Freedom Man Press

October 24, 2020 | by Diego Rodriguez

(NOTE - this article is a purely doctrinal article about "the last days" and is a followup to the article published two days ago titled "We're Not Living in the Last Days." The article below is long [probably a 15-20 minute read] as it is a full-fledged Bible Study and may not be relevant to you. At the end of the article, I explain how and why it is relevant to us right now and why we are posting a complete Bible study on a blog dedicated to mostly political commentary.)

The doctrine of dispensationalism is completely false, though if you’ve ever been taught it before, you’re going to have a very difficult time overcoming it. If you’re honest hearted and ready to believe the Bible and only the Bible, then this article will give you some tools to help you see the truth for yourself.

But as one man said, “I can only explain it to you, I can’t understand it for you.” To understand the Bible, you’re going to have to be willing to reject man’s teaching, and let the Bible speak for itself.

Most of the time, the difficulty in understanding does not come from a lack of mental faculties, but for a lack of will. In other words, people who can’t understand God’s truth, can’t understand it because they don’t want to understand it. They prefer to stay stuck in a false belief system because it is what they are familiar with—and usually because they WANT it to be true.

This article is not intended to be an exhaustive tome on the subject, so I will just give you a practical explanation of the doctrine of dispensationalism…

In short, “dispensationalism” teaches that God has dealt with the world differently in 7 distinct “dispensations” of time. This doctrine teaches that we are currently in the 6th of these 7 dispensations and that this dispensation ends with the “rapture” of the church.

Notable and common tenets of this doctrine include:

Notable and popular books that promote this dispensationalist doctrine are The Late Great Planet Earth (by Hal Lindsey), The Left Behind Series (Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins), Dispensational Truths (by Clarence Larkin with illustrations), and the Scofield Reference Bible (C.I. Scofield). The American-based Calvary Chapel denomination is also nearly 100% dispensational in their teachings.

So, if you’ve read these books or been exposed to any of the concepts above, and believe them, then you are believing dispensational doctrine.

Do you know what confirmation bias is? If so, do you have the personal tools to identify it in yourself, and then take the steps to overcome it? If not, you need to learn about it because it is the difference between knowing the truth or staying spiritually bound by false doctrine for the rest of your life.

Technically speaking, “confirmation bias” is your human tendency to seek out information which confirms your existing biases and belief systems while simultaneously avoiding and rejecting all information which contradicts your existing biases and belief systems.

All of humanity is subject to this confirmation bias. It is part of our fallen nature. No man is exempt—not me or you. What this means in practice is that people always believe what they’ve always believed, and they generally go on believing the first thing they heard or were taught. Why? Because they get around people who confirm it for them. They read more books, watch more videos, and find more information on that same subject to continually confirm their belief/bias for them. And of course, any signs of opposition to their belief are automatically avoided.

It’s the “echo chamber” effect, where you only permit yourself to hear what you already believe. But worse, particularly in the case of Christian doctrine, is when you only allow yourself to hear what you WANT to believe.

When it comes to Christian doctrine, there can be no space nor room for your personal desires. As a fallen son of Adam, your nature is contrary to God. You and I must be reformed and converted. We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind, and we cannot allow ourselves to seek out teachings that are contrary to truth just because we WANT to believe them.

This fallen nature of humanity, has by its own desires, produced all manner of false doctrine, not because it was true, but because people want it to be true. False teachers, in the name of Christianity, have justified abortion, promoted homosexuality, endorsed gay marriage, accepted euthanasia and murder, and even condoned adultery, all while using the Bible to do so! Obviously, the Bible does not support these things, but humanity’s confirmation bias, and desire for something to be true, will always find a way to teach falsehood, particularly because there will always be people willing to believe it—again, because they WANT to believe it.

As always, in order to be able to find truth, you must hunger for it, you must desire it, and you must love the truth. If you don’t love the truth, the Lord himself will not only allow you to believe a lie, but he will even send the lie to you:

2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”

One way to test to see if you are “believing a lie” over God’s plain truth is to simply check to see if your doctrinal position can be held using scriptures only, without man made doctrines, extra-biblical words, or non-biblical definitions. The Bible doesn’t need man’s help. So, if you need to invent new words, definitions, and teachings to explain “what the Bible means,” then it evidently doesn’t mean that! You’re just under a strong delusion.

So now you have to be honest with yourself and ask yourself the following 3 questions:

As a general rule, my experience with dispensationalists is that they WANT dispensationalism to be true. They want the rapture to be real. They want the rapture to take place BEFORE the great tribulation because they don’t want to endure any hardship. They want there to be an Antichrist who is taking over the world so they have an explanation for the evil in this world. They want to be living in the “end time” or the “last days” so they don’t have the responsibility, nor the weight or burden of passing on their faith for multiple generations. They don’t want to have to take on long term responsibilities. They just want to be “rescued” and to “escape,” via the rapture, as soon as possible! Even now, come quickly Lord Jesus, is their cry.

I’m not slamming or attacking you if you are a dispensationalist. On the contrary, this article is written based on my own empathy with you, as I too, once was a dispensationalist. I served as the Senior Pastor of a church for nearly a decade, and for many years, I simply repeated the dispensational teachings of my elders and church fellowship.

I even had a bulletin board in our church foyer with a title on it which read, “Signs of the Times,” and where I cut out newspaper clippings and magazine articles which showed, what I believed, to be evidences that we were living in the “last days.”

I have preached many messages where I scared people into coming down to the altars to pray and seek repentance because we were living in the “end time” and “Jesus is about to come back,” and you are “going to hell if you’re not ready for the rapture!”

Yes, I did all that. That was me. In the moment, it felt right. But today, I am deeply ashamed for all of that behavior. Why? Because I did it all in ignorance. Even as a Pastor, I never knew what the Bible actually said about any of it. I just repeated what I had heard preached over and over and over again.

Hey, the preachers all said Jesus was coming soon, and that we’re living in the last days, and that we’re going to have a cashless society, and that the antichrist was rising to power, and all that. So, it must be true, right? I mean everyone said so! We even sang songs about it.

