My sister thinks Jack Hibbs is so wonderful. Hibbs can find biblical prophecy being fulfilled when the local fire department rescues a kitten. Wow. Just think what Jack can do to the Bible when Donald Trump drops bombs in Iran.
Actually, Sunday, I got to find out just that. My sister sent me an hour and 38-minute video from Hibbs about all the wonders of Israel and the USA teaming up to liquidate a few Ayatollahs.
Hibbs was so excited that he started off his church service with his Middle East Bible Prophecy update. Guess he wanted to go on record before the Rapture happened so when the rest of us were left behind, he could say, “Told ya.”
I endured about 55 minutes of his presentation, at which time he seemed to be done dazzling the audience with bullshit. In the entire time, he quoted one Scripture as proof that these events were all predicted in the Old Testament. Oh, said Scripture was not cited until 49 minutes into his song-and-dance routine. I’ll have more to say about this lonely passage in a few minutes.
The sloppiness and misrepresentation of biblical theology was staggering to behold. Talk about a guy appealing to itching ears. Any time Hibbs got close to a biblical theme, he spouted distortions, lies, and half-truths.
I will not give you a play-by-play review of his talk, but I did make a few notes as I listened. I shared these with my sister. My problem is that my sister will take Hibbs over the Bible any time a conflict or contradiction is mentioned. She thinks that she is a “good Christian” but simultaneously denies that Scripture is the final interpreter of Scripture. How can you win a biblical argument with someone that denies biblical authority?
Here are a few gems from Hibbs’ talk that caught my attention:
Hibbs talked about Iran and other nations being run by evil principalities. Sorry, Jack. These principalities were overthrown at the Cross. Jesus is ruler of all the nations and has been for about 2,000 years. Check out Michael Heiser’s Unseen Realm if you really want a deep dive on the spiritual world.
For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
Hebrews 2:5.
Oh, and we are rulers with Christ.
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Daniel 7:27.
Jack Hibbs prophecy show
Later, Hibbs talked about the Roman Empire. Jack claimed that the Roman Empire “just fell apart.” No Jack, biblically, it was struck by a rock which was Christ and His Gospel that destroyed the old pagan order and is growing into a rock that will one day fill the earth. It’s a dominant part of prophecy in Daniel.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Daniel 2:44–45.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Daniel 2:35.
Or if you prefer a New Testament analogy, the Gospel is the yeast that is leavening the whole world.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Matthew 13:33.
20 And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Luke 13:20–21.
After talking extensively about Esther, Hibbs gets to Jeremiah 49:34-39. Again, this is a Bible prophecy update and the only Scripture that Hibbs quoted is 49 minutes into his presentation. He claims that Jeremiah’s prophecy is a future event that we see fulfilled before our eyes in the attack on Iran. Sorry Jack but the footnote in my Bible says the passage in Jeremiah was literally fulfilled in 595 B.C. Using the prophetic scissors on biblical texts mind trick doesn’t work on me.
The footnote for Jeremiah 49:34-39 reads: “A prophecy against Elam, an important power to the east of Babylon, subjugated by Assyria, but resurgent in the Babylonian period. The prophecy possibly relates to a Babylonian containment campaign against Elam in 595 B.C.”
As I was writing this, I found a related post from Gary DeMar that takes a well-deserved whack at Hibbs.
Such a belief is pushed 24/7 on Facebook, Christian television, numerous pop-prophecy books, and articles. Jack Hibbs, Amir Tsarfati, David Jeremiah, and numerous online prophetic end-time “experts” are promoting the belief that the rapture is near, citing passages such as Jeremiah 49:34-39. Hibbs said in a recent message, “God has a plan for Elam…. There is no historian and no biblical scholar that will tell you that the prophecy of Elam was fulfilled, and it’s done and completed…. Remember the bucket you saw about the past—it doesn’t go there—but it does go in the bucket of the present.”
You might wonder what Elam has to do with Iran? Nothing. Jeremiah is not describing modern-day Persia. Elam was the son of Shem (Gen. 10:22). The Elamites are mentioned in Abraham’s time (Gen. 14), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Acts. Hibbs wants to turn a fulfilled prophecy into events surrounding Iran with no justification by ripping texts out of their historical context…
Like so much of what Jack Hibbs teaches on Bible prophecy, he is incorrect. Jeremiah 49:34-39 goes in the bucket of the past. “This prophecy was fulfilled by Cyrus,” Theodore Laetsch states, “the shepherd and anointed of the Lord (Is. 44:28; 45:1), who incorporated Elam as a province in his vast empire. Elamites and Medians formed part of the army of Cyrus and aided him in conquering the Babylonian Empire (Is. 21:2; Jer. 50:3, 29, archers; v. 22 bow).” There is also a New Testament counterpart where the redemption of Elam is accounted for, as Laetsch and other commentators point out. “In the New Testament era, Elam also will participate in the spiritual deliverance and salvation of God’s kingdom of Grace (cp. 2:9), for Jehovah is the God not only of judgment, but of salvation for Jews and Gentiles.”
Then, like a good dispensational/premillennialist, Hibbs plays the futurism card and starts talking about Jesus sitting on a literal throne in literal Jerusalem. Hey Jack, biblical Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. The Apostle Paul says our citizenship is heaven, we belong to the heavenly Jerusalem, the Jerusalem above is free, the one below is the slave, the fraud, the apostate, the shadow. Jesus is sitting on the throne now in the true Jerusalem, he has no need of a literal chair in a literal Jerusalem to fulfill His purposes.
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; wbut he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:22–26.
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,
Hebrews 12:22–23.
I just get tired of every new generation of advocates for dispensational/premillennialist thinking they will get it right when all others before them have failed. If only we stoned false prophets like they did in the Old Testament … They are just as stuck on stupid as Liberals thinking, when we get our chance to try socialism, it will finally work. Both are equally tilting at windmills of their own creation.
No matter how much prophecy pimps like Jack Hibbs can itch your ears and dazzle you, you are still being led away from the Truth. Repent means turning around. Try it sometime.
Yep, it came up at the Bible study last night that I don’t believe in Scofield’s theological system. People were shocked. We keep reading in the Minor Prophets about the “Day of the Lord” and I asserted that in most cases the day of the Lord is history not a near coming, future event.
