in the sense of “escaping”/“entering”) SELLS! Their New Age camp is predicting a devastating worldwide flood. But the Bible tells us that the world eventually will be destroyed by FIRE, not water (see Gen. 9:11-17; cf. 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6-7, 10, 12). “FLOOD!” “EARTH FLIPS IN SPACE!” “SWITCHING POLES, ROTATING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION!” “SOLAR FLARES SCARRING EARTH’S SURFACE!” “GALACTIC RE-ALIGNMENT!”—all are future predictions. FEAR!!
Peace and Love? OH, THAT ol’ hippie pipedream...come true. December 21, 2012, will usher in an “evolution of peace, love, happiness.” WOW! The “Age of Aquarius” will finally be realized! (—what we were taught in our pre-salvation days during the “Flower Power” era). In our pre-salvation days (mine and my wife’s), mind-altering drugs, hallucinogens, and wild occult music all played a part in this “Age of Aquarius” BULL. As one author puts it: “...whatever idea you have for the future—death, destruction, drugs or deliverance—the place for it is...December 21, 2012!”
ABC News “WILL THE world END in 2012?” This question was raised on ABC News, July 3, 2008. According to closer research (done by Dr. Stephen Houston, anthropologist at Brown University, also a Mayan hieroglyphic specialist), “These prophecies of doom really don’t have any basis in what we know about the Maya...The Maya descriptions barely talk about this event” (emph. added). What? So what’s the BIG HYPE? Well, USA Today (March 27, 2007) stated: “To render December 21, 2012 as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting,” said Dr. Sandra Noble of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in FL, “is a complete FABRICATION and a chance for a lot of people to CASH IN” (emph. added). So what’s new? It’s MONEY, HONEY!
“Pre-trib Rapture-ology”/“2012-ology” THE “PRE-TRIB Rapture” teaching comes to us from the 1830's by misguided churchfolks (see Dave MacPherson’s articles); it is said that the “2012-ology”/idea has come through the use of hallucinogenic and psychedelic drugs (Tomorrow’s World). Whether these ideologies/ideas/beliefs/etc., came thru religious deception (demons!) or chemically assisted sources, all is UNTRUE. This is not to say that the real End Time or End of the World won’t be apocalypse, but what we need to look for now is TO BE RIGHT and STAY RIGHT with God. All this religious “Rapture”/Mayan-mythical-creation-date stuff is nothing but seducing devils! Am I saying that LaHaye and gang are deluded? YEP! Am I saying they are under religious deception? YEP! I can expect this “fear peddling” from the pagans’ camp, but I do not expect this coming from the Church. The
Church in this generation and in this hour has opened its door to every kind
of deception: she is full of religious “shamans,” “spiritualists,”
“channelers,” false teachers, preachers and prophets—you name it, we find
it in today’s
The HAS NOT the Church (which is supposed to have Jesus Christ as her husband) backslid from God? YEP! Has not the Church followed after the ways of the heathen? YEP! Has not the Church disobeyed Jeremiah’s advice in Jeremiah 10:2? YEP! Why is it
that we are always looking for “signs” (as the Gentiles do)? Why do
“Christian” ministers play around with what God’s Word forbids in Deuteronomy
18:9-14? Here we find the following called “ABOMINATION”: using
divination; an observer of times; an enchanter; a witch, charmer, consulter
with familiar spirits (demons); a wizard; a necromancer—“...the LORD thy
God hath not suffered thee (Israel) so to do” (v. 14). But today’s What can we say of the leaders in today’s Church? I’ll tell you, many of today’s “popular” authors, preachers, teachers, etc., have left their First Love long ago. (Read also Lev. 19:31; 20:27; et al.)
“Left Behind”? YOU HAD better hope so! All these poor deluded souls that partake of all this “END TIME” APOCALYPTIC DECEPTION are playing with religious demons. Does this frighten you? I don’t think so, for you just don’t believe me, or God’s Word. And, of course, the nation of Israel LOVES all this FABRICATION, for it centers around them. But, while the misguided evangelicals here in the U.S. preach/teach about the coming “Great Tribulation,” they fail to tell the Jews that MILLIONS OF THEM WILL “DIE”—while they (the evangelicals) “FLY”...leaving the poor Jews in Jerusalem to face the AntiChrist ALONE. The Jews will be “LEFT BEHIND.” So goes their theory of the future.