The problem is that this is the way 99.99999999999999% (that’s called hyperbole) of all Christians get their doctrine. Few Christians actually know what the Bible says for themselves. They too, like I did, just repeat what they’ve heard from preachers and teachers. They just repeat what everyone else says without actually knowing for themselves. So, I understand that well.

However, once I read what the Bible actually taught on the subject, I was deeply ashamed, as I already mentioned. Because there is nothing worse than teaching or spreading false doctrine. The Bible even warns teachers to be extra careful about what you teach because teachers and church leaders will receive a more severe judgment:

James 3:1 “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (NIV)

As soon as I recognized the error of my way, I set out to learn everything about the subject of dispensationalism, Bible prophecy, the rapture, the book of Revelation, the 70 weeks of Daniel, Ezekiel, the beast and the false prophet, the antichrist, Matthew 24, the temple, the mark of the beast and more…all of it!

And I’ve now spent over 15 years studying these subjects deeply and intently, with the fear of God. What I’ve found is that everything that I had previously believed, or at least thought I believed because I heard everyone else say it (and I happily repeated it all blindly), was completely false. I therefore had to repent.

Confirmation bias, ego, the fear of social consequences, and total immersion in false doctrine make it incredibly difficult for a dispensationalist to see the truth no matter how many times you show it to them.

I’ve already explained confirmation bias, though the measure of its effect is incredibly difficult to describe. Just consider the fact that even the American justice system will immediately dismiss any potential juror who has just so much as heard about a court case before being admitted to the jury. Why? Because history has proven that if someone has heard about a case, then they automatically have an opinion about that case, and their confirmation bias will not let that opinion change, no matter what, in spite of all the evidence. Therefore, in order for justice to be served, this person cannot be allowed to sit on the jury. In other words, we have centuries of evidence showing that human nature resists all evidence that is contrary to one’s existing bias. Think about how that affects your ability to understand God’s Word.

Ego, is well known and obvious. But in this case, it comes down to this—will your ego allow you to say, “I was wrong?” For many people, they can’t do it. It is as simple as that. Their ego won’t allow them to admit error.

The fear of social consequences is also a major factor. Think about it. If you determine through the plain reading of scripture that dispensationalism is wrong, what will be the social consequences? All of your friends are dispensationalists. Your church is dispensationalist. Your family are all dispensationalists. What will happen to your social environment if you reject a false teaching that those closest to you all adhere to? The truth is that social pressure alone is enough to make most people reject God’s truth because the consequences for them are too severe.

Finally, total immersion in false doctrine makes it nearly impossible to see the truth because your brain can only structure ideas and thoughts according to your existing paradigm. So seeing the world, the Bible, and life in any other way other than that which you already see it, is very difficult. Let me give you an example…

Hopefully, this should be sufficient enough for you to at least begin to question the damnable doctrine of dispensationalism. Let us begin…

Dispensationalism teaches that there is a character who will rise up in the last days who will be the great leader over the one-world government who is called “the Antichrist.” Dispensational prophecy pundits have named various people as “the Antichrist” over the years including nearly all modern US Presidents and various European leaders. Once those claims are demonstrated to be false, as those leaders move off the world scene, the prophecy pundits make new claims and sell more books. And the people continue to believe them.

Dispensationalists will proudly tell you that the book of Revelation tells us all about the Antichrist and his doings. In short, according to dispensational teaching, the Antichrist is a single person who rises up to lead the world in the future. But let’s see what the Bible says…

Remarkably, the word “antichrist” is only in the Bible 4 times. And none of them are in the book of Revelation. Here’s what the Bible actually says about “antichrist”:

1 John 4:3 “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

So, while dispensationalists claim that “the Antichrist” is a person and a future world leader, the Bible teaches that “antichrist” is not a person but a spirit. And it is a spirit that denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh:

2 John 7 “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is “an antichrist.” Furthermore, as 1 John 4:3 noted, that spirit was already in the world when John wrote his epistle over 2,000 years ago.

1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

Again, this scripture makes it evident that the spirit of antichrist already existed in John’s time. And, that there were “many antichrists.” So you’ve got your first decision to make. Which will you choose:

DISPENSATIONALISM: teaches that “the Antichrist” is a single person who rises up in the future to rule the world through a one-world government.

THE BIBLE: teaches that “antichrist” is not a person but a spirit and that anybody who denies that Jesus is the Christ who came in flesh is antichrist. Furthermore, as antichrist is a spirit and not a person, there are and were many antichrists. Finally, antichrist was a spirit (that undoubtedly lives on today), but that the Bible specifically notes as being in existence in the past, and not prophesied about for the future.

Dispensationalism teaches that the term “last days” or “last time” or “end time” are all in reference to the end of planet earth. Dispensationalists teach that the same way God destroyed the earth once before by a flood, he will destroy it again (at least that latter part is true—God will destroy the world again).

But dispensationalism teaches that the “last days” speaks of the final days on planet earth before the “rapture” happens. It also teaches that after the rapture, the Lord will pour out total wrath and destruction on the earth including the “7 Year Great Tribulation” and the “opening of the seals” and the “pouring of the vials” and all that. Now, there is great debate amongst dispensationalists about the timing of “the rapture,” particularly about whether or not it takes place before the 7 Year Great Tribulation (Pre-tribulation Rapture), in the middle of the 7 Year Great Tribulation (Mid-tribulation Rapture), or at the end of the 7 Year Great Tribulation (Post-tribulation Rapture).

Of course, just like “the dipping,” there is neither a “rapture” nor a “7 year great tribulation" in the Bible. And all scriptural references mistakenly applied to the “rapture” are actually scriptures about THE RESURRECTION, and all scriptures which mention “great tribulation” (there are only 3) are simply scriptures about God’s judgment and never have a timeframe of 7 years attached to them.

So, with all of this false teaching set as their foundation, dispensationalists see any scripture referring to the “last days” as a prophetic scripture about the future, referring to the final days of the earth leading up to the “rapture.” Of course, they always tell you that we’re living in those days right now and that the rapture is “imminent” meaning that it is about to happen.

NOTE – dispensationalists always teach that the rapture is “imminent.” But in practice, they never mean “imminent.” This is just another example of how people are misled by conflating terms and using false definitions. You see, “imminent,” by definition means “about to happen.” Imminence is very specific and has a short timeframe associated with it. So, something can’t be “imminent” for thousands of years, obviously.