The study leader rightly asked me about 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18. I know this is a difficult passage to discuss so I told him that I would have an answer for him next week. He agreed. Below is my attempt to address his question.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 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. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.
As pointed out during my research, the better question is not what is my understanding of I Thessalonians 4, but what is the Bible’s understanding? My frustration is that people cannot deal correctly with the Scriptures when they already have their minds made up as to what it means. You cannot find the Darby/Scofield/Dispensational/Premillennial view in Scripture unless you assume it ahead of time and then cherry pick passages to support it; part of this is by excluding or dismissing passages that conflict with these assumptions.
Three Often Cited Proofs of Rapture
While I Thessalonians 4 is used as a proof text of the Rapture doctrine, it is often coupled with a portion of Matthew 24 and an observation about Revelation. You can think of these as the three legs of the stool supporting the Rapture.
I will comment briefly on Matthew and Revelation and then return to I Thessalonians.
Usually, followers of Scofield couple the belief in the Rapture with this passage in Matthew 24: 37-42.
37 But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 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, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Matthew 24:37–42.
In Noah’s day, the righteous were preserved in the ark while the evil men were literally washed away. During the Exodus, the evil men died in the wilderness and the righteous entered the promised land. The New Testament repeatedly promises the world to the righteous and not after the end of all things. The meek will inherit the earth not the wicked. This is a consistent theme in Psalms. Thus, the Matthew passage really says that the evil folks will be done away with (raptured if you will) and the faithful will remain on the earth.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 37:11.
It is ours to enjoy now not in the afterlife. We rule and reign with Christ, now not after death.
For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
Psalm 37:9-10.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, And he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Psalm 37:34.
Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
1 Corinthians 4:8–6:2.
We, as believers, will judge the world and even angels.
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
1 Corinthians 6:2–3.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
2 Timothy 2:12.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 2:26–3:21.
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Revelation 5:10.
These are now promises, not something for the afterlife. Believers rule the world with Christ now.
Just because Christians do not believe the Bible does not make it’s promises untrue. Unbelief is a denial of God’s promises. Sadly, too many followers of Christ think our world belongs to Satan, a defeated foe by the power of the Cross. Jesus is ruling and reigning now. How people miss the importance of the Ascension of Christ is truly remarkable. How they can think Jesus is on the throne now but not ruling is horrifying. Why else were we commanded to pray that, “Try will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
The third leg of the Rapture stool is literally an argument from silence; namely, the church is never mentioned in the book of Revelation after chapter 3. John only mentions local congregations in chapters 2 and 3 and makes zero references to the Universal Church anywhere in Revelation. The word “church” never appears again in Revelation but clearly the church is mentioned throughout the book by other names. To claim that the Church no longer exists or is annihilated after chapter 3 is nonsense. Arguing a doctrinal proof on the basis of a word not being in the text is stupid. Here are a few other examples of this fallacy.
Love is never mentioned in the book of Ruth.
God is never mentioned in the book of Esther.
Sex in never mentioned in the Song of Solomon.
Church is not mentioned in the first 15 chapters of Romans.
Thus, whether the word “church” (ecclesia meaning assembly) is mentioned throughout Revelation, the book is clearly about Christ and His Bride the Church.
Appeals to Matthew 24 commenting “.. as in the days of Noah …” or missing the word “church” after a certain point in in Revelation, do nothing to strengthen claims that the Bible teaches the Rapture doctrine. Can we let Scripture interpret Scripture and using only the Bible find a better explanation as to what is happening in I Thessalonians 4?
What is Not Found in I Thessalonians 4
I found two great quotes on the topic that I wish to cite here.
In a debate on eschatology with Dave Hunt, I challenged him to point to one verse that taught a pre-tribulation rapture. He immediately appealed to I Thessalonians 4:16-17. Read it for yourself. The idea of a pre-tribulation rapture must be assumed by the reader and imposed on the text. Sound biblical interpretation, however, requires textual proof before a doctrine can be formulated.
Most postmillennialists and amillennialists teach that I Thessalonians 4:16-17 relates to the general resurrection of the saints. The text simply describes the raising of those who are “in Christ.” No mention is made of the church being raptured either before, during, or after a tribulation period. Nothing in the text points to a tribulation period.
[Last Days Madness, Gary Demar (2024), page 223.]
Even pre-tribulation dispensationalists admit the novelty of this position [the rapture]:
It is scarcely to be found in a single book or sermon through the period of 1600 years! If any doubt this statement, let them search … the remarks of the so-called Fathers, both pre and post Nicene, the theological treatises of the scholastic divines, Roman Catholic writers of all shades of thought, the literature of the Reformation, the sermons and expositions of the Puritans and the general theological works of the day. He will find the “mystery” conspicuous by its absence.
[Harry A. Ironside, The Mysteries of God (1908), p 50.]
Here is a dispensationalist admitting that there is “scarcely” any historical evidence to support the position. He’s too generous. There is no evidence. So where does a dispensationalist get this doctrine? Thomas Ice, a fervent proponent of dispensationalism, writes that the theory is based on “deduction”:
A certain theological climate needed to be created before premillennialism would restore the Biblical doctrine of the pretrib Rapture. Sufficient development did not take place until after the French Revolution. The factor of the Rapture has been clearly known by the church all along; therefore, the issue is the timing of the event. Since neither pre nor posttribs have a proof text for the time of the Rapture (unless the promise made to the church in Rev. 3:10 is an exception which promises deliverance—the Rapture—from the future tribulation before the seven-year period begins), then it is clear that this issue is the product of a deduction from one’s overall system of theology, both for pre and posttribbers.
[Thomas D Ice,The Origin of the Pretrib Rapture Part II (1989), p5.]
What an admission! A pillar doctrine of dispensationalism does not have a single text to prove it. Dispensationalism’s process of “deducing” the rapture theory is this: First, create the system; second, create the doctrines to make the system work; third, claim to have restored “the Biblical doctrines of the pretrib Rapture,” which is based on a “deduction from one’s overall system of theology” because there are no verses that teach it; fourth, imply that the early church, the “apostles of the apostles,” knew nothing of this foundational doctrine. Bizarre. Millions of Christians today hold to a system of interpretation (dispensationalism) that does not have one verse to prove one of its foundational doctrines, the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, the concept that makes dispensationalism dispensational. This system of interpretation is a theological house of cards.
