Posted on 05/17/2018 11:32:15 PM PDT by grumpa
Today is the 70th anniversary of the political creation of the State of Israel.
This fact is crucial for American fundamentalists. This is because most of them believe in something their pastors call “the clock of prophecy.” It started ticking on May 14, 1948, or so they have been told by a generation of pastors and authors. But there is a problem. It was not supposed to keep ticking longer than 70 years — the normal lifespan of one generation.
Before I explain all this, I want you to understand that American fundamentalists are almost all dispensationalists. This is called pre-tribulation dispensationalism, and at least 99% of dispensationalists are pre-tribulation dispensationalists. They believe that Christians will be pulled out of history prior to the horror known as the Great Tribulation, which will come mainly on Jews living in the State of Israel after the Rapture.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanvision.org ...
“Dispensationalists interpreted Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:34 about “this generation” to have begun in 1948.
SOME, but certainly not all.
“A generation is widely considered to be 40 years.
Got a chapter and verse for that?
This is such a shallow article. Did you write this??
The article did not criticize Protestants, since `the author is a Protestant. It was critical of a failed theological theory.
Correction. The article was written by Gary North rather than Gary DeMar.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Psalms 90:10
That’s 70-80 years, not 40.
70-80 years is mentioned as a lifetime, not a generation. A generation would seem to be in the range of twenty five years or so, the average age of the father of an average (or median) child.
It was a busload of illegals, and they skedaddled after the wreck.
They’ll just re-interpret to keep their theological error alive.
There are reasonable Christians who believe the rapture occurs after the tribulation. We could very well be into the tribulation now, society certainly has entered a time that is consistent with the end times and all the players are moving their pieces into place for the battle of Armageddon.
The world has turned their back on the poeple of the Word. I hope that America stands with Isreal, but honestly, we are one election away from being on the wrong side.
Good scripture reference, and is there not also another saying we are limited to 120 years life expectancy? So with all the medical advancements I’d say we could easily wait up to another 50 years.
Doesn’t the Bible indicate that the 7 years tribulation begins with signing a peace treaty with Israel - where’s there ever been a signed peace treaty?
The author ought to at a minimum list just who he includes as “American fundamentalists”. Also it is fair to ask if he using his definition of them, or their self-identification as “fundamentalists”. Additionally it needs to be established if ALL “fundamentalists” agree with what he says they believe about the dispensation.
I think maybe the author assumes too broad and not transparent of a brush to paint “fundamentalists”.
I could not get through the whole article. I’m allergic to straw, see. And the author sets up so many straw men and starts knocking them about so badly that I just could not stop sneezing.
And that's it??? That's what you wasted all the ink about???
Actually Dispensationalists believe the Scriptures...So what do the scriptures say??? Apparently you don't know...
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Til what be fulfilled??? The making of a State in 1948??? Of course not...
Mat 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?
And Jesus said, these things will take place 40 years after 1948.
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no Preterist nor A-Millennial deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then read the rest of that chapter...
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Now here's an interesting tidbit...We are told we will know the times and seasons of Jesus' return yet, there is a group who will not know...
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Act 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
One group of people will not know the times and seasons of the Lord's return but another group will...And what group is that???
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And of course the Rapture comes before the return of the Lord...
It does appear however that the Kingdom was at least partially restored in 1948...But that has nothing to do with the timing of the Rapture or the 2nd Coming, except to say that the Nation of Israel had to again exist before the other events can take place...
The 'this generation' of Matthew has to do with seeing the signs of the times and seasons, not the restoration of Israel in 1948...
23:24 can be interpreted as the prophecy regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, it did fall in the lifetime of those whom he was speaking to.
Think of it this way. When all the people of that "generation," who were alive in 1948 finally die, that would be the end of that generation.
When I was a little kid, I remember seeing the last remaining Civil War vets on film. At that time there were still WW1 vets alive. It would be safe to say that in 2018 both those generations are gone.
We still have WW2 vets and we still have the beginning of the Baby Boomers hanging around.
So, when it says that "that generation will not pass," we are still in play.
Can't be...There are too many other things that didn't happen historically for that to be so...And after reading the book of Revelation, it's clear our earth is going to be pock-marked with atomic bomb craters, flattened mountain ranges, and a host of what seem to be natural disasters on a scale yet unimagined by anyone other than a bible believer...
These things 'could have happened' but they didn't...Those people ,at that time, could have accepted their Messiah in which case Jesus would have finished fulfilling those prophecies on the spot and initiated the Millennial reign 2000 years ago as prophesied thru out the Old Testament...
The OT saints were not looking for a church age...They were looking for the arrival of their Messiah who would immediately usher in the new Kingdom...
So while that narrative Jesus spoke could have applied to those at the time, it didn't...It became a future event that hasn't happened yet...
Yes. How I saw it, too.
I guess we’ll find out.
Amen Marnatha!
Classic. Thanks
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.