What dispensationalists actually mean when they say “imminent” is that it “can happen at any time.” But “can happen at any time” and “about to happen,” are absolutely not the same thing. You and I can die at any time. But that does not mean our deaths are imminent. California can also suffer an earthquake at any time, but that doesn’t really matter to anybody. However, if an earthquake was imminent, meaning it was about to happen, then millions of people would be fleeing California immediately.

Conflation and confusion of terms and ideas, along with the use of fake words and false definitions is one of the cornerstones of dispensational doctrines.

Now, let’s see what the Bible actually says about the “last days”…

Hebrews 1:1 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

The writer of Hebrews, wrote over 2,000 years ago that he was living in “the last days.” So just how long is “the last days?” Dispensationalists love to talk about us living in the last days because the return of Jesus Christ and the rapture are “imminent,” but if the last days can last 2,000 years, why can’t it be 2,500 years? Or 5,000 years? Or 10,000 more years?

You see, timeframes don’t matter to dispensationalists, they just stretch, twist, and corrupt the plain meaning of scripture to fit their desired end. But “last days” has to refer to something literal and specific, and it can't be an open-ended timeframe. You can’t have the “last days” lasting for 2,000 plus years! That definitely stretches the limits of credulity.

1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

The Apostle John likewise stated that he knew that they were living in the “last time” because of the evidence of the existence of many antichrists in his day. Again, this was written over 2,000 years ago.

1 Peter 4:7 “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”

Peter makes it really plain—he says “the end of all things is at hand.” Now what exactly does “at hand” mean to you? Does it mean, 2,000 years from now? Or doesn’t “at hand” mean imminent? “At hand” definitely means about to happen, so Peter said that the “end of all things” was imminent, or about to happen, in his day! That was a long time ago, people!

So whatever Peter, John, and the writer of Hebrews were speaking about—not only were they all in agreement with each other about the timeframe—but it all took place around 2,000 years ago!

So the “last days” is not a term or phrase that should be applied to any future prophetic activity. Rather, the “last days” is a term that was used to describe things that took place nearly 2,000 years ago! Yes, they were “prophetic” utterances in the sense that these writers described things that were future to them, but are now in the long past for us.

Remember, you must keep the Bible in context—ALWAYS! Otherwise you risk applying scriptures to yourself that are not applicable to you. You can’t read somebody else’s mail and apply its contents to you. Nor can you read the promise God gave to Abraham where he says, “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 then say “Hey, God said he was going to make a great nation out of me and he would bless me and make me a blessing.” No. God didn’t say that about YOU, he said that about Abraham.

Likewise, the “last days” doesn’t apply to you 2,000 years after it was written to a people in their own context. The “last days” applied to them. This is not complicated.

In fact, every time anything was mentioned in the Bible about the “last days” it was always applied to their immediate context. Consider the words of the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, once God had poured out his Spirit in a miraculous fashion on the believers who all began to speak in other languages which they previously did not know. The Bible says that those around them in the temple, “were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?” (Acts 2:12) Others mocked them and said they were drunk. In response to this Peter said the following:

Acts 2:15-18 “For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit.”

Peter plainly stated that what they saw before them was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. You can’t get any plainer than saying, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” And he specifically tells us that this was to happen in “the last days,” which Peter applied to himself at that moment, over 2,000 years ago, on the day of Pentecost.

This is why it is very easy for me to state with 100% confidence that we are not living in “the last days.” At least, we are not living in the “last days” from a Biblically prophetic viewpoint. Peter, Paul, John, and the writers and believers of the timeframe of the New Testament were living in the last days—but we’re not. Those “days” passed around 2,000 years ago.

So, no matter how you twist it, corrupt it, distort it, or pervert it—dispensationalists cannot accurately teach that you and I are “living in the last days” or that the “last days” have anything to do with the “rapture” or the end of planet earth.

If you want to know what “last days” is referring to, just remember to keep things in context. “Last days” always means the “last days” of something. The question is the last days of what? The year 1988 was the last days of the Reagan administration. The year 1776 was the last days of English tyranny over the colonies. Do you get it? It’s not difficult. The “last days” does not refer to the end of planet earth. I’ll let you search the scriptures for yourself to determine what the “last days” was referring to in the context of Bible prophecy.

Now, your second decision. Which will you choose?

DISPENSATIONALISM: teaches that you and I are living in the “last days” of planet earth and that the “rapture” is about to happen right now in the 21st century.

THE BIBLE: teaches that the “last days” was a timeframe that the Apostles and New Testament writers lived in around 2,000 years ago and has nothing to do with modern times.

If we believe that the Bible is true, then all of it must be true, including its history and it’s prophecies. Likewise, it’s timing and measurements must also be accurate. Furthermore, timeframes must have a meaning and those meanings cannot be manipulated.

For example, when Jeremiah prophesied that the nation of Israel would be enslaved to Babylon for 70 years, and that afterward God would punish the King of Babylon, then that had to happen just like he said:

Jeremiah 25:11 “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.”

So, you can’t take this 70 year timeframe and increase it or decrease it without undermining the authority of scripture. You can’t say, “Well it wasn’t really 70 years—it was actually 700 years,” for whatever reason you give. And no, you can’t say that “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day” (2 Peter 3:8) to the Lord so, we can’t really know how much time we’re talking about here.

No! Don’t twist the scriptures. 2 Peter 3:8 is simply speaking metaphorically about the fact that God is not subject to time like you and I are subject to time, so you can’t get impatient and try to hurry God. But, God is definitely bound to His Word, and when he says “70 years,” it means 70 years. Words have meaning! And specific timeframes are very specific and must also have meaning that cannot be corrupted without undermining the very Word of God itself.

That being said, let us consider the timing for the book of Revelation, which dispensationalists love to teach is all in the future…

Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”

The very first scripture in the book of Revelation gives you, the reader, the timeframe you need in order to determine WHEN the things written are supposed to take place. It plainly states that they were “things which must shortly come to pass.” Now what in the world does “shortly come to pass” mean to you? How could you possibly strrrrrreeeeetch that plain text to almost 2,000 years? You cannot apply this to your timeframe in the 21st century without doing significant damage to the scripture and without undermining the authority of God’s Word itself.

