Then Shall That Wicked Be Revealed: Babylon the Great

By Henry Gagne

The book of Revelation is unlike any other book in scripture, filled with symbols and apocalyptic language. It has become a magnet for some, and confusion for others; while still others ignore it altogether.
There are many today who believe and hold that the book of Revelation is not about the future, but rather the past, fulfilled with the destruction of the Jewish Temple and city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies. While many others hold that the book of Revelation is prophetic and was written for a future time beyond the judgment that fell on the Jewish nation in 70 A.D.; and continues to be debated today between these two Christian camps: the Preterists and Futurists.
It is vital that the people of God are given the truth about prophetic scripture. Today it is a fact that false teachers are everywhere in the body of Christ, and have all but snuffed out the light of Christ's prophetic truth. We of the body of Christ cannot continue to sit on the sidelines and remain silent. We must, as good soldiers in Christ arise and go forth in battle to defeat our Lord's enemies wherever they may be found. As soldiers of Christ we do this with the weapons at our disposal that God gave us; the Sword of Christ, the Sword of Truth, the Holy Scriptures.
Many times the question has arisen, What difference does it make? Our response is; a proper view of eschatology (a study of end of the age times) is important because God has revealed his truth to us and it is our responsibility to be diligent students in understanding that truth. Disregarding or minimizing any part of it is poor stewardship.
It is never acceptable to say I could be wrong, but I remain comfortable on my views, and don't want to bother with other views. It is a fact today that someone has to be wrong and is teaching error! And it certainly is not the Holy Spirit teaching those errors of scripture in the body of Christ! Therefore, if one view is correct, the others are wrong. The failure to study this issue, and others, forces us to hold one position or another, that is one's doctrines, as a matter of tradition, rather than the Inspired Doctrine of Scripture.
While a lot of people go to church, very few actually know the Bible and take Jesus Christ our Lord seriously. Secular Christianity has been watered down, especially in the area of God's Word and its meaning; resulting in great division and confusion concerning many passages seen throughout scripture.
The New Testament authors did write about prophecy but a good percentage of their prophetic messages dealt with the immediate fate and future of national Israel. Thus, when they wrote prophetically they wrote primarily about Israel's last days (i.e. end of OC age) while writing prophecy about the early Church's end of the age to come for them, as we read in Hebrews: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear a second time without sin unto salvation (Heb. 9-28).
The last days are different from the end times. The last days refer to the last days (age) of Old Covenant Israel; as the body of Christ was being brought in during that 40 year transition period. It was to be the last days for national Israel, but not for the New Covenant Church; its age had just begun, because of God's Grace and the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord; brought about for the salvation of mankind.
In our day, there have come many scoffers both inside and outside of the church, saying that the return of Christ is many, many years away, and others doubt or even deny his coming at all. At present, to most in the world, they do not appear to be threatened by the return of Christ despite the world's present condition in its moral standing with God.
Despite the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite North Korea and Iran's nuclear stance, a world economy in a near total collapse; many in the secular media procla

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493144709

Henry Gagne

“Author bio coming soon”

Book preview

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1   A Brief History of Dispensationalism

Chapter 2   A Brief History of Preterism and their Teachings

Chapter 3   The Evidence on the Date of Revelation Part I

Chapter 4   The Last Days Vs. the End Times

Chapter 5   Jesus’ Resurrection and the Teaching of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles

Chapter 6   The Evidence on the date of Revelation Part II

Chapter 7   Putting Daniel and related Prophetic Texts in their proper Exegesis

Chapter 8   When is the Rapture?

Chapter 9   The Prophetic Events of Israel’s Birth and History

Chapter 10   The Coming Forth of Gog and Magog

Chapter 11   Who is Mystery, Babylon the Great?

Chapter 12   Commentary on Daniel Chapters 8-12

Chapter 13   Mystery, Babylon the Great Unveiled

Chapter 14   Revelation in the Day of the Lord

Chapter 15   The Fall of Babylon the Great

Chapter 16   The Marriage Supper of Christ

End Notes

Translation of various Greek words

Foreword

T he book of Revelation is unlike any other book in scripture, filled with symbols and apocalyptic language. It has become a magnet for some, and confusion for others; while still others ignore it altogether.

There are many today who believe and hold that the book of Revelation is not about the future, but rather the past, fulfilled with the destruction of the Jewish Temple and city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies. While many others hold that the book of Revelation is prophetic and was written for a future time beyond the judgment that fell on the Jewish nation in 70 A.D.; and continues to be debated today between these two Christian camps: the Preterists and Futurists.

