Dispensational Distortions - Getting It Wrong

I would like to take a little time out from the current discussion of Dispensationalism’s theological, hermeneutical and doctrinal difficulties to discuss the never ending problem of false predictions.

Why should this be such a big deal?

Though discussed briefly in the postings called “Why Eschatology,” it is important to understand why God thinks about His name. When He presented Himself before Moses in the burning bush He called Himself I Am. This is to show that God needs to appeal to no other authority. there is none higher. His name is sacred and it His name must be taken in vain!

One should cringe every time he hears a televangelist spout the phrase “Thus saith the Lord!” NO ONE should ever take lightly the concept of speaking for the Lord. He never lies! He is never wrong! Why would God have false prophets executed? Because His name is never to be drug through the mud. There is not to ever be a hint that God speaks incorrectly. When the prophet makes the claim of something happening and claims to speak for God (through interpretation) he has taken the Lord’s name in vain. It’s not a matter of, “oops, got that one wrong!”

Dispensationalist are not alone in their false prognostication (the Jehovah’s Witnesses have missed more than a handful of dates) but no group has gone on for so long getting it wrong over and over again with little or no repercussions…the next book tops the best seller’s list again. This is as much an indictment of the lack of Biblical literacy within than Church!

Here are just a handful of false predictions leaders of the Left Behind movement have made just in the last few decades.

· Pat Robertson said the Antichrist was born in 1954

· In 1964 God told Morris Cerullo that the last great move of the Holy Spirit before “the end” was his ministry.

· Charles Taylor predicted the Second Coming on September 6th, 1975

· Jack Van Impe suggested the Great Tribulation would begin in 1976

· Pat Robertson so believed the Second Coming would take place in 1979 that he planned on sending a film crew to Jerusalem to film it!

· Salem Kirban wrote the bestseller, Satan’s Mark, proclaiming the Mark of the Beast (666) was here!

· Southwest Radio Church radio program called Qadhafi the Antichrist

· Noah Hutchings claimed that Pope John Paul was the Beast after he survived an assassination attempt

· Colin Deal, in his book, Christ Return by 1988: 101 Reasons Why, predicted the Rapture in 1988

· Charles Dyer claimed in 1989 that Saddam Hussein’s re-creation of the famed hanging Gardens of Babylon was a sign of the “Rise of Babylon” and of the end.

· Benny Hinn proclaimed that his listeners would not need to buy funeral plots because the Rapture was so near

· Harold Camping, in his book 1994, predicted a Rapture in 1994

· Chuck Missler called Gorbachev Gog in 1995

· John Hagee believed the assassination of Israeli PM Rabin signaled The End!

· The Tabernacle of Praise in Colorado Springs said the end would come in 1995

· Jack van Impe had a video entitled, 1999? Global March to Israel

· Peter Popoff said the return of Christ would come before the year 2000

Now consider the following quotes from leading Left behind theologians and the level of expectation and assuradeness of their words…

· “What you are starting to read probably is my final issue of Bible Prophecy News, for Bible prophecy fulfillments indicate that Jesus Christ our Lord will most likely return for us at the rapture of the Church before the Fall 1992 issue can be printed.” - Charles R. Taylor

“I predict the absolute fullness of man’s operation on planet Earth by the year 2000 A.D.” - Lester Sumrall

· “Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong, and I say that unequivocally. There is no way Biblically that I can be wrong; and I say that to every preacher in town.” - Edgar Whisenant (88 Reasons Why the Rapture will be in 198

· “I believe that the generation of 1948 is the last generation. Since a generation of judgment is forty years and the Tribulation period lasts seven years, I believe the Lord could come back for His Church any time before the Tribulation starts, which would mean any time before 1981. (1948 + 40 - 7 = 1981)…” Chuck Smith – Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

· …I could be wrong, but its a deep conviction in my heart, and all my plans are predicated upon that belief… Chuck Smith – Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

· “When Sept 6, 1994 arrives, no one else can become saved, the end has come” Harold Camping