It is evident, whether you WANT it to be so or not, that the contents of the book of Revelation were to come to pass “shortly” after the time in which it was written, meaning that it came to pass long ago, from our perspective. In other words, the vast majority of things written about in the book of Revelation came to pass around 2,000 years ago. And nothing written about with specificity regarding timing in the book of Revelation is for us in the 21st century. Nothing.

Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

“The time is at hand” is another clear timeframe indicator that means “very soon” and cannot be pushed out 2,000 years to our day. And, these are just a couple of the first scriptures in the book of Revelation!

Revelation 22:7 “[Jesus speaking] Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:20 “[Jesus speaking] He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

So, the first chapter of the book of Revelation begins by telling us that the things that are to take place must take place “shortly” and that they are “at hand.” The words of Jesus then close the book of Revelation in the final chapter where twice Jesus states that he will “come quickly.” Now, if Jesus hasn’t come for two thousand years, then he is pretty slow! Because he said he’d “come quickly,” and it’s been two millennia, and he still hasn’t come!

Or maybe, Jesus is 100% truthful and honest; Jesus is an excellent communicator; and the Bible is completely accurate, Jesus did “come quickly” and did fulfill His Word, and all that was written already came to pass, shortly and quickly after Revelation was written; just like the Bible actually says!

But in that case, the Bible would be true, read and interpreted in the plainest and most obvious way—as it is written. But your concepts, ideas, paradigms, and beliefs based on dispensationalism, are all messed up, so you get confused.

Maybe, just maybe, “the coming of the Lord” does not mean what you think it means. Maybe, it doesn’t mean “the rapture” and maybe it has nothing to do with everything you’ve been taught to believe. Just like those who believe in “the dipping” can’t understand what baptism is all about, those who believe in the “rapture” can’t wrap their heads around what the “resurrection” is or what the “coming of the Lord” is.

But this much we can know right now…Jesus said that he would “come quickly” nearly 2,000 years ago. And Jesus cannot lie nor is he ever wrong. So, whatever the “coming of the Lord” means or refers to, it already happened nearly 2,000 years ago.

To further underscore the timing of the book of Revelation, consider this passage of scripture that gives us an irrefutable timeframe that cannot be changed no matter how hard you try to twist it:

Revelation 17:9-10 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”

Here, the book of Revelation gives us insight into what the symbolic images John saw in his vision represented. It tells us about a beast with seven heads that a woman, who was called “Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth,” sat upon. And yes, the Bible tells us exactly who that women is, and no, it’s not who the dispensationalists say—but, we’ll save that for another Bible study.

According to the Bible, these seven heads represent seven mountains “on which the woman sits, and there are seven kings.” The Bible then tells us that of these seven kings “five are fallen” meaning they are now dead (in the time in which John wrote), and “one is,” meaning he was yet alive (in the time in which John wrote), and one had not come yet, but when he came, he would only “continue a short space,” meaning he wouldn’t last long as a king.

The imagery is clear. During the time in which Revelation was written, one of those seven kings was still alive and reigning. The one to come after him, would only last “a short space.” So how much time can you give to the existing reign of one king followed up by the reign of another king that would only last “a short space?” Even if you want to give the existing king a full 70 years, and the follow up king another 70 years (which is absurd in both instances), you would still have 140 years. Since the book of Revelation was written in the 1st century, you’d still have the completion of all of these events in the 3rd century. That’s 17-18 centuries ago. And that’s with ridiculous numbers. The reality is the timeframes for those 2 kings was only going to be a very short time for both of them combined. By the way, you can go back to secular history and see what the succession of those kings were when John wrote the book of Revelation, and it took place exactly like the Bible prophesied it would. There was a king reigning over the world when John wrote Revelation, and after him, another one rose up who only lasted “a short space.” Because God is always right, the scripture is always true, and yes, dispensationalists are always wrong.

Time for your third decision. Take your pick:

DISPENSATIONALISM: teaches that the book of Revelation is a book of Bible prophecy all about events that happen in the future and that will happen soon in the 21st century.

THE BIBLE: teaches that the events of the book of Revelation were “at hand” at the time when they were written and have long since passed (nearly 2,000 years ago).

A very important, yet often overlooked Bible study when it comes to understanding some important issues regarding Bible prophecy is the “70 Weeks of Daniel.” Most Christians have not heard of this and those who have are typically brainwashed dispensationalists who have no idea what the true meaning actually is.

This study itself (on the 70 Weeks of Daniel) will yield some of the most astounding and beautiful truths in the entire Bible, and I highly encourage all to take the time to study these passages of scripture. However, for the sake of this article, we are only going to cover one aspect of this topic, and that is the length of time for the 70 weeks of Daniel.

Now the passages of scripture that make up the “70 Weeks of Daniel” are really only four verses:

Daniel 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

We are only going to consider the timeframe in which all of this is supposed to take place. The scripture plainly tells us that “seventy weeks are determined” in order for these events to take place. In this context, a week, is a “week of years” or seven years.

Technically speaking, the word “week” is translated from the Hebrew word shabuwa (shaw-boo'-ah) (Strong’s reference #7620) which according to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon means: seven, period of seven (days or years), heptad, week, seven (of years).

In context, this “week” is a heptad of years so a “week” refers to 7 years. Therefore “70 weeks” refers to 490 years. Remarkably, even the dispensationalists have this part right. In fact, I’ve never encountered anybody yet who has studied the 70 weeks of Daniel who does not understand that “seventy weeks” refers to 490 years. So that much is definitely settled.

Where things get goofy is in the way those 490 years are applied to prophecy. The scripture stated plainly that these 490 years began from “the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” which took place when King Cyrus did that very thing (which you can read about in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4). Going forward 490 years from there puts you just a few years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, those 490 years ended a long time ago. In fact, those 490 years ended during the lifetime of the Apostles.

That’s it. It’s over. There’s really nothing left to do when it comes to studying this block of time. It’s 490 years. It started with the proclamation of King Cyrus. It ended 490 years later. Therefore, the end of the 70 weeks of Daniel happened about 2,000 years ago during the lifetime of the Apostles.