It is vital that the people of God are given the truth about prophetic scripture. Today it is a fact that false teachers are everywhere in the body of Christ, and have all but snuffed out the light of Christ’s prophetic truth. We of the body of Christ cannot continue to sit on the sidelines and remain silent. We must, as good soldiers in Christ arise and go forth in battle to defeat our Lord’s enemies wherever they may be found. As soldiers of Christ we do this with the weapons at our disposal that God gave us; the Sword of Christ, the Sword of Truth, the Holy Scriptures.

Many times the question has arisen, What difference does it make? Our response is; a proper view of eschatology (a study of end of the age times) is important because God has revealed his truth to us and it is our responsibility to be diligent students in understanding that truth. Disregarding or minimizing any part of it is poor stewardship.

It is never acceptable to say I could be wrong, but I remain comfortable on my views, and don’t want to bother with other views. It is a fact today that someone has to be wrong and is teaching error! And it certainly is not the Holy Spirit teaching those errors of scripture in the body of Christ! Therefore, if one view is correct, the others are wrong. The failure to study this issue, and others, forces us to hold one position or another, that is one’s doctrines, as a matter of tradition, rather than the Inspired Doctrine of Scripture.

While a lot of people go to church, very few actually know the Bible and take Jesus Christ our Lord seriously. Secular Christianity has been watered down, especially in the area of God’s Word and its meaning; resulting in great division and confusion concerning many passages seen throughout scripture.

The New Testament authors did write about prophecy but a good percentage of their prophetic messages dealt with the immediate fate and future of national Israel. Thus, when they wrote prophetically they wrote primarily about Israel’s last days (i.e. end of OC age) while writing prophecy about the early Church’s end of the age to come for them, as we read in Hebrews: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear a second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb. 9-28).

The last days are different from the end times. The last days refer to the last days (age) of Old Covenant Israel; as the body of Christ was being brought in during that 40 year transition period. It was to be the last days for national Israel, but not for the New Covenant Church; its age had just begun, because of God’s Grace and the Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord; brought about for the salvation of mankind.

In our day, there have come many scoffers both inside and outside of the church, saying that the return of Christ is many, many years away, and others doubt or even deny his coming at all. At present, to most in the world, they do not appear to be threatened by the return of Christ despite the world’s present condition in its moral standing with God.

Despite the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite North Korea and Iran’s nuclear stance, a world economy in a near total collapse; many in the secular media proclaim that things are not all that bad in the world arena. Nonetheless, contrary to what they say, the Bible speaks otherwise. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (2 Peter 3-10).

Jesus says in John 14-2-3, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Until then, he warns that we will not know precisely when he will come back, but we are advised to watch. Thief’s do not send warning messages that they are coming as the Lord reveals to us in 1 Thess. 5-1-4. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

Christ’s return will be surprising, sudden, and shocking to most people on the earth. The Bible clearly indicates that he will come when a majority of the people least expect him.  – Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Introduction

A ccording to Bible prophecy, there is to be a great Apostasy from Christ’s church and will involve a departing from the faith by those who call themselves Christians. Regarding the second coming of Christ, Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2-3, "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. The Greek word apostasia" is used here for the falling away. It is from this word that we derive the English word apostasy. Apostasy is defined as a defection from the truth or a departing from that which was first given. Are we in such an apostasy now? Sadly it is evident that we are.

Sound biblical teaching has been usurped by doctrines that place inclusiveness above truth. Mainline protestant denominations are not only denying that homosexuality is a sexual sin, many also ordain gay clergy and perform homosexual marriages. The Anglican Church in Canada is on the verge of a split over such an issue, as are the Methodists and Episcopalians in the United States. In a conference in England, Anglican bishops voted to affirm the deity of Jesus Christ. What is disturbing is that not only was such a vote even necessary, but also because a significant percentage of bishops voted NO! The Bible prophesied that the church would be racked and steeped by and in apostasy. Jesus prophesied that many will fall away (Matt. 24-10). Paul reveals the source of the apostasy in 2 Timothy 3-5, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; – . By the 20th Century, the fulfillment of this prophecy began in earnest with the ascendancy of the German School of Higher Criticism. This school of thought, which quickly swept American seminaries, advocated that the Bible should be approached like any other piece of literature, with a critical eye. The concepts of the special inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible were rejected. The Bible came to be viewed as man’s search for God rather than God’s revelation to man. Before long Christian theologians and ministers were laughing about the virgin birth of Jesus, discounting his miracles, casting doubt on his resurrection, etc.