[Last Days Madness, Gary Demar (2024), page 224-225.]
Folks, Ironside and Ice are heavy hitters in the dispensationalist camp, The admissions that they make are not to be lightly dismissed.
If you don’t know Thomas ice, here is some relevant info from Wikipedia.
Ice is a proponent of dispensational premillennialism. He was the executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The research center was founded in 1994 by Tim LaHaye and Ice to research, teach, proclaim, and defend pre-tribulationism. The center currently sponsors prophecy meetings and conferences and provides speakers for the purpose of discussion and lecture on the topic of pre-tribulationism.
If you don’t know Harry A ironside, here is some relevant info from Wikipedia.
(October 14, 1876 – January 15, 1951) was a Canadian–American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor and author who pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948.
Ironside believed that the church is parenthetical, which was something not revealed in the Old Testament, and at some point God will rapture the church before the great tribulation, during which he will again focus on the nation of Israel.
Along with others such as Cyrus Scofield, he was influential in popularizing dispensationalism among Protestants in North America. Despite his lack of formal education, his mental capacity, photographic memory and zeal for his beliefs caused him to be called “the Archbishop of Fundamentalism”.
Ironside was one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th century and published more than 100 books, booklets and pamphlets, a number of which are still in print. One editorial reviewer wrote of a 2005 re-publication, “Ironside’s commentaries are a standard and have stood the test of time.”
So what did Scofield claim about I Thessalonian 4?
Scofield, asserts in his only footnote on I Thessalonians 4:
(4:17) This central passage on the blessed hope of the Church includes: (1) reassurance (vv. 13-14); (2) revelation (vv. 15-17, setting forth the return of Christ, the rapture of the Church, and the reunion of all believers); and (3) comfort (v. 18).
Scofield is very silent on a doctrine that is a cornerstone of his theological system. Weird. The chief proof text of the Rapture is given one footnote of one sentence in his Bible. No mention of judgment, great tribulation, antichrist, or any of the other things often talked about in the wake of the Rapture. Scofield just assumes it. Thomas Ice deduces it.
If not The Rapture, Then …
If I Thessalonians 4 is not the Rapture of popular understanding, then what is happening in this text?
Not much if the Westminster Confession of Faith is any metric.
Chapter XXXII
Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
Article II
At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised up, with the selfsame bodies, and none other (although with different qualities), which shall be united again to their souls forever.
This Confession, which I suspect is like many others from the Reformation era, simply cites I Thessalonians 4:17 as a proof text for resurrection on the last day. This article of the Confession parrots part of the Nicene Creed.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
This more traditional view is echoed by David Chilton in Days of Vengeance.
There is thus to be a resurrection at the end of history, at the Second Coming of Christ on the Last Day (John 6:38-40, 44, 54; Acts 24:15; 1 Thess. 4:14-17). But before that final resurrection there is another, a First Resurrection: the resurrection of “Christ the first fruits.” He rose from the dead, and resurrected all believers with Him. Note: St. John does not say that the believer himself as such is resurrected, but that he has a part in the First Resurrection. He is sharing in the Resurrection of Another-the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[David Chilton, Days of Vengeance (1987), p. 517.]
The Hope of Israel and the Nations
It seems that many non-dispensational folks don’t expend a lot of theological energy on I Thessalonians since all it says is Jesus will come back some day, raise sleeping saints, and then the living will join him. Often it is assumed that this will happen at the end of all things but there is another possibility.
I found a transcript of a different and more nuanced point of view on this passage. The paper is linked here and cost $2.95. The paper makes a biblically defensible argument for a third possible understanding of the Thessalonian passage. Participants are Gary DeMar as interviewer and Kim Burgess as guest.
Burgess’ point of view is that the Old Covenant is types and shadows; materials representations of spiritual reality, while the New Covenant is the spiritual reality. Burgess cites examples of the New Covenant being spiritual as John 4, the woman at the well “you will never thirst”; John 3, “ye must be born again”; and John 6, “labor for meat that endureth to everlasting life.” The spiritual reality of the New Covenant is illustrated in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Galatians 4:22–31.
In the paper, they argue for the nearness of the coming of the Lord in judgment. Part of that coming involves the Old Covenant saints being released from Sheol and being brought into heaven. (The subject of 1 Corinthians 15.) Further that the meeting with the Lord in the air or in heavenly places is a transfer in status from the Old to the New Covenant order.
Kim: In the transition to the New Covenant order we see that a switch has taken place from the physical or material hermeneutic (e.g., the physical and visible temple or mountain) to the “Spiritual” or “heavenly” hermeneutic (cf. the heavenly Jerusalem and Zion of Hebrews 12:22). Paul uses these two modifying terms quite deliberately in 1 Corinthians 15:44-49. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we still have the language of “the Lord coming down” in Exodus 19:20 (see also “the glory of the Lord” resting on Mt. Sinai in Ex. 24:16-17), but the text does not actually say He came down to Earth in the flesh or that He was to appear there physically/bodily. That is an assumption that we read into the text while hardly being aware that we are doing it. He was to “come down or descend” and the saints—the dead and the living—were to go to “a meeting” with Him “in the air.” We will come back soon to the meaning of “in the clouds” and “in the air.” The point for now is that this is the Spiritual and heavenly reality (the antitype) of what was formerly, in the Old Testament, a physical type.
Kim: It is the all-too-common physical (bodily) rapture mentality of Dispensationalism that tends to get hold of us if we are not careful and re-wires our brains to think that Paul is describing people being moved bodily from point A to point B geographically, in this case from earth to heaven, but it is just not so here in 4:17. It is a spiritual transition from death to Life (i.e., eternal Life in Christ) that is in view.
Kim: Let’s get back to verse 17. The English translation I am using (NASB) reads “to meet the Lord in the air,” but, in the Greek, it is actually a noun and not a verb: “to a meeting of the Lord in the air.” That noun is ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) and refers to “a meeting.” Do you know where else this same noun is used? It’s in Matthew 25:1 and 6 about the five foolish and five wise virgins going out to “a meeting of the bridegroom.” This is the same “meeting” as in 4:17. It is a wedding theme. See Revelation 19:5-9 for more detail. This “meeting,” I believe, is what John calls “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Gary: Mike Sullivan brings out the wedding parallels found in Matthew 24-25 and 1 Thessalonians 4-5 in the section below from his extended chart on the topic.