So, what’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is this—dispensationalists claim that the 70 weeks are not over yet! Yup! It’s the most amazing thing. I really don’t understand how they’re able to do the mental gymnastics and scriptural wrestling necessary to twist and corrupt the Bible to mean things that it plainly doesn’t say!

According to dispensationalists, 69 out of the 70 weeks (483 years) have already passed, and 1 week (or 7 years) remains! So the final week, the 70th week, they say, has not yet taken place. And according to them, this final 7 years is the “7 Year Great Tribulation!”

They actually say that at the end of 69 weeks “God pushed pause on the prophetic timeclock” and we’re living in that “paused period of time” which will end with “the rapture.” Some have likened it to a parenthesis in a sentence that you insert into the sentence to fill with additional information. Therefore, they say, you and I right now in the 21st century are living in a “parenthetical gap” that will end with the rapture. Once the rapture takes place, God will once again push play on the prophetic timeclock and then the “7 Year Great Tribulation” begins!

Of course, there is great debate, infighting, and angst concerning the timing on this because many believe that the rapture happens at the beginning of this week, others in the middle, and others at the end. Of course, it’s all nonsense because there is no rapture, there is no 7 year great tribulation, and the entire 70 weeks of Daniel, all 490 years, have already passed!!!

So tell me, am I saved when I go through the dipping, or am I saved by faith and then I go through the dipping symbolically, or am I saved because I want the dipping? And what should the ingredients of the soap be again? Wait, I’m confused.

You see, this “gap theory” or “parenthesis” or “pausing” on the 490 years of Daniel’s prophecy is the most asinine scriptural wrestling I think I’ve ever heard. Remember, you can’t change timeframes without fundamentally damaging the Word of God. You can’t change 490 years to any “indeterminate” period of time. 490 years means 490 years. And you can’t break it up and insert gaps to fit your false doctrine without making the original meaning worthless.

Think about it—if 490 years can be changed to 2,490 years, then how does any timeframe have any real meaning in the Bible? And, if we can change a remarkably specific timeframe in the Bible to mean something else, why can’t we change anything else in the Bible to mean whatever we want? If 490 years isn’t really 490 years, then was the virgin birth really from a virgin or just from a girl who had a clean heart? Did Jesus really resurrect from the dead, or did he just recover from life-threatening wounds? The list goes on and on.

Imagine I were to prophesy about you and say, “Thus saith the Lord, in 24 hours you will die!” Then a week later I see you somewhere and you’re still alive. What would you say about me? Wouldn’t you say I’m a liar and a false prophet? Shouldn’t I never be trusted again?

But oh nooooo!!! I’ve got a way out! You see, 23 hours have passed, but God has pushed pause on the prophecy for an indeterminate period of time. Near the end of your life, God will push play again and the final hour will play out, and then you will die. How ridiculous is that? And how is it any different than the unbelievably torturous and destructive “interpretation” that dispensationalists apply to the 70 weeks of Daniel?

Think about it, dispensational doctrine so badly tortures the scripture that in order to make it work, you have to fundamentally destroy the Bible completely.

Decision time:

DISPENSATIONALISM: destroys the plainly written Word of God and changes the timing of the 490 years in the 70 weeks of Daniel to an indeterminate amount of time.

THE BIBLE: teaches that the 490 years of Daniel’s prophecy was a single block of time, (i.e. a “determined” block of time) that lasted exactly 490 years, and which has long since passed.

Matthew 24 is probably the most famous passage of scripture concerning the “last days” and the “end times,” and specifically, “the signs of the times” which will come to pass before the coming of the Lord. Entire volumes of books can be and have been written about this chapter. So, I’m not going to try to expound on this chapter in this short article. Rather, I just want to address one issue again—the timing. In other words, when was all of this stuff mentioned in Matthew 24 supposed to take place?

According to dispensationalists, all of Matthew 24 takes place in the future, and more specifically it takes place in our lifetimes—here in the 21st century.

So, let’s see if that makes any sense when juxtaposed with the scripture itself. First of all, consider the context of Matthew 24…

Matthew 24:1-4 “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you…”

The context of this scripture is plain. Jesus was talking about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus plainly prophesied about the destruction of the temple and in response to this, the disciples wanted to know when this was going to happen, and they specifically asked about it as being, what they called “thy coming,” and the “end of the world.”

Now admittedly, this portion of scripture can be confusing because of the words that were used. So in this case, it is not the pure ineptitude of dispensationalists, in general, that causes confusion. Rather, it is because the scripture says “the end of the world” and combines this with “the coming” of Jesus. So yes, a cursory glance at those statements would definitely make it sound like when Jesus “comes” that will be the end of planet earth! It is the “end of the world” for crying out loud.

The problem is with the translation of the word, “world.” Believe it or not, the word “world” is used in Matthew 24 three different times, and every time it is used it comes from a different Greek word, each having three distinct meanings. Other translations of the Bible update these words to minimize the confusion, but the KJV leaves the rendering in all cases as “world” which causes confusion for those living outside of the context in which it was written and translated.

Let’s quickly look at the 3 different passages of scripture along with the 3 different Greek words and their associated definitions:

Matthew 24:3 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The original word here is aion (Strong’s reference #165) which according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means: a period of time or age.

So Matthew 24:1 is not talking about the destruction or the “end” of planet earth. Rather, Jesus was talking about the end of the age, or the end of that period or epoch of time in the history of the nation of Israel. More specifically, this was the age of temple sacrifices and ritualistic worship which were centered around the physical building of the temple.

Accordingly, most modern translations like the NIV and ESV properly render this word as “age” in their texts:

Matthew 24:3 “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ESV

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

The original word here is oikoumene (Strong’s reference #3625) which according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means: the portion of the earth inhabited by the Greeks, in distinction from the lands of the barbarians, i.e. the Roman empire, all the subjects of the empire.

Another example of “oikoumene” is Luke 2 which describes the taxing of the whole “world” during the time of Jesus’ birth:

Luke 2:1 “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world (oikoumene) should be taxed.”

Again, the word “world” here does not mean the entire planet. It is “oikoumene” and in context it specifically refers to the entirety of the Roman Empire—the “known world.” It doesn’t mean that Caesar was taxing the Chinese or the Aborigines, nor the Mayans and the Incans.