The prophecies warned that the church would be assaulted by cultic deception in the end times. Jesus emphasized this point repeatedly in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-5, 11, 24). And Paul spoke of it in the strongest language when he wrote: The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4-1). During the 19th century with the rise of Mormonism and its teachings, the Jehovah Witnesses were next on the scene with their teaching that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. This century has witnessed the rapid multiplication of the cults, just as prophesied. Today, life long Christians who do not know why they believe what they profess to believe are being sucked into the cults by the tens of thousands. The biblical prophecies indicate that in the end times the church will be assaulted by doctrinal error. In 2 Timothy 4-3-4, Paul says, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. The winds of doctrine (Eph. 4-14) are blowing through the church today with hurricane force and believers are being tossed here and there by the waves. The biblical prophecies about the church in the end times is that it would be compromised and corrupted by worldliness.

In fulfillment of this prophecy, our churches today are filled with cultural Christians who have accepted Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. They are Christians who walk with one foot in the church and the other in the world. They are carnal Christians who shout Praise the Lord! on weekends but who live like pagans during the week. They are Christians (many) in pursuit of health, wealth, and power. The Cross and its message of sacrifice is as offensive to them as it is to the world. Sadly, most do not even realize the spiritually dead state in which they stand with God.

The Bible prophecies that because of this great apostasy, the church would come under judgment. The overindulgent church of the past several or so decades is now tasting the judgment of God. Judgment has begun in the House of the Lord, where it always begins (Ezek. 9-6 and 1 Peter 4-17).

Sadly the Christian preachers and teachers in both the Preterist and Futurist camps who share certain ideas regarding prophetic scripture have produced countless false teachings in eschatology (study of the end times) and have caused many to be deceived. I personally believe more – so now than at any other time in our history. As we go along, a brief, general history of Preterism and Futurism, known as Dispensationalism; and their teachings will be given in order to see where the church stands today with Christ. Below is a summary of the doctrine of eschatology in church history by Michael J. Vlach.

Eschatology in Church History

by Michael J. Flach

Eschatology has traditionally been understood as the doctrine of the ‘last things.’ The study of eschatology has often been divided into two categories – ‘individual’ eschatology and ‘end-times’ eschatology. Individual eschatology primarily addresses the fate of a person after he or she dies. It usually includes topics such as heaven, hell, judgment, and rewards. End-times eschatology, though, usually deals with issues related to the end of the present world order such as the return of Jesus Christ, the rise of Anti-Christ, the tribulation period, and the millennium. End-times eschatology is the primary subject of this present document.

Below is a bullet-point summary of the doctrine of end-times eschatology in church history. It covers eschatology in the Patristic, Medieval, Reformation, and Modern Eras:

PATRISTIC ERA (A.D. 100-430)

— The earliest Christians looked for three things: (1) the return of Jesus Christ; (2) a cataclysmic end to the present age; and (3) a bodily resurrection.

— The early church for the first three centuries held mostly to premillennialism. The one thousand year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6 was viewed eschatologically and futuristically. There was a common expectation that Christ would reign upon the earth for one thousand years.

— Notable premillennialists in the early church were Papias (60-130), Irenaeus (130-200), Justin Martyr (100-165), and Tertullian (160-225).

— Apocalyptic expectations were common until the time of the Roman emperor Constantine (early fourth century) when persecution of the church happened frequently. However, once Constantine began his reign and Christianity became accepted in the Roman Empire, apocalyptic expectations decreased significantly.

— Origen (185-254) popularized the allegorical approach to interpreting Scripture, and in doing so, laid a hermeneutical basis for the view that the promised kingdom of Christ was spiritual and not earthly in nature.

— Eusebius (270-340), an associate of the emperor Constantine, viewed Constantine’s reign as the Messianic banquet and held to anti-premillennial views.

— Tyconius, an African Donatist of the fourth century, was one of the earliest theologians to challenge premillennialism. He rejected the eschatological and futuristic view of Revelation 20. Instead, he said that the millennium was being fulfilled in the present age and that the thousand years mentioned was not a literal thousand years. Tyconius also viewed the first resurrection of Revelation 20:4 as a spiritual resurrection, i.e. the new birth.