Paul’s use of the trumpet and the cloud in I Thessalonians 4:16 is a direct reference to the Glory Cloud in Exodus and also the arrival of the Holy Spirt on Pentecost (Acts 2). David Chilton, quoted earlier, called the Glory Cloud “God’s mobile home” and cites Merideth Kline’s Images in the Spirit which documents the Cloud’s appearance in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
As added support to the claim that 1 Thessalonians 4 is about an event in the First Century, look also at II Thessalonians Chapter 1.
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:6–12.
Paul promises the Thessalonians that they, in the First Century, will get relief from persecution. Using language typical of biblical prophets, Paul promises that Jesus will use flaming fire to take vengeance on the godless who will be punished with everlasting destruction and simultaneously, the saints will be glorified. So, did the Thessalonians get relief as Paul promised, or did he lie?
Another passage also says Jesus will deliver Paul’s Thessalonian readers from the wrath to come.
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:10.
The Thessalonians were promised deliverance from the “wrath to come.” It was a near event, not one two thousand years away. These promises of relief are very similar to those given to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
Conclusion
Using only Scripture as your guide, there is zero biblical warrant for the Rapture doctrine. Only by bringing a pre-existing system to the pages of Scripture can you assume a Rapture doctrine exists somewhere in the Bible. Thomas Ice admits that the Rapture is “deduced” and not actually found in the Bible. If you say something loud enough and often enough people tend to believe it. Its just as true in theology as it is in politics or the media.
The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, as shown by Mike Sullivan’s chart, is the same as the trumpet in Matthew 24:31. Kim Burgess elsewhere states that the trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 and Revelation’s 7th trumpet are the same event as well. Four passages, same trumpet, same event. Whether past or future, I think Burgess is correct about all four verses are the same event.
I think there is a good argument, that during the coming of Jesus in the judgment of 70 AD, that 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17 was fulfilled. Others believe the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 occurs at the end of time. Either way, there is no need for a Rapture as understood in the Premillennial/Dispensational system. When the central event of a theological system must be assumed because there are no proof texts for it, then it is time to reevaluate the position.
As for my opinion on the text, I’m inclined to go with DeMar and Burgess. Jesus judged Jerusalem in 70 AD but continues that rule and judgment today. It is an ongoing process that will culminate in a final resolution in the future.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
I know that Dispensationalists frequently miss the mark on biblical theology. They like to beat the strawman of “Replacement Theology” when they are the only ones that teach a form of it. They switch out the Old Testament Jews with the Church in the mythical (mythical because it doesn’t really exist) Eschatological Parenthesis of the Church Age.
In their system, God quits dealing with the Jews once they reject the offer of the Kingdom of God that Jesus and John the Baptist offered in the First Century. God, frustrated by the liberal use of freewill to reject His plan, then pivots to Plan B, the Church Age. At the end of time, God will Rapture all the Christians off the planet which terminates Plan B. God then returns to His original plan. Then He promptly kills off 2/3 of the Jews. Then the pride of the remaining Jews will be broken and then they will all convert to belief in Jesus. Once, the Jews are sufficiently calibrated, Jesus will return to rule for 1,000 years sitting on a literal throne in Jerusalem.
Folks, this is way better than Ray Bradberry or Phillip K. Dick could ever imagine. Tens of millions of Evangelical protestants believe everything I just said and then some. They think all the above can be found in the pages of the Bible. It can’t unless you use lots of glue, scissors, paste, and imagination. Oh, and discard most of the Bible in the process. No worries though. They are hell bent of defending this escapist trash as the Gospel.
Thankfully, you don’t have to be stuck in denial of the ramifications of the Great Commission.
Today’s lesson is from the book of Matthew. It teaches that Jesus is the true Israel. This being true, then His followers are part of the true Israel too. This is yet another way of showing that God took a remnant from Old Covenant Israel and grafted in the Gentiles. This New Testament Body of Christ is the true Israel. This is yet another rebuttal to the charge of Replacement Theology that Dispensationalists try to level against their opponents. I talked about the Body of Christ being a continuation of the OT believers and its expansion to include Gentiles in my previous post. This post will be about Matthew and his teaching that Jesus is the true Israel.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Matthew 2:13–15.
Here is the Old Testament reference.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, And called my son out of Egypt.
Hosea 11:1.
OK, you need to ask yourself if Matthew was just being cute by emphasizing the “out of Egypt I called my son” or if he made a mistake in an effort to come up with a fulfilled prophecy concerning Jesus, or did he really mean that Jesus is the true Israel?
Well, yep, Jesus is the true Israel was his point. That is why he includes the account of the temptation in the wilderness. Jesus wandered about in the desert for forty days, the children of Israel wandered about for forty years. Jesus passed his time of testing, but Israel failed and wandered 40 years as a result.
So, Jesus was the true Israel, and his followers are the true Israel.
Here is how Logos Bible Software summarizes the idea that Jesus is the True Israel.
Search criteria > Jesus is the true Israel
Jesus embodies the role Israel failed to fulfill—he succeeds where the nation disobeyed, demonstrating faithful obedience where they rebelled.[1][2] This identity emerges through Matthew’s deliberate recapitulation of Israel’s foundational narrative. Matthew applies Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called my son”) to Jesus and structures his Gospel to mirror Israel’s exodus from Egypt, crossing of the Red Sea, wilderness temptations, and arrival at Mount Sinai to receive the law.[1]
The theological significance runs deeper than mere historical parallels. As God’s Son, Jesus reflects his Father’s character and ways, proving himself the true Israelite through obedience to the law where Israel disobeyed and submission to God’s will where they rebelled.[1] Where Israel failed the desert temptations, Jesus remained faithful to God.[3] Jesus is not simply Israel’s savior; he embodies what Israel was meant to be.[1]
This fulfillment extends to Israel’s covenantal purpose. As the true Israelite, Jesus stands on God’s side, championing his cause and embodying his character, becoming the true covenant partner through his fully human trust and obedience.[1] He fulfills this role not for himself but for the faithless covenant partner—achieving righteousness and obedience on behalf of God’s people through his representative work.[1] Paul develops this concept by presenting Jesus as Abraham’s seed who truly inherits the covenant promises, stepping into the position of those under the law to redeem them and realize the blessings in himself.[3]
[1] Michael D. Williams, Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2005), 225.