So, in context, Matthew 24:14 means that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all of the Roman Empire before “the end” would come. It is not referring to the entire planet.

The third and final use of the word “world” in Matthew 24 is in reference to great tribulation:

Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

This is the Greek word kosmos (Strong’s reference #2889), which again, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means in this context: the world, the circle of the earth, or the earth.

So you could break it down as simple as this:

Having this understanding helps one to eliminate confusion concerning Matthew 24 and the timing of it all.

So now let’s get back to the context of Matthew 24. Remember that Jesus was talking to his disciples about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. When he gave them warnings about what was to come and what the signs of his coming would be, he spoke directly to THEM and not to a future generation of people. In fact, you can read the pronoun “you” or “ye” in reference to the disciples at least 20 times in these scriptures between verses 4 and 34.

This means that Jesus’ discourse was FOR THEM and not us. Everything he discussed pertained to them. It was not for you and me. And while we don’t have time nor space in this article to cover it all, you can find within the text of the New Testament itself, the fulfillment of everything Jesus prophesied about, from wars and rumors of wars, famine, earthquakes, false christs, and even the gospel being preached to the entire Roman Empire (the oikoumene) took place in the lifetime of the disciples.

But Jesus made it very plain for all of us, so that there could be NO confusion at all, whatsoever, about the timing for Matthew 24. After summing up all of his prophetic utterances concerning the signs of the times and the events leading up to “his coming,” he gives us a precise timeframe as to WHEN it would all occur:

Matthew 24:34 “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

It can’t get any plainer than this! Jesus plainly stated that “this generation” meaning the generation standing right in front of him, the generation in which he was living, yes THAT generation would not pass until all these things be fulfilled. So how in the world do dispensationalists apply Matthew 24 to the 21st century when Jesus said all of these things were fulfilled in the generation in which Jesus himself lived?

Well, it’s another remarkable distortion and manipulation of scripture that only the most gullible or ignorant people could believe. Dispensationalists teach that when Jesus said “this generation shall not pass” that he was referring to the generation that would be alive when Israel became a nation again. They claim that the reference by Jesus concerning a “fig tree putting forth its leaves” in the previous scripture (verse 32) is a reference to Israel forming as a nation again. And, they say, since Israel became a nation again in 1948, then that generation, in other words the generation which sees Israel become a nation again, is the generation that will not pass without seeing the coming of Jesus.

I’m serious. They really teach that. That’s how they start the process of making their rapture predictions. You see, they then start making calculations based on what they believe a “generation” is in terms of years. The first thought was 40 years equals a generation, so they predicted Jesus would return in 1988. Others claim the rapture and the “coming of the Lord” are two distinct events separated by the 7 year great tribulation. So you had to subtract 7 years from that, giving us 1980 or 1981. Those dates all came and went. When ultimately, the limits of credulity started stretching beyond reasonable timeframes again, dispensationalists changed the date of the “fig tree putting forth leaves” from 1948 to 1967 which is when Israel took back control of Jerusalem, and this gave them a new lease on life! Now, they can start calculating the timeframe of a “generation” from 1967 giving all kinds of predictions from 2000 to 2004, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2026, 2037, and more. Of course, the coming of Jesus Christ has been predicted dozens if not hundreds of times in the past, and as always, the prophecy pundits are always wrong.

It’s like they don’t understand the principle taught in the Bible that “No man knoweth the day nor the hour…wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Matthew 24:36, Matthew 25:13). You don’t know, and I don’t know. Nobody knows. Get over it.

Anyhow, it is all very convoluted and ridiculous because it is all based on falsehood. Nowhere does Jesus tell us that the generation he spoke of was a future generation in which Israel was reborn or “regathered.” On the contrary, Jesus spoke directly, specifically, and intentionally to the disciples using their pronouns at least 20 times! You cannot historically nor grammatically corrupt this passage to mean any generation other than the one in which Jesus lived.

However, to further lay this issue to rest concerning the timing of the “coming of the Lord” and the generation that Jesus was referring to in Matthew 24, then let us consider a parallel passage where Jesus likewise gives the same timeframe:

Matthew 16:28 “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

Whoops! Dispensationalists don’t know what to do with this scripture. So now you’ve got your fifth decision to make:

DISPENSATIONALISM: teaches that the events of Matthew 24 are going to happen in the future and specifically apply to us in the 21st century.

THE BIBLE: Jesus himself specifically teaches that the events in Matthew 24 were to take place in the generation in which he lived and he even stated that some people standing in front of him while he spoke would not die until they saw “his coming.”

Before we go any further, it ought to be reiterated that the word “rapture” is never used in the Bible. You should always be leery of alleged “major doctrines” that don’t even appear in the Bible.

In the case of the “rapture,” not only does it not exist in the Bible, but it is a word that has been used to replace the most important of all Bible doctrines—the doctrine of THE RESURRECTION. The doctrine of resurrection is the most important doctrine in the Bible for two reasons:

1. The entire veracity of the Bible rests on the singular act of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because if Jesus did not resurrect, then He is not deity, and His words are not authoritative because He was just another man or teacher. But if He did resurrect by His own power, then He is God almighty manifest in flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) and all power in heaven and earth has been given unto Him (Matthew 28:18).

2. By the power of resurrection brought to the earth by Jesus Christ, we too have the great hope and confidence in our future resurrection, which is the hope of the church and the reward for his people.

In other words, without resurrection, what’s the point? What’s the point of life? What’s the point of Christianity? There is none!

This is why resurrection is the most important doctrine of all, yet it is one of the least taught and least understood, even though the Bible is LOADED to the brim with references to the resurrection, heaven, and eternity.

However, the average Christian doesn’t know anything about the doctrine of resurrection other than “Jesus rose on the 3rd day.” That’s it. They don’t know anything else. They don’t know about heaven, about who gets resurrected, about eternal rewards, heavenly bodies, nor the nature of the recreated universe. And why not? Because the damnable doctrine of dispensationalism has nearly entirely removed the doctrine of resurrection from the Christian church, making it weak, impotent, and spiritually ineffective.