— Augustine (354-430), who is often referred to as ‘the father of amillennialism,’ popularized the views of Tyconius. Augustine abandoned premillennialism because of what he considered to be the excesses and carnalities of this view. He also interpreted Mark 3:27 to be a present binding of Satan.

— Augustine was the first to identify the Catholic Church in its visible, empirical form with the kingdom of God. For him, the millennial rule of Christ was taking place in and through the church, including its sacraments and offices.

— Augustine’s book, City of God, was significant in the promotion and acceptance of amillennialism.

— Augustine’s amillennialism quickly became the accepted view of the church. Amillennialism became so accepted that the Council of Ephesus (431) condemned the premillennial view as superstitious.

— To summarize, the first three hundred years of church history were characterized by premillennialism and strong expectations concerning the soon coming of the Lord. After the time of Eusebius and Augustine, though, premillennialism became less accepted and apocalyptic speculations began to wane. Although an unbroken line of apocalypticism and premillennialism has existed throughout church history, the church for the next one thousand years was characterized by a non-apocalyptic amillennialism.

MEDIEVAL ERA (430-1500)

— Augustinian amillennialism was the accepted view of the church during this period. Apocalyptic and eschatological beliefs, however, did continue with such heretical groups as the Albigensians, Waldensians, and Joachimites. These groups offered vivid descriptions of heaven, hell, purgatory, the second coming, and the end of the world.

— Joachim of Fiore (1132-1202) divided history into different eras: (1) the age of the Father (the Old Testament dispensation); (2) the age of the Son (the New Testament dispensation including the church); and (3) the age of the Spirit (the final establishment of peace and unity on the earth).

— A surge of apocalyptic expectations occurred in Europe during the fifteenth century.

REFORMATION ERA (1500-1650)

— The primary reformers, including Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564), accepted the commonly held view of amillennialism.

— Luther was a historicist, holding that the end-times prophecies of the Bible were being fulfilled in his day. The early Luther expected a mass conversion of the Jews. He also held that the pope was the anti-Christ.

— The sixteenth century was a time of fervent apocalyptic ideas and expectations. During this time, large numbers of people in Europe, both educated and uneducated, believed that they were living in the last days before God’s dramatic intervention in history.

— Like others of this era, the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century participated in apocalyptic speculations. In fact, every strand of sixteenth-century Anabaptism emphasized apocalypticism. Even the most cautious Anabaptist writers frequently referred to ‘these last days’ and were on the lookout for signs of the antichrist.

MODERN ERA (1650-Present)

— In the wake of the Enlightenment, liberal Christianity viewed the traditional views of eschatology with disdain. This included the traditional view of a bodily return of Christ to reign over the earth.

— In liberal Christianity, the kingdom of God came to be understood mostly in terms of social equality and justice. It was not viewed as a future event but something being realized by humans now in the social realm. The kingdom comes as a result of human activity and moral and social progress.

— Postmillennialism became popular in the eighteenth century. The beginnings of modern postmillennialism are usually associated with the works of Daniel Whitby (1638-1726). (Postmillennialism is the view that the millennium begins in the present age between the two advents of Christ. Postmillennialism holds that the progress of the Gospel will bring in a glorious age of righteousness before Christ returns.)

— Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a postmillennialist who viewed the First Great Awakening as the beginning of the millennium.

— The system known as dispensationalism arose in the middle of the nineteenth century. John Nelson Darby (1800-82) is known as the father of dispensationalism. He: (1) systematized dispensationalism by dividing history into dispensations; (2) taught two phases to Christ’s coming – a secret rapture and a visible coming; and (3) believed in a future literal fulfillment of Old Testament promises with Israel.

— Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), in his book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (1906), shattered the liberal idea that the kingdom Jesus preached was only ethical and moral. Schweitzer argued that Jesus believed in an apocalyptic kingdom that would bring the present age to a crashing end.

— C. H. Dodd (1884-1973) popularized the already/not yet concept in regard to eschatology. The kingdom of God, according to Dodd, was inaugurated with the first coming of Christ. There is, however, a future aspect of the kingdom that awaits a future consummation. Thus, the kingdom is both already and not yet.

— In the twentieth century, dispensationalism became the most popular eschatological perspective in the United States. With dispensationalism came the popular belief of a pretribulational rapture. Key dispensational teachers included C. I. Scofield, Lewis Sperry Chafer, John Walvoord, J. Dwight Pentecost, Alva J. McClain, and Charles Ryrie.

— Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) promoted a form of existential eschatology. Bultmann did not accept the idea of a literal, apocalyptic kingdom of God upon the earth. For him, such eschatological language should not be taken literally. Instead, eschatological language in the Bible should be interpreted existentially with the emphasis being on the practical implications for the reader in the present. Thus, for Bultmann, the key question is not, What does the eschatological language teach about the end times? Instead, the correct question is, How does this language apply to me and my situation in the here and now?

— Jürgen Moltmann (b. 1926) popularized a view of eschatology known as the’theology of Hope.’ He viewed eschatology as the whole of theology. For Moltmann, eschatology is a spirit, an outlook, and a framework in which all theology should be conducted. He also believed the church needs a political theology that seeks to transform the world. For Moltmann, the kingdom of God does not lie in readiness until the passage of time; instead, Christians must work to bring the Kingdom into being. As we move toward the future, the future moves toward us. Moltmann, thus, closely tied the concepts of the future and ethics.

— In the last one hundred years, eschatology has been studied and argued more than at any other time period in church history. Among conservative Christians, the major areas of study and debate include: (1) the timing of Bible prophecy (futurism, preterism, and idealism); (2) the timing of the millennium (premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism); (3) and the timing of the rapture (pretribulationism, midtribulationism, posttribulationism).

Chapter 1

A Brief History of Dispensationalism

D ispensationalism was invented around 1830, either by 20-year-old Margaret Macdonald, who received a vision regarding the pre-tribulation Rapture while in a trance: or by John Nelson Darby. It escalated in popularity in the United States after the Civil War (1861-65), especially when William E. Blackstone (W. E. B.) wrote Jesus is Coming in 1878. Prophecy conferences became the order of the day. Then came C. 1. Scofield’s immensely successful Scofield Reference Bible (1909). After the widely publicized embarrassment of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Protestant evangelicals retreated into a kind of cultural shell. Dispensational theology was used to justify this withdrawal. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 seemed to prove that the prophetic message of dispensationalism was on track.

This is the conventional view: there was at long last a nation Israel for the army of the invader from the North to surround. The post-Rapture Great Tribulation of the Jews now became geographically possible. During the Great Tribulation, according to dispensational theology, two-thirds of the world’s Jews will surely perish, where then the remnant will turn to Christ as their Messiah.

The Reagan candidacy in 1980 strengthened and galvanized them. It can be said at that time the Christian Right was born. Its premier manifestation was the Religious Roundtable’s National Affairs Briefing Conference, held in Dallas in August, 1980, when thousands of Christians came to the Reunion Arena for three days of political education. In the pews of fundamentalist churches, faithful, simple people still accept the broad outlines of the received dispensational paradigm, even though they are incapable of sitting down, Bible in hand, and explaining to a non-dispensationalist the evidence for their belief, verse by verse. When they search for specific verses – a rare event in their lives – they get totally confused very fast. But they nevertheless cling to the received faith, just so long as they do not become active in politics.

The preservation of the State of Israel is basic to the eschatology of the pre-tribulational dispensationalist’s prophetic doctrinal beliefs. That the Antichrist will wipe out two-thirds of Israel’s population after the Rapture of the Church and during the Great Tribulation. This scenario of slaughter is found in former Dallas Seminary president John Walvoord’s book, Israel in Prophecy (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academie,). Based on Zechariah 13:8-9, among other passages, dispensationalists conclude that two-thirds of the Jews are doomed. This is standard teaching from the dispensational pulpits. Sadly, Dispensationalists concentrate their attention on Bible prophecies at the expense of biblical eschatology and proper hermeneutics. Bible prophecy is not usually about eschatology, i.e., the doctrine of last things. Many Christians fail to understand this important point. They love to buy Bible prophecy books, yet they are not really interested in eschatology. How can a book be about prophecy but not be about eschatology? Well for instance, a book on the subject of Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming of Jesus the Messiah can certainly be about prophecy yet not be about eschatology; i.e. The end time. Looking to the New testament concerning future prophetic fulfillment was the fall of Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70 A.D. That historic event was clearly prophesied by Jesus (Luke 21-20-24). This crucial event confirmed and marked the transition from the Old to the New Covenant and the end of Judaism’s synagogue sacrificial system. Jesus linked it symbolically to his death and resurrection.