[2] Barry E. Horner, Biblical Israel: The Anti-Judaic Incursion of Process Biblical Theology (Barry E. Horner, 2021), 91.
[3] S. Motyer, “Israel (Nation),” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 585.
If you are interested, I got this blog idea from Doug Wilson and then looked it up on Logos as a second witness.
Folks, a bedrock belief of the Scofield Reference Bible is Zionism. Scofield taught that Jesus offered the Kingdom of God to the Jews. The First Century Jews rejected it, and God went to Plan B, the Church. Sometime in the future, God will remove the Church (via a secret rapture) and then get back to dealing with the Jews. This is actual Replacement Theology. Scofield’s followers claim they oppose Replacement Theology but theirs is a strawman argument used to silence those that disagree with their extrabiblical views. Scofield is the one that replaces Israel with the Church. The Bible clearly teaches that the Church is the true Israel created from a remnant of Israel that later had Gentiles grafted into it.
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Romans 11:15–21.
Included with Scofield’s view is a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, renewal of sacrifices in said temple, a worldwide tribulation, a worldwide political dictator commonly known as The Antichrist, lots of dead Jews, and if Hal Lidsey and others are to be believed, a thermonuclear war ending with Jesus sitting on an earthly throne in Jerusalem. Part of Scofield’s system is that God is not done with the Jews and has not kept His Word to them to fulfill the promises made to Abraham. (I mostly rebuked this in my last post.)
Bless Those That Bless You
I would like to look again at Genesis chapter 12. Specifically, what Scofield does with the initial promise to Abram.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3. NIV
The following is from Scofield’s footnotes on this verse. I am starting at point 3 since it is the thing you hear most often parroted by his vast array of followers.
(3) Promises to Gentiles. (a) “I will bless those who bless you” (Gen. 12:3). Those who honor Abraham will be blessed. (b) “And whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3). This was a warning literally fulfilled in the history of Israel’s persecutions. It has invariably fared ill with the people who have persecuted the Jew—well with those who have protected him. For a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism brings inevitable judgment. The future will still more remarkably prove this principle.
Scofield then lists a set of verses that he claims support his claim. Five of the seven passages are directly related to the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity and are thus one-time events which were already fulfilled. The only other Old Testament verse is Deuteronomy 30: 7 KJV
“And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.”
In context the verse is saying that God will use Gentile nations to judge (punish) Israel for violating the Covenant (see Deuteronomy 28: 15-68) and then God will judge the nations that he used to punish Israel.
The outlier to these verses is his reference to Matthew 25:40, 45 which have nothing to do with Abraham or Israel. Sorry but these references in Matthew are completely unrelated to the topic.
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me
Matthew 25:40 KJV.
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Matthew 25:45 KJV.
The bottom line of his footnote is that Genesis 12:2-3 has nothing to do with Israel since Israel (Jacob) was not a glimmer in anybody’s eye yet. In fact, at this point in the story, Abraham was still Abram and had yet to enter into a Covenant with God. Scofield has done sleight of hand and gotten away with it.
His supporting verses are just crap. He is blowing enough smoke that he hopes his claim will be convincing. I find it curious that he doesn’t quote the obvious story of Balaam being hired to curse Israel if this passage truly means what he claims.
The other passage that gets quoted often to bolster Zionism is this one.
The Peace of Jerusalem
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.”
Psalm 122:6.
Thus, if you support Jerusalem and by extension, Israel, God must bless you. On the other hand, if you oppose Jerusalem then God will punish you. This is taken literally by Scofield led Zionists to be true today even though the biblical nation of Israel was wiped off the map 2,000 years ago and the Old Testament worship ceased forever at that point. The current nation, established in 1948, is not based on the Bible or the law of Moses, instead it is a secular State, but is viewed by many as biblically relevant anyway. Modern Israel’s mere existence is cited as irrefutable proof that Jesus will return any minute.
At one time, Iraqi leader, Sadam Husain, had wanted to restore the city of Babylon. If he had changed the name of the country to Babylon, would all the old biblical passages be recycled again to somehow be relevant in the 21st Century just because of a name change?
The other question that should occur in your mind is why does a literal city in Jerusalem matter at all once you have read the New Testament? The Old Covenant is physical and tangible while the New Covenant is Spiritual.
Somehow Scofield and his minions skip the necessary verses because they don’t fit their presuppositions. The fact is that their best exegetical tool is a pair of household scissors. That way they can cut out the verse they want while simultaneously discarding the limitations of the context and then can make an isolated passage mean whatever they want.
Let’s add a few New Testament passages to the mix.
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
Galatians 4:22–31.
So, we, as Christians, belong to the Jerusalem that is above, not the earthly one which is a city of slaves since it is filled with the offspring of Hagar (Agar).
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, 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,
Hebrews 12:22–23.
In biblical theology, there is the type/antitype model. The type is often an earthly shadow of a heavenly reality. The heavenly reality is the antitype. Likewise, the physical, earthly Jerusalem is a foreshadowing of the heavenly City, the real Jerusalem.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:2.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Revelation 21:10.
If you follow this type/antitype theme, you will find that the New Testament Zion and Jerusalem are spiritual realities that were foreshadowed by earthly, Old Testament counterparts. So, when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem in our time, it is really a prayer for God to bless His Church not that he blesses a piece of dirt in Palestine. The piece of dirt in Palestine is just dirt, not something with any spiritual significance. Old Covenant Israel is dead and buried and has been since 70 A.D. whether Scofield or Ted Cruz or Mike Huckabee say differently.
Conclusion
There is nothing special about the Jews in God’s plan, they come to God on the same basis as everyone else; namely, faith in Jesus Christ or not at all. The current and very secular nation of Israel has zero to do with biblical prophecy. All promises in the Old Testament that were made to national Israel were fulfilled long ago. It is a myth that any promises to Old Covenant Israel remain unfulfilled.