Now consider what happens if one disagrees with even just how Dispensationalist view Israel…

· “In fact, trying to convert Jews is a waste of time. They (already) have a faith structure.’ Everyone else, whether Buddhist or Baha’i, needs to believe in Jesus, but not Jews. Jews already have a covenant with God that has never been replaced by Christianity” John Hagee

· “Is it important to be right on the Israel question? When you consider that being wrong brings you under the curse of God and headed for eternal, everlasting fire with the devil and his angels . . . it’s important! Israel is not a ‘take it or leave it’ subject. It is a life and death matter . . . eternal life!” John Hagee

· Through their generous donations to Wings, The Fellowship’s friends have brought hundreds of thousands of Jews to the Holy Land. By funding this “second exodus” of Jews from oppression to freedom, Fellowship donors are showing their compassion and concern for the Jewish people. Eagles Wings Ministry

· Through John Hagee Ministries, Christians are joining forces with the Jewish people to rescue Jews from all around the world who wish to relocate to Israel. John Hagee Ministries – Exodus II

I do find utterly ironic the concept of sending money to an organization to help Jews immigrate to Israel since the foundational belief of these organizations is that soon nearly 1/2 to 2/3 of those living in Jerusalem will be slaughtered!

Finally let’s look at some quotes from leading Left Behind proponents who seem to sell the most books…

Hal Lindsey

· “The current build-up of Russian ships in the Mediterranean serves as another significant sign of the possible nearness of Armageddon” (The Late Great Planet Earth, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970, p. 145-146)

· “When the Russians invade the Middle East with amphibious and mechanized land forces, they will make a ‘blitzkreig’ type of offensive through the area.”

“But world domination — as Ezekiel makes clear — was never in the script for Russia!” (italics in original, Cited in Pate and Haines, p. 13

· “What generation? Obviously, in context, the generation that would see the signs — chief among them the rebirth of Israel. A generation in the Bible is something like forty years. If this is a correct deduction, then within forty years or so of 1948, all these things could take place. Many scholars who have studied Bible prophecy all their lives believe that this is so.” (The Late Great Planet Earth, p. 54)

· “Jesus said “this generation shall not pass, till all these things come to pass.” What generation ? The generation that would see all these signs. We are that generation! I believe you cannot miss it. We’re that generation, and I believe we’re rapidly moving toward the coming of Christ.” (Apocalypse Planet Earth videotape, 1990, HLM)

”I also said that ‘if’ a generation was forty years and ‘if’ the generation of the ‘fig tree’ (Matthew 24:32-34) started with the foundation of the state of Israel, then Jesus ‘might come back by 1988.’ But I put a lot of ifs and maybes in because I knew that no one could be absolutely certain.”

Grant Jefferey

· “Israel could have accepted (Jesus) as Messiah and He would have ushered in the millennial Kingdom. Somehow, Jesus would have been crucified at some later point to fulfill the prophecy and provide salvation of all those who repent of their sins.“ (Apocalypse, p. 33,34)

· “the year A.D. 2000 is a probable termination date for the ‘last days’” (Armageddon, p. 193)

Jack Van Impe

· “By the year 2001, there will be global chaos. (It will) usher in international chaos such as we’ve never seen in our history.. drought, war, malaria, and hunger afflicting entire populations throughout the [African] continent…” (”On the Edge of Eternity”)

· “The number “6” in Roman numerals is made up of the letters, “VI”. The ancient Greek number “6” was taken from the sixth letter of their alphabet, the letter “sigma” which looks like the English letter “S.” Returning to the Babylonian empire and their sexagesimal system of numbers, I considered that the possibility that their letter “A’ equaled 6. Thus, from the three great world empires of history, I found that the composition of the number “666” spells the word VISA (11:59 and Counting, pp.106,107) Jack Van Impe

This is just a small handful of examples. Many resources are available to discover even more. Many of these ideas will be dealt with in great detail later, but for now I just wanted it to be made clear that ideas and words have consequences…God will not be mocked!