Upset with God! WHILE MOST praise, even worship some of these pseudo-scholars/prophets/movie-makers as having a handle on God’s “END TIME truths,” others are upset with the God (god) these fearmongers/moneymongers portray. Some have a very hard time accepting this “merciful” God that punishes people so severely. Take the oft-repeated scenario when all hell breaks loose, when the “Pre-trib Rapture” takes place: ZAP! God “raptures” the “Christian” pilot up, up and away—the plane CRASHES, killing ALL onboard. The same scene takes place WORLDWIDE in everyday circumstances. Millions missing in a “Rapture”—MILLIONS DIE under such circumstances. The “Great Tribulation” starts...another HELL-ON-EARTH thing. One small
problem with the above theory: if the “Rapture” happens here in the Not only this, dear ones, but if the Christians are to be “caught up” (as in, upward directionally), the ones on the other side of the globe will go downward directionally, not really up. In fact, there will be Christians flying in ALL COMPASS DIRECTIONS—just where is “up”?
Preparing a Beachhead ONE PASTOR, after reading LaHaye’s “Left Behind” fairytale, stated, “I am mobilizing Christians and getting more Christians to vote [for who, pray tell me?]. I am preparing a beachhead of righteousness.” Well, this is certainly better than most who are telling their congregations just to “Relax, enjoy life, live it up, wait for the Rapture!”
Preach Faith, Not Fear WE NEED to FEAR God, not the days now nor those in the future. But books/movies don’t sell when they’re about fearing God, preparing ourselves to meet Him, or witnessing to the lost, etc. In fact, the way the religious/political thing is going, telling the lost they are LOST could become a “HATE crime”—we might “hurt their feelings.”
Bibles “Left Behind” DON’T GET me wrong, I love my Bible(s), but don’t you think we should be trying to obey what it teaches rather than getting a bunch of Bibles, marking certain passages (in your favorite colors!) and placing them around the country for the “Left Behind” sinners to find when you are “Raptured” to Heaven? This nonsense is being done, has been done for years now. And, of course, you will certainly mark up the Book of Revelation where it talks about all the HORRID and FEARFUL events soon to take place!
Antichrist...Everywhere OH, THE Antichrist has been sighted here, there, everywhere over the years. The big scary thing in the 1990's was that Prez Bill Clinton’s name came out to be 666—SCARY! Just about everyone’s name today can be connected with that dreaded number, 666.
BOOKS, MOVIES and sermons can’t sell
unless Names
like Hagee, Lindsey, LaHaye and others (called “Christian Zionists”) are all
associated with But not
all are deceived by all this “poor Jews” stuff. Actually, these “Christian
Zionists” are accused of being anti-Semitic by others not in the “Pre-trib
Rapture” camp. They are accused—and rightly so!—of fomenting an eschatology
of DEATH, leading All this pseudo-eschatology BULL keeps the world waiting and watching for another book, movie, TV show, talk show, pro-Israel rally...and on and on. The truth is, Jews need Christ. They need to be saved by the Blood of the Lamb—the very Lamb of God they had put to death! We need to, we MUST tell them the truth, not some LIE that “God wants them to rebuild the temple, institute their Jewish worship and wait for ‘their’ Messiah to come.” Yet the “Christian Zionists” are telling these needy and despised people that they don’t have to wait for Jesus (our Messiah/Savior “in the dispensation of grace”) but they can wait on “their” long-expected Messiah—what is His name, anyway?...
Deep-Seated Anti-Semitism? DO THESE “Christian Zionists” have this
problem? As I said, in their quest for This theology/eschatology/hermeneutics/hyper-allegorical doctrine amalgamation blah, blah, blah has become a real NIGHTMARE for the masses.
Epistemic Warrant ONE CRITIC put it this way: “While LaHaye’s interpretation of Revelation is no doubt driven by a desire to be Biblical, it nonetheless erodes epistemic warrant for the resurrection [viz, LaHaye’s interpretation of the ‘wound’ of the AntiChrist results in the incarnation of Satan and resurrection of AntiChrist as the Beast in Rev. 13, and ultimately the Deity of our Lord (is eroded)”].”
What About the Palestinians? GOOD QUESTION! It is pointed out that LaHaye holds to the theory that Jews must initially be re-gathered in unbelief (something that is now in progress)—solely on the basis of race. Such unBiblical notions put “Christian Zionists” in the “untenable position of condoning the displacement of Palestinian Christians [and Muslims] from their homes in order to facilitate an occupation based on unbelief and racial affiliation.” THINK ABOUT THIS!
What About the Dome of the Rock? GOOD QUESTION! Since the “Tribulation” must have a rebuilt Jewish Temple for the Antichrist to sit in, we must get rid of the Dome of the Rock...but would not the removal (BLASTING?) of the Muslim mosque start a World War? Probably. Well, for
a little while now, our “Christian Zionist” friends have been telling the
Jews that where the mosque sits is not really the spot where the AD 70
Biblical or UnBiblical? I MEAN the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. “To rebuild, or not to rebuild?”—this has divided both “Christian” and Jewish camps. In the
December 2007 issue of Petah Tikvah (“Door of Hope”), a “Messianic”
publication, the editor writes: “The I have
personally followed the folks this editor speaks of. Several years ago, they
cut out a two-ton cornerstone for the
Replacement Theology I GUESS I would fit into this category—I
do not read in the Bible of a rebuilt Jewish Temple. Jesus never mentions it.