Scofield frequently ignores history to force already fulfilled prophecy into the future. Like, many before him, he ignores the time markers given in Scripture because they don’t fit with his presuppositions. I will look more at these areas in upcoming installments.
I was going to write a single blog post of the topic of Zionism and America, but the task is just too darn long, so I am opting to break it into smaller pieces. Each part will stand on its own. I don’t know how consistent that I will be working on this, but right now I feel like getting it started.
My purpose in writing this is to prove that most of what Evangelical Christians claim as future prophecy was fulfilled long ago and thus their worldview is hopelessly broken. Perhaps a few will be honest enough to look at the source material and believe it once their presuppositions have been shown to be faulty.
First up is the issue of God’s promises to Abraham. Lest you think this is just a theoretical exercise, check out this article.
[Mike] Huckabee also defended the historical and theological claim that present day Israel is the Israel of the Bible, as have GOP U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Huckabee said the Bible would justify Israel’s seizing territory in the Middle East from the Euphrates River in Iraq to the Nile in Egypt.
As he did during his testy exchange with Cruz, Carlson pressed Huckabee on the meaning of Genesis 15:18: “To thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.”
That would include the “entire Middle East,” including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, Carlson said. In other words, whole countries.
“It would be a big piece of land,” Huckabee agreed:
“But here’s the point. … This particular area that we’re talking about now, Israel, is a land that God gave through Abraham to a people that he chose. It was a people, a place, and a purpose. We can look at it that way.”
Carlson insisted that Huckabee explain what “land” he meant. “Does Israel have the right to that land? Because you’re appealing to Genesis, you’re saying that’s the original deed?” Carlson asked.
Huckabee: “It would be fine if they took it all.”
What are the promises that God made to Abram?
Were these promises fulfilled?
Is the modern nation of Israel biblically relevant?
God’s first promise to Abram is when Abram was called by the Lord.
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:1–3.
I plan to have more to say on portions of this passage in a later post. In Genesis 15, God makes a covenant with Abram. Later God changes his name to Abraham.
Here is the first promise, Abram’s seed (descendants) will be as numerous as the stars.
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:4–6.
The next promise that God gave Abram was a land grant. The caveat was that the land could not be inherited for four hundred years. This is a prophecy of the captivity in Egypt.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Genesis 15:13–16.
Later, the land grant is given more specifically.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Genesis 15:18.
So, God in Genesis chapters 12 to 15 made Abraham three promises, That he would have many offspring, that the nations of the earth would be blessed, and that a parcel of land would be given.
When God late announces that Abram will be the father of Isaac, he changes his name to Abraham and his wife then becomes Sarah.
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Genesis 17:4–8.
Nations Blessed
Per the New Testament, the ultimate fulfillment of the world being blessed by the seed of Abraham was found in Jesus Christ.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16.
Land Promise
Later, the land promise is affirmed to Josua.
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
Joshua 1:3–4.
Joshua, at the end of his life gives a different description of the Promised Land.
And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.
Joshua 23:3–5.
When Joshua died, Israel controlled both sides of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. That seems a far cry from the Euphrates.
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
Joshua 24:14.
However, what is the “other side of the flood”? Oh, wow! It’s the Euphrates River. So the promise was fulfilled just as God had promises Abraham.
But wait, there’s more.
David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
2 Samuel 8:3.
King David recovered his border at the Euphrates River.
For he [Solomon] had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.
1 Kings 4:24.
Solomon ruled it too. So, Israel conquered the land to the Euphrates and held it for many years.
And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
Joshua 21:43–45.
Offspring as the Stars
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
Nehemiah 9:23.
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Deuteronomy 10:22.
Conclusion
God fulfilled all the promises made to Abraham.
Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
1 Kings 8:56.
The Old Covenant is over and decisively so in 70 A.D; God divorced Israel, the Great Harlot, Babylon where Christ was crucified. Beginning at Pentecost, God took a new people from Israel, starting with a remnant. Later Gentiles were grafted into the cultivated olive tree (Israel). A new assembly (ecclesia) of New Testament believers arose during the last days of Israel. This is the new bride of Christ, the Church. Thus, the Church is the true Israel, the offspring of Abraham and Jacob.
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Romans 9:6–8.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:7–9.
And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29.
Maintaining the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was contingent of obedience of God’s Covenant. Moses and Joshua both knew that eventually Israel would disobey and be taken to foreign lands as punishment. A remnant would eventually return, and they were. In the final days, Israel chose Caesar over Christ. “We have no king but Caesar” and then “His blood be upon us and our children.” Jesus told them that their house would be left to them desolate and not one stone would be left upon another but by then their fate was sealed.
Huckabee, Cruz, Graham, and the rest of the disciples of Scofield are wrong but given a choice between their presuppositions and the actual text of the Bible, they can only see Scofield’s Notes. Their willful ignorance results in a fatal case of paralysis for the progress of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The US Supreme Court just struck down President Trump’s ability to set tariff rates with other countries. The vote was 6 to 3. I never could figure the Constitutional basis that gave Trump this power. Yes, it was good from a fiscal point of view, but …
This ruling essentially told the do-nothing Congress, this characterization is true of both parties, that they must do their job. Congress has been a broken and failed institution for my entire adult life and then some.
Trump has proved that tariffs can be an effective way to generate revenue, they were for most of the country’s history and could be again. The Court has said that Congress needs to lead. Constitutionally, that is a correct statement, but in reality, it is not likely to happen.
This ruling is also good because the Court is politely saying that rule by Executive Order must have limitations. If Congress had any genitals, rule by Executive Order would be illegal.
Early this morning on good ‘ole Facebook, I came across a bunch of posts blasting the idea of Ash Wednesday. I decided to write a blog on this subject, and I’ll be darned if I can find any samples now. But I will fire away on my thoughts and keep looking for examples.
“Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving before the arrival of Easter.”
This is another religious lie of the Roman Catholic Church to enslave people to works righteousness rather than the freedom of biblical grace and mercy of the gospel! Ephesians 2:8-9
First, why is it OK for Protestants to celebrate Christmas and Easter and then dis the folks that they stole the holidays from to start with? Ash Wednesday is just as much part of the Church calendar as Christmas and Easter.