So while dispensationalists are almost entirely clueless about the doctrine of resurrection, they can spout off stupid statements about why they believe in a pre-trib rapture over a post-trib rapture because “God wouldn’t hurt his bride,” and because “we are not appointed to wrath,” (1 Thessalonians 5:9) and all of that kind of jazz. And post tribbers shout back telling pre-tribbers that we “must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) and that “immediately after the tribulation…then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” (Matthew 24:29-30) And they both dig their feet in absolutely certain that they have the scriptures on their side. And they’re all wrong because it’s all a lie. It’s all fake. It’s all bogus. There is no rapture in the Bible.

They’re just fighting over the details of “the dipping” while ignoring the truth and the beauty of water baptism. And if you mention water baptism to them, they look at you like, yeah yeah yeah, we know Jesus got baptized by John—and that’s all they know.

So it is with the rapture. It’s not real. It’s a fake doctrine. It’s not in the Bible. All the events associated with the rapture are fake. There is no 7 year great tribulation. There is no antichrist. The antichrist doesn’t make a peace accord with Israel that is broken in the midst of the tribulation. There is no “poof” disappearance of millions of Christians all over the world with people standing around in shock wondering what happened to the people who just secretly vanished into thin air. None of it is true! It’s all bogus. It’s one of the greatest lies ever told in the history of the Church.

I’ve already demonstrated that there is no 7 year great tribulation and that there is no future antichrist one-world governmental leader. And there is no “rapture.” So then, what do dispensationalists use to teach this rapture nonsense. Well, before I show you, let me give you a warning…

If you’ve been a dispensationalist your whole life, no matter how many times I show you the plainly written word of God, your corrupted mind will struggle to see the truth because of your long time immersion in this false teaching. Add to that the subconscious resistance you will fight against from your own ego, and from the recognition of the social consequences at stake for acknowledging the truth—and the deck is really stacked against you.

Now, don’t take offense to that. I’m not saying you’re a corrupt person. I’m saying that if your mind is so full of false doctrine, then it has therefore been corrupted. Just like if you were sick with the flu, it wouldn’t mean that you are a morally “sick” person, rather you’ve been made sick by a virus and are therefore suffering the consequences of that disease.

Likewise, I’m not saying that you are a conceited, ego-inflated, arrogant jerk. Rather, I am saying that as fallen humans, we all have our ego that works against us and seeks to protect itself rather than admit error.

Keep that in mind as we read the following passage of scripture:

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 “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.”

So that is the famous passage in the Bible that dispensationalists use to describe “the rapture.” The problem is that it doesn’t say “rapture” anywhere in this passage of scripture. Furthermore, even the most basic elementary bible student can plainly see that this is not talking about a “rapture” but it is plainly talking about the RESURRECTION!

The word “sleep” in this context means to be dead. And so the Apostle Paul writes here to the church in Thessalonica that they should not be ignorant and without hope—because we, as members of the church, the great body of believers, have a great hope in the greatest day of all time—the day of the RESURRECTION!

He then plainly declares that we can have hope in this day because Jesus died and resurrected; therefore, we know that those believers who have died will also resurrect! Furthermore, he goes on to explain that those believers who remain alive at the time of the resurrection are not going to prevent the resurrection from taking place, as if everyone needs to die first in order for the resurrection to happen. On the contrary, “the dead in Christ,” meaning those believers who have already died, “shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.”

That is the doctrine of resurrection, and not only is it “comforting,” but it is exciting and beautiful. It is the great hope of the church! It declares that no matter what we endure on this planet, no matter what we go through for the cause of Christ, for the advancement of the Kingdom of God, or what we suffer for the testimony of Jesus, we know that we will rise again in the resurrection! Our mortal bodies will put on immortality, and we will forever be with the Lord in the new heavens and new earth!

You see, there is nothing here about a “rapture.” The word “rapture” is not used. And while it is not necessarily ALWAYS egregious or malevolent to use an extrabiblical word to describe something that is in the Bible, it definitely is so whenever a perfectly Biblical word already exists to describe that very thing! In this case, this passage is 100% about resurrection! So why would anybody use a fake word like “rapture” unless it was to intentionally deceive and mislead people?

If you’ve been taught dispensationalism before, then it is quite likely that you were told that the word “rapture” is the translation of the Greek word “harpazo” which means “catching away” and which is used in 1 Thessalonains 4:17.

However, that’s simply not true. “Harpazo” is not translated rapture, and rapture does not mean “harpazo.” “Harpazo,” according to the most widely revered Greek lexicons simply means to seize, to snatch, or to grab, usually by force. And it does not directly refer to an event called the “rapture.” By way of example, here’s some scriptures where the word “harpazo” is used, and you tell me if it sounds like this word is referring to the mythical “rapture”:

Matthew 11:12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force (harpazo).”

Matthew 13:19 “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away (harpazo) that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.”

John 10:12 “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them (harpazo), and scattereth the sheep.”

Acts 23:10 “And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force (harpazo) from among them, and to bring him into the castle.”

Jude 23 “And others save with fear, pulling them (harpazo) out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

As you can see, these scriptures have nothing to do with a mythical rapture. For more references to “harpazo,” feel free to take a look at these scriptures which all use the word “harpazo” as well: John 6:15, John 10:28, John 10:29, Acts 8:39, 2 Corinthians 12:2, 2 Corinthians 12:4, Revelation 12:5.

So NO, there is no “rapture” nor is there a “catching away” in terms of the catching away being a specific event. There is however a future RESURRECTION, which is a biblical term, and when it takes place, the Bible does describe the fact that those believers who are alive when the resurrection takes place will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air with the other resurrected believers that He will bring with Him.

Here’s a suggestion for you if you want to be a good Bible student—learn to use Biblical terminology as often as possible. You should shun extra-biblical terminology except in those cases where a Biblical term doesn’t exist to describe a biblical truth. However, in any case where Biblical terminology exists, you should use that terminology exclusively!

This is a perfect example. 1 Thessalonians 4 describes the great hope of the church which is the resurrection! It does not describe a mythical rapture which is nothing but pure false doctrine. So stop using the word “rapture” and only use the word “resurrection.”