In fact, He was/is the fulfillment of what God promised the Jews!
He has become Prophet, Priest, King! As Rev. Back to Petah
Tikvah: “Replacement theologians would have you believe that God is
finished with the Jewish nation, and that the ‘Church’ is the ‘New Israel,’
having replaced the ‘old
Salvation Is Conditional I BELIEVE this! We can go all the way
through the Bible and find God’s “if” conditions that He applied to His
people: racial (natural) The Abrahamic Covenant is the basis of many Messianic prophecies. Paul stressed the fact that Christ is the Seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:16). ALL redemption—for both Jew and Gentile—is based on the Abrahamic Covenant.
John 4:23 “BUT THE hour cometh, and now is, when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him.” Pray tell me WHY is there a need for a rebuilt
Listen to Jesus JESUS’ DISCOURSE with the Samaritan
woman tells us this: (The woman said:) “Sir, I perceive that thou art a
prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in
New WHY DO our opponents insist that Christ
must come to a rebuilt Jewish Temple? Better yet, why do they insist that the
Antichrist must come to the In my next writing, I hope to show what opponents of the Dispensational Theory maintain: that Christ, not Antichrist, is the “Covenant-maker.”
Isn’t Jesus Good Enough? APPARENTLY NOT for those who believe in
a newly rebuilt Jewish Temple. Some current critics (who believe Matt. 24 is
fulfilled and now speaks of the PAST, not the FUTURE, which I also believe to
a certain extent) have pointed this out. One such critic said of LaHaye
that the rebuilding of that Didn’t
Jesus fulfill or complete the Law and the prophets? HE DID!
Was He not the “Substance,” replacing the “shadow”? HE WAS! Did
He not die and resurrect in order to make Blood Atonement for ALL
men, including the Jews? HE DID! Is there a need
for a rebuilt Tell us
why there is a need for “Millennium sacrifices.” Why do you insist that animal
sacrifices are efficacious for ceremonial uncleanness? Wasn’t/Isn’t
Christ’s Blood Atonement sufficient for ALL sin? Why do you insist that God
will have a “Bride” (the New Testament Church) and a “Wife” ( Both LaHaye and John Hagee (and others) believe that Jews in the 21st century must go thru a HELLISH HOLOCAUST (called the “Great Tribulation”) for the 1st-century sins of their murderous/unbelieving fathers.
Anti-Millenarians vs. Pre-Millenarians THE CURRENT fight involves the above forces. Each side points to their opponents as being “heretics.” I think both sides have good things, not all bad. Some might call me a Preterist: I’ll leave this up to God. I still seek the truth about the End Times. I never claimed to be a Bible expert, I hold no seminary (CEMETERY) degree (although I was trained in a Pentecostal church for 5 years to be a pastor/missionary), so I’ll leave all the “deep things” up to the scholars. But one thing I know for sure, THERE IS NO PRE-TRIB RAPTURE! I have been labeled as a “heretic” for years now, a “religious fanatic,” a “pulpit pounder,” “hate messenger,” blah, blah, blah. I have, over the painful years, become impervious (well, almost!) to the “label game.” Another thing I am sure of: The current contemporary Church is HELLBOUND, not HEAVENBOUND! SIN ABOUNDS!! I don’t worry about who the “Beast” is, for all one has to do is look in the mirror—you’ll see the “Beast”—we are our own worst enemy. I don’t worry myself over what the “mark of the Beast” is, for MOST professing churchfolks have already taken that “666” (the “trinity of man in his/her fullest”)—for they love the world more than God. I am SURE of this! The Church in this hour is intoxicated with the wine of worldliness (“adulteries”!) whereby she fails to recognize her Lord and Savior. Tragically, though New Israel (the Church) is called to be both “Light” and “Salt” of the earth, she neither “radiates” nor is “salty”...she crucifies (pierces) the Lord daily; her “cup” is full of “abominations” (like homosexuality/lesbianism, etc.); and she slays the “blind” (lost sinners) by not leading them into the Gospel Light (—she directs them to some fallen church, at best!). The Church in ths hour, dear readers, is transmogrifyingly GROTESQUE! And what of all these great “prophets,” “teachers,” “preachers” and “evangelists” that make MILLIONS upon MILLIONS every year off the Gospel of our slain and risen Lord? Are we supposed to make $$ off our Lord’s death and resurrection? Are we to build “mega churches” whereby we draw huge crowds with Rock-n-Roll music? Talk about “heresy”! The Church in this generation is a theological basket-case. And these “Pre-tribbers” have the gall to tell us that Jesus can’t wait to take these religious SLIME into a Holy Heaven. Get serious! GET SAVED!
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