What do you believe? August 10, 2019
Today, let’s discuss something we never hear about or ever talk about. What do we believe about the End Times?
There are a lot of big words for each person beliefs.
Do we know why we believe what we do and how did we get it.
A big word, Hermeneutics, is just means the Theory of interpretation, or basically, my or your personal theory about interpreting the Bible. God has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us in understanding of the Scriptures.
· You tell me your Hermeneutics view of the Scriptures, especially about the End Times, I can tell so much about you from your beliefs.
· This is why we have to be careful who we listen to, they will be teaching from their beliefs.
· What they are teaching you and not teaching you becomes very important in your Christian life.
· Whoever we listen to, we must know what their Hermeneutics are, can lead us down the wrong path.
I was asked to discuss the term, Preterism. To do this, we need to look at the Eschatology. Another big word. All it means:
Eschatology – just means, the Study of Last Things, End Times
You tell me what your views are on the last things or End Times, when it happens or if it will happen, or when we are changed, then I will know how you look at reading and interpreting the Scriptures, just by explaining the meaning of Last Things or End Times.
Why Eschatology
· There are different views on the order of events in the end times eschatology, specifically between 1st Coming of Jesus & the Millennium
· The final test of hermeneutics, our views
· We are apparently being plunged into a period of time about which the Bible says more than any other period of history. So many different views of what, when, where things will happen.
· Most members do not know what their church Eschatology is.
The Return of Christ to Rule – Do we believe Jesus will have a literal, thousand-year-long, physical reign on the earth. Many do not.
· 1,845 references in the Old Testament.
· 17 books give prominence to the event.
· 318 references in the New Testament.
· 216 chapters.
· 23 of 27 books give prominence to the event.
· For every prophecy of Christ’s 1st Coming there is eight of His 2nd Coming!
Just some basic questions about the divide or ages we live in, Are you a:
A-millennial (A-Millennium): Christian eschatology, involves the rejection of the belief that Jesus will have a literal, thousand-year-long, physical reign on the earth. They do not believe the Jesus will personally reign on the earth.
They believe that Christ is now sitting on the throne of David and that this present church age is the kingdom over which Christ reigns
· They believe in an allegory millennium extending from Jesus Resurrection to the time of His Second Coming on the clouds at the end of this age.
· There will be one general resurrection of both believers and unbelievers from throughout history.
· At this same time the Last Judgment of all mankind will take place
Origen: Allegory of Scripture.
Augustine: A-millennialism widely taught.
Roman Catholic Eschatology.
Preterism: Preterists: a Christian eschatological view, interprets some or all prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened.
The term Preterism comes from the Latin praeter, is a prefix denoting that something is “past” or “beyond.”
· This signifies that either all or a majority of Bible prophecy was fulfilled by 70 A.D
· They hold that most or all of the biblical prophecies concerning the End Times refer to events which have already happened in the first century after Christ’s birth.
· The system also claims that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
The Preterists insist that the Olivet Prophecy passage—and the Book of Revelation—has already been fulfilled, and much of it is dismissed by them as simply as an allegory.
Post-tribulation: Christian eschatology, the post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation
Post-Tribulation Views
o Classic Post-Tribulation (Payne, et al)
o Semi-classic Post-Tribulation (Alexander Reese)
o Future Post-Tribulation (George E. Ladd)
o Dispensational Post-Tribulation (Robert H. Gundry) have difficulty reconciling many of the Olivet Prophecy passages.
Many Denominations: Belief that the Scriptures are for Allegory Interpretation: Most eschatology denominations are A-millennial
Some Denomination Church characteristics
· “Soft” hermeneutical traditions
· Denial of the Millennial Reign
· Denial of Israel’s prophetic destiny
· Absence of Biblical devotional life
· De-emphasis of the Gospel of Christ
· Ordination of homosexuals
The Reformation was a heroic period in church history. “Salvation by faith, not works.” But its failures persist unto this day.
· The allegory of the Scripture (especially those concerning Christ’s rule in the Millennium) is at the top of the list.
· The Reformation did not go far enough.
· The Millennium and the Rapture of the Church are not accepted literally in most mainline denominational churches today.
Post-Tribulation in their eschatological views and has problems with the harpazo (rapture). They believe the harpazo will happen after tribulation.