Folks, it’s a much better argument that Jesus was born in September, on or about the Day of Atonement, than anything that places his real date of birth near December 25th. I have a video by some Protestants arguing vigorously that Jesus was born on the traditional date of Christmas (12/25) but really their evidence is thin.
Easter, in the spring, is a much better and firmer argument but the date of Easter is rarely near the Passover, at least in current reckoning. Since at least three different calendars were used, I can understand the confusion. (oh, the calendars are Julian, Gregorian, Jewish)
Just so you know, the Church calendar was created many centuries ago and goes beyond the year 8,000. They have much more faith in the providence of God and our mission as Christians than the current crop of believers today with their any minute Rapture.
The presumption, by the posters that I saw who were attacking Ash Wednesday, is that they have everything right and those following the Church calendar, especially Roman Catholics, are heretics, syncretizes, or out right pagans. Their basic argument was that Lent and Ash Wednesday are not in the Bible.
Mark 7:9 “He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.”
On Photo: The Catholic Ash Wednesday ceremony is pure witchcraft” Andre Salloum
Hey, Protestants! The following are not in the Bible either:
Grape Juice For Communion.
Anything Less Than Weekly Communion.
Baby Dedication.
Baptism By Immersion.
Age Of Accountability.
The Rapture.
Walking an isle or the “Sinner’s Prayer”
But most of you practice these things as if they were found in the KJV.
Why is it wrong to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus suffered in the wilderness as a preparation for celebrating his passion and death? Nobody says you have to do it, but what about Christian liberty? Why is it wrong for believers to reflect a little on what it cost God to come as a man to save you from your sins? Oh, for you that don’t know, Sundays are exempted from the 40-day calculation, since it is a day of worship.
Back in December, I went to church with my parents. I attended their once Baptist and now nondenominational church. The pastor bragged about how he didn’t follow the traditions of men but only the Scriptures. Meanwhile, everything in the bulletin or their service was a tradition of men. They were dispensational/premillennial in their eschatology. A Tradition of man unknown to the church until the 1830’s. They had a Baptist during the service. It was by immersion. Not in the Bible. It was a “believer’s baptism”. Again, this is not the biblical norm, the exception was the Ethiopian eunuch, typically, the practice was that whole families baptized on the basis of the father, who was head of the household, professing faith. In such cases, children, spouses, and servants were all baptized because of the man’s profession of faith. Then there was an assortment of ministries which were unknown until the time of Chrles Wesley. Oh, to this pastor, the world belongs to Satan until some future time. God was only the savior of your soul; the rest was not God’s concern. Again, not in the Bible. Lastly, they sang zero hymns from or based on the book of Psalms. God gave us a song book but we never use it.
So yeh, mister Protestant, tell me how that whole thing is going for you? I have my disagreements with Rome too but most of the Protestant folks out there are theologically no better. They just like their heresies better than those of the other guys.
Oh, just so you know, using either geography or raw numbers, more Christians celebrate Lent than don’t. The Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox, and some Protestants including Anglican, Lutherans, celebrate Lent. That leaves Christians in and around the Presbyterian and Baptist denominations as the outliers.
Folks, this is a stupid thing to argue about. Why must we unchurch everyone else to advance our ideas? It gets old really fast. If you have the time to beat up on your fellow Christians then it means you aren’t facing the right way to fight the enemy, just sayin’.
Yep. In the words of broadcaster, Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Jackson has assumed room temperature. Jackson who catapulted his association with Martin Luther King into a life’s work, has died.
Jesse Jackson and others at assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Jesse was a false prophet of the social gospel that enslaves millions of black Americans. As long as he could deliver the votes every four years, he had a seat when Democrats—the Party of the KKK and Jim Crow—caucused.
Jesse was not a Christian. He preached, another, Jesus, another salvation, and a false gospel.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Galatians 1:8.
Jackson was a man who spoke falsely.
“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”
Acts 20:30
He deceived the masses and was rewarded handsomely for it.
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Romans 16:18
He preached a false Jesus, a false gospel, a lying spirit, and led many astray who had their itching ears tickled.
“For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
2 Corinthians 11:4.
Jesse Jackson ran for president too.
Jackson was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He and his fellow Justice Brother, Al Sharpton, made it their life’s mission to capitalized on misery and did their best to keep black people in subjugation to their plantation masters of the Democrat Party. They made it their mission in life to promote abortion of blacks, dependance on government programs, and the false gospel of socialism. They did all this evil wearing the collar of a servant of Christ. They led zero people into heaven and legions into hell in this life and the next.
Ray Stevens did a song many years ago asking, if Jesus would wear a Rolex on his television show? Jesse surely would and did.
He lived the “high life” while exploiting the poor. He got caught many years ago having fathered a child out of wedlock. Did he repent? Nope. He was sorry he got caught, not that he had his zipper down.
Yes, I’m picking on him. He deserves it. Sadly, he is just one of many from the so-called Baby Boomer generation that F*ed-up this country.
Folks, this country is the dumpster fire that it is because of the Baby Boomers. Nothing will get fixed until they are in the grave and the policies that they enacted are in the ash heap of history. FDR put us on the road to socialism but the Boomers of the 1960’s and 70’s brought the policies of FDR into fruition. The Democrat Party of JFK died in 1972 when Hayden, Fonda, et al took over.
There are and were good people in the Boomer generation, but they were out maneuvered and out matched by the godless humanists and atheists of their generation. They were the most selfish and destructive group of humans in the history of this nation, possibly any nation. Boomers have squandered the blessings of previous generations. Their legacy is one of debt, servitude, and destruction. They purposely left the next generation worse off than they were. The sad part is that they don’t care. Their whole world is based on selfishness without consequences.
Jackson and the Boomers exemplify the biblical axiom that “the compassion of the wicked is cruelty” and the other biblical description of evil men, “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” On these two pillars are the Boomer’s actions explained.
For the first time in his existence, Jesse Jackson believes in the God of the Bible, but it’s too late for his soul.