Dispensation Teachings Vs. Scriptural Truth

When Christ established the New Covenant with the Israel of God, as Paul teaches, it defines all within it as being without race or gender (Ephe. 2-18-20). The word Gentile under the New Covenant, is to mean a pagan or an unbeliever in Jesus Christ. After Christ established the New Covenant, the Gentiles in God’s mind is a pagan, an unbeliever in Christ who stands outside the Israel of God, whether Jew or non-Jew. This is what the New Testament teaches seen in Gal. 3-28-29. "There is neither Jew nor Greek (Jew or non-Jew), there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. It is for this reason Paul could state the sorrow he felt that his unbelieving kinsmen according to the flesh were lost without Christ. Romans 9-6, But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but; through Isaac your descendants will be named. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants." The apostle Paul could not have been any clearer. Any person regardless of his or her genetics, Jew or non-Jew, or where they live who does not believe in Christ is not regarded as Abraham’s descendants. They are considered to be outside the covenant, and scripturally called Gentiles to mean unbelievers.

There is not one scripture that supports the false teaching regarding a promise from God that an entire generation of people (Jews) will be saved. There is not one scripture that promises an entire generation of people will be saved based on their genetics. The term all Israel seen in Romans 11-26 is speaking of every faithful follower of God through time, and reaching into the future of all who will accept it, that is the New Covenant. Thus in this way all Israel under the New Covenant, called the Israel of God-the house of Israel, will be saved. This is seen in Heb. 8-10, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." The apostles of Jesus understood that the church, the body of Christ, is the Israel of God, because God stated that all those in the New Covenant were his people.¹  – and they shall be my people – . All those who come to accept him. We see that in Christ, all faithful believers are in the commonwealth or house of Israel under the New Covenant. This is told us in Ephe. 2-12-13,  – remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formally were far off having been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ. This is seen in Matt. 2-5-6,  – .And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd my people Israel (the Israel of God). To teach today that the chosen people of God is defined by genetics, which scripturally are seen as being children of the flesh is to deny the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles.

The many who preach, teach and make many believe these teachings in the futurist camp, have become the teachings of a radical departure from what the Holy Spirit of scripture teaches. And these ideas have produced and brought forth the false teachings of biblical prophecy seen in the Old and New Testament. They teach that the old system of animal sacrifices will be restored. Because the temple will be rebuilt where animal sacrifices will begin again in Jerusalem. They teach that this has been prophesied by God, and is now being brought about by God. As noted, these false teachings also state and claim that God will save an entire generation of non-believing Jews, in a special and unique manner. Thus these false teachings claim that God will respect some people more than others, a thing that God denies. This is seen in Romans 2-11, For there is no partiality with God. This teaching would then make out God a lier, for he has stated that he is no respecter of persons.

Jesus taught that the Jerusalem of this world would be left desolate. Jerusalem had not accepted the Messiah even though he had come to them face to face, as he prophesied in Matt. 23-37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate. What Jesus foretold about Jerusalem is in opposition to the false end time teaching that states that all Jews (or most) will see a massive Christian conversion to Jesus Christ in one generation. This teaching is not in the Bible. Jesus denied that possibility when he foretold that Jerusalem would be trampled down by Gentiles until the fullness of the Gentiles is fulfilled, and then the end will come, as scripture dictates. The end of what? The end of the world, i.e. Age as we know it.

Jesus said that the ending of the trampling down of literal Jerusalem will have a specific time, as can be seen in Daniel, Thessalonians and Revelation. Where then The Event noted in scripture is Christ’s return to gather his people and to destroy the pagan world. Until that time, the situation will continue, and ends only at the time designated by God. This is the sequence of end time events as told by the apostles and it is what Christ revealed to the apostle John in the book of Revelation. The apostles teach that Jesus Christ will slay the beast with the breath of his mouth at his return. "The lawless one (i.e. The beast) whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming; – ." (2 Thess. 2-8).²

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, there Paul predicts the coming of the man of sin – the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2-3-4). Primarily because of verse 3, the man of sin millions teach, preach and have made others come to believe that there will be one super individual called the anti-Christ who will rise to power. In the book of 1 John, it plainly says that there are many anti-Christs (1 John 2-18) and a spirit of anti-Christ (1 John 4-3). John also wrote that any person who denies the true doctrine of Jesus Christ is a deceiver and an anti-Christ (2 John 7,9). So here we see the idea of there being only one anti-Christ is contrary to these biblical teachings. Prophecy also refers to this same anti-Christ as the little horn (Dan. 7-8), the beast (Rev. 13-1), the mystery of iniquity (2 Thess. 2-7), and that wicked (2 Thess. 2-8). Do all these expressions refer to one evil person who will rise to power? Most agree that Daniel’s little horn, Revelation’s beast, and Paul’s man of sin refer to the same thing. Daniel chapter 7 describes four beasts – a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a dragon-like beast with ten horns (Dan. 7-3-7). The little horn seen there is the same as the beast seen in Rev. 13-1. But what many fail to discern and understand is that in Daniel chapter 7, a beast is clearly defined as a kingdom and not a man. The Holy Scripture says, " – the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth" (Dan. 7-23.).