The post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation
Post-Millennial (Millennium): Belief that the Scriptures are somewhere between Allegory and Liberal Interpretation.
· An interpretation which sees Christ’s second coming as occurring after (Latin post-) the “Millennium”.
· Not to many individuals follow this view today.
“After the millennium.” This view says that Jesus will come only after the Spirit-empowered Church has established God’s kingdom on the earth by progressively subduing the world and taking dominion over it.
A variation of this held that we were already in the millennium: “… things were getting “better and better…”
Reconstructionism: Christian reconstructionist advocate a Theonomy government and uphold Liberty as the core economic principle. They maintain a separation authority between family, church, and state.
Theonomy, from theos (god) and nomos (law), is a Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law. Theonomy hold that divine law, including the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies.
Mid-tribulation: The mid-tribulation position espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the tribulation period, or during Daniel’s 70th Week. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each.
Premillennial: is often used to refer specifically to those who adhere to the beliefs in an earthly millennial reign of Christ as well as a rapture of the faithful coming before (dispensational) or after (historic) the Great Tribulation preceding the Millennium.
The belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for His Millennium reign, at His second coming, a literal thousand-year reign.
Dispensational: is a religious interpretation system and narrative for the Bible. It considers biblical history as divided by God into dispensations, defined periods or ages to which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles
Dispensational premillennialism generally holds that Israel and the Church are distinct entities. It also widely holds to the pretribulation return of Christ, which believes that Jesus will return to take up Christians into heaven by means of a rapture immediately before a seven-year worldwide tribulation.
Pre-tribulation: The rapture is an End Times event (Eschatological) concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of American evangelicalism,
consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive will rise along or caught up together with the resurrected dead believers into clouds to meet and join Jesus in the air.
Tribulation (Great) {Distress, Suffering, Affliction, Persecution}: is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Prophecy as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. Today debate hinges on whether the church (true believers) will or will not go through it.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV (16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Rapture: “Christ may come tonight and snatch the church away to heaven,”
Where do the churches find the Rapture = (Harpazo), Strongs, this verse:
Caught up (G726) harpazō har-pad’-zo: means; to seize (in various applications): – catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Total KJV occurrences: 13
The word “rapture” is taken from the Latin “rapio” for the two words “caught up” is used.
Many Christians do not subscribe to rapture-oriented Religious view.
The term or word “rapture” is taken from the text of the Latin Vulgate “we will be caught up”, (Latin: rapiemur) caught up.
· Catholics, as well as Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and most Reformed Christians, do not generally use “rapture” as a specific religious term,
· Nor do any of these bodies subscribe to the premillennialist dispensationalist religious views associated with its use,
· But do believe that of the elect gathering with Christ in Heaven after his Second Coming.
· These denominations do not believe that a group of people is left behind on earth for an extended Tribulation period.
This is the time of the resurrection, where each Christian receives his or her resurrected body. First to receive their new bodies are those who have died as Christians, and then, those who are “alive and remain.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NKJV (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The big argument is when does this harpazō happen and in what time period.
Harpazo: So, the main debate on the harpazo (rapture) is not what it is, but when it will occur in relation to the tribulation.
In summary, the pre–tribulation view is that the rapture will occur before, during, or after the tribulation period?
Remember, last week, Scripture we read, did not encourage us to try to determine the date of Jesus’ return. Because, we are to “keep watch,
We do not know when Jesus will return
Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
The pre-tribulation view is
· That the Harpazo will happen before the tribulation period;
· Mid-tribulation view is that the Harpazo will occur half-way through the tribulation period; and
· Post-tribulation view is that the Harpazo will occur at the end of the tribulation period or
· Whether we die prior to any type of Harpazo at all,
· The key to eternal salvation is, in all cases, our belief and faith in Jesus Christ.
· We need to be close to Him and be secure in our relationship with Jesus, and nothing else really matters
Fundamentalists: Belief that the Scriptures are for Literal Interpretation.
· Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century Religious Leaders
· Had misinterpreted or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical truths,
· That they viewed as the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
· Fundamentalists are almost always described as having a literal interpretation of the Bible
Evangelical: Evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s atonement.
Evangelicals believe in the importance of the conversion or “born again” experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God‘s revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message
· Evangelicals and fundamentalists both agree that the Bible contains no mistakes, but fundamentalists tend to read the Bible literally.