Imagine that you are an elected representative in the lower house of your state legislature. You ran as a prolife candidate and decided to introduce a bill to outlaw abortion in your state. Furthermore, you have decided to include criminal sanctions on abortionists in your legislation. Such a law has not been proposed before in your state. You feel that while this bill will be controversial, that it is the right thing to do.
After hearing about your bill, a prolife group from out of state says they are coming to lobby in support of your legislation.
Once the out of state group arrives, they read your legislation and then publicly call you a baby killer and murderer. They denounce your idea. They call you a Judas and hater of God. They also label you an enemy of life and of the unborn. Their main complaints are that there are no criminal sanctions in your bill to punish women that have abortions and your bill doesn’t outlaw abortion drugs sent via mail or other delivery services. The group lights you up on social media and via local television stations.
The prolife group uses scorched earth tactics and vilifies anyone that opposes them. They claim to represent God and his Word. Furthermore, they don’t want to educate churches or Christians and persuade them to strengthen local laws. They want their point of view enshrined into state law and then they will go back to their respective states until the next opportunity comes along.
The legislator is dumbfounded by this treatment. Not too many years ago, his bill would have been called a cutting-edge idea, and he would have been called a maverick of the prolife movement. Now his so-called brothers in Christ are stopping just short of burning him at the stake.
Oh, the scenario above is being played out right now in the state of Iowa.
Just Like the CRA
This sounds eerily familiar to me. I was once part of a similar and equally zealous group, the California Republican Assembly. Yep, I was personally recruited by Barbara Alby in the narthex of Capital Christian Center in Sacramento to be part of her evangelical army of Republicans fighting against the devil and taking back our state for Christ. I was told that the liberals were the tools of the devil and that any opposition was because those opposing us were his minions. This was Frank Peretti’s spiritual warfare writ large, and I had a chance to make a difference.
Well, we ran the infidels out of the CRA and then used various chapters to capture county central committees across the state. In a few short years we captured the California Republican Party. After Barbara and her fellow travelers took over the State Party, they kicked CRA to the curb. From the time Barbara Alby took an interest in CRA until she won election to the California Assembly (the lower house of the California legislature), CRA went from a membership of just over 80,000 to about 15,000. Purity and fidelity have their cost.
Those Ignorant of History …
Oh, while the Abolitionists are running their campaign in Iowa, they are also taking to the Internet and denouncing the evils of the Roman Catholic Church on Facebook. This is more proof that they are ignorant and not really prolife.
Folks, it is an undisputable fact that without the Roman Catholic Church, the prolife movement in the United States would never have existed. Yes, I have doctrinal differences with Rome, but the Catholic Church was the only religious group consistently opposing abortion in our country during the time that Roe v Wade was the Supreme Law of the land.
Furthermore, it is a fact that the so-called “mainstream” Protestant churches—Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal—were advocating for legalized abortion in the 1960’s and early 70’s and even allowing abortion clinics to operate on church property. Abortion was welcomed by these Protestant groups as an expression of Christian charity and love for the poor.
Evangelicals were “fair weather’ opponents of abortion and sporadically opposed it. Also, they were very late to get involved in the issue.
Lastly, it was Roman Catholics on the US Supreme Court that finally overturned Roe v Wade. (The Court’s make-up in recent decades skews Catholic & conservative or Jewish & liberal.)
Biden’s token black appointee may claim to be protestant (I really don’t know) but since she still doesn’t know how to define what a woman is, I can’t take her seriously on anything.
Going Scorched Earth
Oh, not that it will move the needle, but I have occasionally tried to tell the Abolitionist folks that in the political world, it is ok to make incremental changes to the law. Change what you can now and try for more next year; however, they dismiss the idea of incrementalism and want an all or nothing result.
As a result, Abolitionists have denounced and ridiculed Students for Life (a large nationwide group of mostly college aged students) for this exact reason. Abolitionists view their mission as a holy war, and anything less than total victory is compromise with evil.
I also have repeatedly suggested to Abolitionists that they need bottom-up solutions that begin by educating the church, then local communities and then trying to change the law. Top-down solutions are not biblical and will not last. Dr. Gary North and a host of others have said this since at least the 1980’s. North was critical of Falwell’s Moral Majority for these same reasons.
Failure is Guaranteed
The Abolitionists will fail because they are doing it the wrong way. They are trying to mimic the world’s way of doing things and not the Bible’s. They think the Bible doesn’t address or speak to God’s response to Power Religion, but it does. However, Abolitionists would rather shoot now and aim later.
Like socialism, Abolitionists just think the right people haven’t tried their tactics yet.
Sorry dudes, we tried it almost 40 years ago and screwed the pooch. California is a one-party state because evangelical Christians tried the same exact tactics that you are using now and destroyed everything we touched with our scorched earth tactics. We killed the California Republican Assembly, the Republican Party in California and created the circumstances that allowed Charles Munger Jr. to take over the Republican Party.
I know. I was there. I had a front row seat to the whole thing. I made it possible. I regret it deeply and have for many years.
Final Comments
The Abolitionist movement will fail. Been there, done that. They will unchurch everyone that disagrees with their jihad tactics and do more harm to the cause of life as a result. More babies will die because of their demand for all or nothing legislation. Abolitionists don’t want to do the hard work of changing hearts and minds. They want to use the power of the sword to do it for them.
Folks, I feel for Samantha Guthrie. Having your 84-year-old mom disappear under suspicious circumstances has got to rock your world. Clearly foul play was involved. Whatever happened to Nancy, I don’t have any reason to think Samantha was involved. It’s just a feeling. I really don’t know anything about Samantha Guthrie except she works for NBC. She is a fellow human being made in the image of God, and I feel terrible for her.
I don’t think this was a kidnapping. If it is, it’s the weirdest story since Patty Hurst.
Patty Hurst as “Tanya” after joining SLA
I think Samantha’s mom was killed the night that she disappeared. I also think the body is very near her mom’s home.
We have zero indication of “proof of life”. Also, bit coin ransom sounds bogus. It is a third party injecting themselves into a tragic situation or a deliberate misdirection by the perpetrators.
Was mom really the target? Just wondering? If so, why? This thing stinks. Right now, law enforcement has too many cooks in the kitchen and I think that is making the case even more complicated.
I’m praying for Samantha and her mom but as you can see, I’m not hopeful that this will have a happy ending.