A careful study of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 reveals it also connects us to the mystery of iniquity. First, the mystery of iniquity, although under restraint was already at work in Paul’s time (v.7). Second, it would continue all the way until the second coming of Christ at the end of the world/age (v. 8). The Dispensationalists apply 2 Thess. 2-3-4 as being an individual called anti-Christ who will enter a literal rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, desecrate it, and cause the re-instituted animal Jewish sacrifices to cease there. For this teaching they refer to Dan. 9-27, of what anti-Christ would fulfill in the midst of that seven. Though it mentions there he causes the oblations and offerings to cease, this does not indicate it is speaking of a reinstitution of animal sacrifices that he causes to cease. Nor does it speak there of a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, where these sacrifices and offerings are caused by him to cease. This verse mentions nothing of a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, nor are these oblations and offerings to be taken as a reinstitution of Old Testament Jewish sacrifices.

The Greek word for temple in 2 Thess. 2-4 is naos. He used the very same Greek word in 1 Cor. 3-16. Writing to the church of God (1 Cor. 1-2), Paul asked, "What! Do you not know that you are the temple of God?" Here Paul defined the naos or temple of God to be the church. In fact, in all of Paul’s writings, every time he used the word naos (see 2 Cor. 6-16 and Ephe. 2-21-22), he always applied it to the Christian church, and never once to a literal Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The correct interpretation of 2 Thess. 2-4 based on Paul’s own usage of the word naos is that the temple of God is the church, the body of Christ. This means that anti-Christ, to mean many, will subtle and deceptively, as predicted, enter Christianity, the body of Christ, and cause the falling away; the oblation to cease because of the abominations in it predicted for the end time. This is seen in Dan. 8-11-12;9-27;11-31 and 12-11.³

Those who hold to these views and teachings also refer to Rev. 11-2 as further confirmation that a literal temple will be rebuilt and exist in Jerusalem with re-instituted Jewish sacrifices in progress, as the anti-Christ comes to power. The Greek word temple used here is naos, is the same word used by Paul in 2 Thess. 2-4;1 Cor. 3-16;2 Cor. 6-16; and Ephe. 2-21-22. So here we read, "Rise and measure the temple of God," the holy place and the alter. But not its outer courts or precincts, for they are to be trampled on. In the Old Testament scriptures, Jerusalem is called the holy city. But since they rejected Christ, the New Testament teaches us that Jerusalem is no longer the holy city, it has been left desolate (Matt. 23-38; Luke 13-35;19-41-44;21-24) unto the end. "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Heb. 13-13-14; see also Ezek. 48-35; Rev. chap. 21). We read in 1 Peter 2-9, But ye (are) a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, – . Here in 1 Peter 2-9, represents what the Old Covenant nation of Israel and the holy city Jerusalem was before they rejected Christ, seen in 1 Peter 2-7-8. Now the New Covenant holy nation is considered to be the house and holy city of the God of Israel, where he would dwell. Those who hold the teaching that Rev. 11-1-2 refers to a literal rebuilt temple in Jerusalem are incorrect. Rev. 11-2 only states that where this temple sanctuary resides in, is considered as being a holy city, for the Lord’s sanctuary is in its midst. It does not state that this sanctuary would be in the holy city of Jerusalem. For Jerusalem is no longer considered the holy city of God. Nor does it state there that there would be a reinstitution of Old Testament Jewish sacrifices in progress at that time. What is given us here in Rev. 11-1-2 is what is given us and parallels with Ezekiel chapters 40-48.⁴

