Eternal life resides in Jesus and in Him alone. No one else! This is true now and will also be the case after Jesus removes His true church from the earth.
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What do people need the most? The answer remains the same as it’s always been: A clear understanding of the Gospel. By this I mean that people need Jesus, not the one that so many today create in their mind but but the One revealed on the pages of Scripture.
The claim that Jesus is already reigning over the nations is extremely popular in churches today. However, is this the rule of Jesus over the nations of the earth? Is our current experience the kingdom to which the New Testament says we are heirs?
What is this kingdom to which the Bible says we are heirs as believers.?
The massive influx of people from Muslim nations explains the anti-Semitic demonstrations in major cities across Europe and the U.S., but why the intense hatred such as at Cornel University in New York where Jewish students are forced to hide from danger?
The silence of churches concerning Israel’s right to the Land leaves a vacuum that the devil fills with murderous hatred.
The powerbrokers in our world work feverishly to bring about a global Marxist government over which they will rule and enslave the people of the world.
These globalists are powerful, famous, and exceedingly wealthy, but they will be forgotten relics of the past when we inherit an everlasting kingdom.
The woke culture that’s invaded many churches thrives on promoting a Jesus that’s far different from the One we read about in the New Testament, which always begins when a church discounts the meaning of words in the biblical text.
The words of Scripture matter. One cannot devalue their meaning without opening to door to false teaching.
It seems harmless to most Christians today. Many pastors who promote this teaching also adhere to the Gospel of grace. Although the danger remains hidden, it’s real.
This is because churches with a lengthy history of denying a future restored kingdom for Israel are those that today promote Wokeism and proclaim the tenants of cancel culture rather than the saving message of the cross.
The opposition to Jesus’ future reign on earth remains intense. Although premillennialism grew dramatically during the twentieth century, many Bible-believing teachers and pastors have reverted to Augustine’s platonic view of reality that denies biblical teaching regarding the millennium.
What has caused this reversal in recent decades? I believe the roots of today’s passionate opposition to premillennialism lie in Satan’s continuing hatred of anything to do with Jesus’ future reign.
Life in the eternal state will undoubtedly be spectacular,. Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven does an excellent job of expanding our imaginations regarding what life might be like on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem. We have much to look forward to when the words of Revelation 21-22 ring true throughout the earth and universe.
If such is the case, does it matter what I believe about the millennial reign of Jesus? Absolutely!
However, many pastors today insist that prophetic texts that refer to the restoration of a kingdom for Israel, the tribulation, and Jesus’ future reign are allegory, symbolical of another reality. This discrediting of the words of the Bible, however, is like a loose thread on a knit sweater. If one pulls at it long enough, it unravels the entire sweater.
Today, allegorical interpretations of biblical prophecy are again driving the church away from the purity of the Gospel and in effect cancelling the “blessed hope” of Titus 2:13.
But one thing is certain: no one can cancel our blessed hope! Jesus will appear someday to take us home before God judges the Christ-rejecting world.
The Lord of the Rings is allegory; Jesus’ future return to earth is reality. In Tolkien’s symbolic tale of the Second Coming, King Aragorn defeats the forces of the demonic Sauron that are attacking Isengard. In biblical prophecy, Jesus will triumph over the forces that Satan will someday gather to destroy Jerusalem.
Why am I writing about preterism? It’s my passion to warn believers about false teachings related to future things and as such preterism requires our full attention because it distorts our Gospel hope.
Because of the widespread acceptance and popularity of preterism, it’s necessary to address key perils wrapped up in its false teaching.
Why do we believe that the rapture will happen before the tribulation? There are a number of signposts in Scripture that point us in the direction of which I will write about in the coming weeks. I will start with premillennialism.
Premillennialism is the belief in the thousand year reign of Jesus before the eternal state (see Rev. 20:1-10). Those who hold to this position believe in a literal seven year tribulation after which Jesus returns to earth to setup His kingdom and rule over the nations from Jerusalem.
For several months I attended a church whose doctrinal statement affirmed its belief in premillennialism, the belief in Jesus’ reign over the nations before the eternal state. So my wife and I faithfully attended assuming the church stood by its statement of faith. Such was not the case.
Later, in discussing prophecy with the pastor I discovered he identified himself as a “covenant premillennialist.” I remained hopeful even then that he believed in a future for Israel and an actual millennium. I later discovered that he did not believe these things.
On the afternoon of June 19, 2019, the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) voted to remove the word “premillennial” from their statement of faith. As one who has attended EFCA churches in the past, I feel a deep sense of sadness at the decision. I believe this removal of the word “premillennial” takes the EFCA in an unacceptable direction.
I believe that the members voting in favor of removing “premillennial” from their statement of beliefs made their decision the basis of three false assumptions.
