Tuesday 29 January 2013

Dispensationalism: Another gospel?

The world and all its attractions are doomed. Everything, everyone outside of Jesus Christ is doomed . The unbelieving world is not aware of this veritable fact. The Word of God declares it to be so. When one surveys the spiritual condition of the so-called professing Church, we cannot but wonder to what depths she will sink, before the Antichrist is revealed. The incipient apostasy is widespread and the cankered branches are about to be broken off. Deception is rife, so rife that it almost beggars belief. Professing Christians are those who are supposed to be 'people of the Book', yet they venture into strange and fanciful doctrines. In this fast moving age we find ourselves in; many forget the Rock! The Rock of ages; 1 Corinthians 10.4. That Rock is Christ! Immovable, immutable, and eternal, He never changes; we do. He is the same 'yesterday, today, and forever', Hebrews 13.8. An oft quoted Scripture, yet many never quote the next verse; 'Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.'

What happened on Pentecost in Acts 2 is God's truth, penned by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Yet is it not true, that today, the worst excesses of scriptural error are to be found in the Church that bears that very name? Many falsely believe the Church was born on Pentecost, this adds fuel to the Dispensational error. Many professing Christians instead of clinging to the Saviour, and His mediator ship have made a cult out of the Holy Spirit. They even call or Command Him to come down at their beckoning. 
Apostasy can be likened to a runaway train; out of control; if this were not so, I would not think my Bible were true: The New Testament is replete with warnings about the 'latter days'. 'Perilous times shall come' says the Apostle in 2 Timothy 3.1, not; ' might come'. The Bible warns us that 'narrow is the way to life, and few find it'; Matthew 7.14. In this very same chapter,in verses 21- 23, the Lord tells us that many who prophesied, cast out devils, and did many wonderful works in His name, will not enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord called these professors, 'workers of iniquity'. They never did the will of His Father in heaven. This is very solemn reading indeed. I can only believe that this is the direct result of the error of Dispensational theology, which separates law from grace. This is the springboard that has inspired many into greater error. Of course not every Church, or individual believer that holds to Dispensationalism has sunk to such depths, and many, no doubt would strongly oppose the worst excesses of such behaviour. But what they fail to realise, is that the theological root is the same. Dispensationalism has therefore given rise to many false doctrines, including, sadly, salvation. This false theology needs to severed at it's very root. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit; Matthew 7.18. 

2 Thessalonians 2.3 tells us that a 'falling away' ( Gk. apostasia) will come before the Antichrist is revealed onto the world stage. We are currently alerted and exposed to error on every front, and I believe  that this will increase exponentially. It is the writer's deeply held conviction that the pre trib rapture doctrine will lead many astray, and cause much confusion as the window of opportunity for this manifestation, ever closes.
The Bible clearly reveals that the Lord will come after the 'tribulation of those days', Matthew 24.29.
However, to those whom the Lord has revealed it to, this 'Coming' is not preceded by a separate coming for the Church. This 'any moment coming' is a result of the Dispensational error propagated by John Nelson Darby around 1830. Most Christians who make any effort to study the 'Last Things' are not aware that Dispensational theology brings with it much other error apart from a separate pre tribulational coming. When I first became convicted that the pre trib rapture was not Scriptural, then plainly it must be a lie? There is no other way of describing it. I came to this position about 18 months ago on the basis of much Bible study, and of course, prayer. At this point I thought that the pre trib rapture doctrine was just a 'stand alone' teaching. Sadly it is altogether another gospel. This new gospel teaches that the Old Testament saints have no part with the believing Church; it condemns them to a salvation by the 'blood of bulls and goats'. That they were saved by their obedience to the law! It teaches that these OT saints have a separate destiny. That they are under law and we, the New Testament saints are under grace! (I cringe at making such a lofty comparison!).
The Bible teaches no such thing. Salvation has always been by grace. There is no other salvation apart from Christ. The New Testament is explicit about this salvation. Read the words of the apostle to the gentile Church in Ephesians 2.11-12, 'Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.' What is the Scripture saying? We are told that unless we are incorporated through faith into the Commonwealth of Israel, we are lost. We have no part with Christ. What does the Lord Jesus say? Speaking to some who belonged to the Jewish flock, He said 'Other sheep I have which are not of this (Jewish) fold (but are Gentiles): them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice: and there shall be one flock , and one Shepherd.' John 10.16. I will quote Mr B.W. Newton; 'Shall we then contradict this, and say that there are two flocks, two Shepherds, two Commonwealths, and two Olive-trees? Is there a greater sin than altering God's Holy Word?

Indeed, to those with eyes to see, Gentile Christianity has been wise in its own conceits.
Every single man, woman and child who shall ever be saved from righteous Abel to the last Millennial saint, can, and only will be saved by the 'Lamb slain from the foundation of the world', Revelation 13.8. The Old Testament believers looked to the Atonement, we look back to it. The prophets of old 'inquired and searched diligently' for the coming Saviour; 1 Peter 1.10-12, Matthew 13.17. The Saviour, the Coming One is the promised Redeemer recorded so long ago on the pages of Holy Writ in Genesis 3.15.
The coming of Christ to suffer (Luke 24.25-26) for our redemption was the focus of Old Testament prophecy as depicted most graphically in Isaiah 53.

  

2 comments:

  1. Hi Colin,

    There have never been truer words spoken as what you have said in this article. There are so many who profess to be Christians and yet hang on to many beliefs that are not in the Bible. The sad part of all that is they believe they are safe from the pits of Hell following yet another of those fanciful beliefs. I too agree that Dispensationalism is the bottom line when it comes to most of these false convictions.

    Apostasy has in fact come to be in all four corners of the world and like you I believe we have not seen the full potential of this prophecy that Paul so plainly warned us about in 2 Th. 2. Even this warning has been disfigured into meaning something totally different than it really does; shame will be on the head of those who refuse to see the truth because it isn’t what they want to hear.

    I find it incredible that so many don’t understand that if we love Jesus, Jew or not, we will be with Him when He comes. So many who believe the lie of the Pre-trib rapture say that the Christians that will be raptured up will be all those who love Christ but the Jews. Are not the Jews who love Jesus part of the Christians? Of course they are but the pre-trib position divides them from the whole. It does not make sense to me how anyone can think such a thing. We must (as you say) all be a part of the commonwealth of Israel or we are lost. Most don’t even consider that the gospel was brought to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. It seems only right to me that the believing Jew would see Jesus first if there was such a separation?

    And it is so true that the coming of Jesus to be sacrificed for our sins is so prevalent in the Old Testament. David spoke of Jesus many times as well as Isaiah and many of the other OT prophets. Our God is a wonderful God!!!

    Thanks so much for writing these so needed and yet so neglected topics.

    God Bless!

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  2. Dear Sister,
    Indeed David spoke much of Jesus. I was going to mention Psalm 22. But for brevity's
    sake I chose to omit it!
    Regards the 'falling away' in 2 Thessalonians 2.3, I believe the Revised Version of the KJV renders it better as 'THE falling away', as opposed to 'A falling away'?

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