A Biblical text that is frequently used to prove that God still has a glorious future for the nation of Israel is Romans 11-25-26. Many theologians are convinced that these verses indeed teach that God is promising great blessings for the nation of Israel. Plus the very fact that today Israel is again in its own land surely anticipates a future spiritual restoration for the nation of Israel. But the fact is, these verses teach us exactly the opposite, namely that there will never be a spiritual restoration as a nation of Jews. We read there, Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. This tells us how long this blindness will continue, but it also implies that during that same period, a remnant chosen by grace will continue to come in. How long? Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.The fullness of the Gentiles would have to include every Gentile in the entire world chosen by God to be saved. Therefore this verse teaches us that as long as there remains one Gentile in the world to be saved, the greater part of the nation of Israel will remain in their blindness. Many theologians change the word so in Romans 11-26 to the word then" or the word after. The Greek word so is found more than 150 times in the Bible, and never translated then or after. In a few places it is translated in this manner which is the more correct meaning of the word when following the context. Romans 11-26 in no way suggests that after the fullness of the Gentiles come in then all Israel will be saved. Rather it is teaching that blindness will continue on the nation of Israel to the end of the age. And so it is in this manner, all Israel who are to be saved will be saved.⁵

We read on the last half of verse 26 and all of verse 27:  – as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. According to their understanding of Romans 11, the whole nation cannot come in until the deliver shall come out of Zion. In other words, according to their understanding of these verses the Savior must still come to save the nation of Israel. Apparently, the fact that Christ has already come as Savior is not sufficient. This teaching then denies the atonement. God’s word declares that blindness will continue on the major part of the nation of Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles come in, that is until the end of the age. Israel now exists as a nation, but as a nation they are as negative toward Christ as they ever have been. There is a trickle of believers, a remnant chosen by grace. Indeed, all of God’s prophecies concerning the nation of Israel have in recent past, come to fulfillment; except as individuals, repenting and accepting Christ as their Messiah.

The Holy Word of the Lord clearly shows us that those who teach, and preach in the futurist camp, that there will come an individual called anti-Christ who will come to power, is not scriptural and is a false teaching. That there will come an individual called the false prophet working great wonders is not scriptural and is a false teaching. That there will be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem where ritual animal sacrifices will be re-instituted is not scriptural and is a false teaching. That Anti-Christ in the middle of the seven years will enter and desecrate the temple in Jerusalem and cause their re-instituted sacrifices to cease is not scriptural, and is a false teaching. That there will be a great Christian conversion where the nation of Israel, if not all Jews will be saved, is not scriptural and is a false teaching. And those who teach that the church, the body of Christ, Jew and non-Jew is not the Israel of God, the house of Israel, is not scriptural and is a false teaching. And among other things that there is to be a 1000 year earthly reign with Christ on earth reigning from Jerusalem is not scriptural and is a false teaching.

There is much evidence in the Old Testament that the Lord clearly fulfilled the promises of the Abrahamic land covenant and the blessings promised Abraham and his descendants as recorded in the book of Joshua. If it cannot be accepted there, it certainly was fulfilled during David and Solomon’s reign to its fullest. The fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, in its fullest, would come through Christ.⁶ Confirmation of the Davidic covenant is found in the words of the angel to Mary, announcing that she would be the mother of Jesus, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end (Luke 1-30-33).

At the time of the ascension of Christ, the disciples were not clear how this promise of Christ’s kingdom would be fulfilled. In Acts 1-6 they asked the question, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Their question was not whether Christ would bring in and restore the kingdom to Israel, but rather when he would restore the kingdom, a physical kingdom to Israel, for that is how they and Israel understood the scriptures at the time. Note carefully how Jesus answered them. He told them that it was not for them to know the times of that fulfillment set by the Father. In effect, Christ confirmed to them that the prophesied restoration of the physical kingdom of Israel would in time occur. The question asked Christ here is important to understand concerning what was to be restored concerning this question they asked? They were not asking for a spiritual restoration but rather the prophesied restoration of Israel’s return to their land as a kingdom again, predicted in the Old Testament. The disciples obviously had difficulty in understanding that prior to the restoration of Israel, the present age would need to be fulfilled to a point, in which Gentiles would be brought in; what has come to be called the church age. This question came up in the Council of Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15. In solving the problem, James quoted the prophecy of Amos 9-11-12. James concluded that scriptural prophecy indicated that there would be a time of Gentile blessing before the restoration of Israel as a physical kingdom could be brought in. This of course, is exactly what has occurred to this present age.

As Jeremiah stated, God predicted here a covenant of peace with Israel which would be an everlasting covenant(v.26). Though announced in the Old Testament, it will have its fulfillment for Israel when Israel is restored nationally, and for some of her, the remnant, spiritually, those that would turn to Christ. Scholars have puzzled over the precise meaning of this new covenant announced by