Now, let’s talk about one final aspect of the mythical rapture. Dispensationalists typically describe it as being “secret.” They call it the “secret rapture” and say it will take place secretly and silently with descriptions of Christians just vanishing into thin air and leaving the world behind them wondering in confusion.

Well, let’s see what their own falsely attributed scripture concerning the “rapture” says about this:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “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.”

So that is the scripture dispensationalists use to describe the “secret rapture.” Hmmm. Does that sound secret or silent to you? On the contrary, it might be the noisiest scripture in the entire Bible!

First you have the Lord himself descending with a shout! Imagine how loud that is going to be! Then, you’ve got the “voice of the archangel” which is probably the loudest voice humanity is ever going to hear. Finally, you have the “trump of God!” Trumpet blasts are remarkably loud, and I’m just speaking about those trumpet blasts from manmade trumpets blasted by mere men. Can you imagine what the “trump of God” is going to sound like?!

So here’s your final decision to make:

DISPENSATIONALISM: teaches that the mythical rapture will be silent and in secret.

THE BIBLE: teaches us in 1 Thessalonians about the resurrection, which dispensationalists falsely attribute to the mythical rapture, and tells us that it will be heralded with a shout, a voice, and a trumpet blast and may be the noisiest day in the history of mankind.

In the end, it brings us to the simple question to bring it all to a simple conclusion: who will you believe? God and His Word? Or dispensationalists? We have already demonstrated at least 6 different ways that dispensationalist doctrine is diametrically opposed to the plainly written Word of God.

There will be time to dive into other issues later, but for now, the question is simple—are you willing to accept the social consequences of believing the truth, or would you rather come with me, so I can take you through the process of “the dipping.” Don’t worry, we do it the right way, with dirty hands, using river water, and organic soap. So you’ll be fine!

It is no secret that the great majority of our subscribers are Christians or at least "God conscious" people. The readers of this blog and the subscribers to this website, by and large, believe in God.

And the actions that our subscribers generally take will be based upon their eschatology. "Eschatology" means the study of Bible Prophecy. So, the actions that someone is willing to take, based on the things they see taking place around them, will be directly affected by what they believe about Bible prophecy.

Now this year, 2020, has been a particularly tumultuous year, and consequently it has only heightened the typical dispensationalists' sensibilities, and caused them to feel extraordinarily more certain that they are living in the "last days." I mean, a true dispensationalist always believes that "Jesus could come tonight," and that the rapture is about to happen—that it is imminent! They've been predicting it for decades and everything that happens in the middle east, every war, every earthquake, every natural disaster, etc., only makes them feel more certain that THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE END! But the events of 2020 have heightened their belief that this really is it!

Consequently, these same Christians become paralyzed in life since they feel like all of these things are prophesied to take place. In other words, there's nothing we can do to stop it. Furthermore, why bother trying to stop it since it ends with the rapture anyway? And we want the rapture to happen, right?

So dispensationalism has caused Christians to abandon their influence in civil government, in politics, in business, in culture, and virtually everywhere. This is why you can see the influence of Christianity decline in America in direct proportion to the acceptance and propagation of the doctrine of dispensationalism. As a matter of history, the doctrine of dispensationalism got started in the late 1800s in England and made its way over to America in the early 1900s with John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren. Previous to that, nobody in America believed in the damnable doctrine of dispensationalism.

As time went on, dispensationalism began to propagate throughout the country and those who adopted it began to abandon their civil duties and Christian responsibilities in favor of the idea of just "holding on" for a little while longer until "Jesus raptures us out of here!" The idea here is to "escape" from the world instead of to take "dominion" over this world (Genesis 1:26, 28)—which is the original plan of God from the beginning of Creation. We are supposed to be salt and light. We specifically are not supposed to be hid under a bushel (Matthew 5:15)! But that is the natural result of belief in dispensationalism.

Think about it? If you really, honestly, and truly believe that the "rapture" is imminent, that it is about to happen, and that we are living in the last days, then what is the point of saving money? What is the point of buying property? What is the point of building a business? What is the point of voting? What is the point of running for office? Why start a family? What is the point of doing anything for that matter? It is all going to end very shortly, so why bother?

This is how and why dispensationalism has been one of the primary, if not the principle source, for Christian apathy and loss of influence in modern times. If you really want to know why our government is filled with corrupt sinners when it used to be filled with righteous and pious men; why we continually engage in ongoing and needless wars; why we have enshrined the murder of innocent babies as a "right" for women; why Christians maintain the cultural standard of sending their children off every morning to be discipled by wards of the state who teach them atheism and humanism; and why our culture generally accepts anti-christian ideologies based on theft, greed, and covetousness, like Socialism, Communism, and Fascism; then you don't need to look any further than the damnable doctrine of dispensationalism.

Sure, there are exceptions to this rule, and there are a handful of dispensationalists who, just by virtue of their own personality, are not apathetic and have not withdrawn from society and influence.

However, as an unabashed Christian and a political activist serving as Communications Director for the Freedom Man PAC, I can tell you that this damnable doctrine of dispensationalism is the #1 cause for Christian apathy and indifference right now. You just can't get believers in dispensationalism to get up off of their collective you-know-whats and do anything for the kingdom of God. Because they just believe that we're living in the last days and all of these things are supposed to happen.

However, they will flock together with other "preppers," conservatives, and "freedom fighters," because they are not 100% certain of what they will "have to endure" in these last days, so they are sticking close with others who they know can help "fight off the enemy" and help them stay safe and fed during uncertain times.

To be very plain with you, dispensationalism is very similar to liberalism and the political left. Just like liberals and leftists use feelings over facts, so do dispensationalists use emotions over Biblical truth. And just like liberals want others to do all the work while they freeload off of the rest of society, so adherents to dispensationalism want everyone else to do the hard work while they sit back and just wait for Jesus to rapture them out of the world.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of it! It's time to shake loose the damnable doctrine of dispensationalism from your heart and mind so you can finally do something for the kingdom of God! Stop being such a spiritual freeloader! Do something already! Get up off of your rear end and shine some light and spread some salt on the earth, and stop being "good for nothing" like Jesus said (Matthew 5:13), so that the world will see your good works and glorify God! (Matthew 5:16).