· Evangelicals have a somewhat broader interpretation of who Jesus was.
· Fundamentalists also add some additional doctrines to their beliefs that many evangelicals would not agree with
These are basic break down of the many views Christians have on the End Time and some views and beliefs fall between all this.
Does the Church go through the Great Tribulation? What do you think?
If you ask a member of a church, what is your church Eschatology, most will not know what it is.
· Your willingness to allegory Scriptures will show us where you will fall on this chart.
· If you have a high willingness to treat broad symbols to whatever it means, you could swing to the left.
· If you take it very precisely, with a great emphases on the literal interruption, you tend to be on the right side of the chart.
· So, we see, our Hermeneutics determine our Eschatology.
Lets look at first, A-millennial or A-millennium
In A-millennium, we have Preterism and Post-Tribulation
Remember many different views, If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything!” Will come up with something.
When we see all the above, we can see why there is so much confusion, Satan has done it’s work, well. Total confusion in religious community.
It could be a combination of all of the above and just one small part.
Are you wondering, where do, I, fall among all these things. Let’s go to:
Mark 13:19 For in those days there will be tribulation {affliction, distress}, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be {or be equaled again}.
This refers to the period that the Old Testament calls “the time of Jacob’s trouble”
Jeremiah tells us there will be a time of trouble for Jacob *Jeremiah 30:7 How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. *
Mark 13:20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no {one or} flesh would be saved {or survive}; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
Mark 13:21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.
This deception will not accomplish its purpose and draw away the elect.
Mark 13:22-23 For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (23) But take heed; {be on your guard} see, I have told you all things beforehand {ahead of time}.
The Coming of the Son of Man
Mark 13:24-25 “But in those days, after that tribulation {distress, suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; (25) the stars of heaven will fall {from the sky}, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Which immediately precede the end of the age: after that tribulation
Mark 13:26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
Mark 13:27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect {together} from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
Jesus returns to the earth and gather His Saints.
Jesus just said about His return and the resurrection of the saints marked the beginning of 1,000 years of divine government on this earth for thousand years. Does this mean that Christians will go through the tribulation? I really do not know. Place of Safety?
Hermeneutics: is just means the Theory of interpretation, or basically, my or your theory about interpreting the Bible.
Eschatology – just means, the Study of Last Things, End Times, Return of Christ
A-millennial (A-Millennium): involves the rejection of the belief that Jesus will have a literal, thousand-year-long, physical reign on the earth.
Preterism: Preterists: interprets some or all prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened.
Post-tribulation: the post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation
Many Denominations: Belief that the Scriptures are for Allegory Interpretation: Most eschatology denominations are A-millennial
Reformation was a movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Roman Catholic Church—and papal authority in particular
Post-Millennial (Millennium): ): Belief that the Scriptures are somewhere between Allegory and Liberal Interpretation.
After the millennium.” This view says that Jesus will come only after the Spirit-empowered Church has established God’s kingdom on the earth by progressively subduing the world and taking dominion over it. A variation of this held that we were already in the millennium: “… things were getting “better and better…”
Reconstructionism: advocate a Theonomy government (theos (god) and nomos (law)), and uphold Liberty as the core economic principle. They maintain a separation authority between family, church, and state.
Mid-tribulation: espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the tribulation period, or during Daniel’s 70th Week. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each.
Premillennial: is often used to refer specifically to those who adhere to the beliefs in an earthly millennial reign of Christ as well as a rapture of the faithful coming before (dispensational) or after (historic) the Great Tribulation preceding the Millennium. The belief that Jesus will physically return to the earth before the Millennium, a literal thousand-year golden age of peace
Dispensation premillennialism generally holds that Israel and the Church are distinct entities. It also widely holds to the pre-tribulation return of Christ, which believes that Jesus will return to take up Christians into heaven by means of a rapture immediately before a seven-year worldwide tribulation
Pre-tribulation: The rapture is an End Times event concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive will rise along or caught up together with the resurrected dead believers into clouds to meet and join Jesus in the air.
Dispensational: is a religious interpretation system and narrative for the Bible. It considers biblical history as divided by God into dispensations, defined periods or ages to which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles
Tribulation (Great): is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Prophecy as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. Todays debate hinges on whether the church (true believers) will or will not go through it.
Evangelical: is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s atonement