Michael Demory
How many times have you heard the adage, “Never let a crisis go to waste!?” It’s one of the pillars of Marxism which has been implemented every time a school is molested by ungodly men. It is applied whenever a conservative is caught doing something illegal or just plain stupid. However, it is not only a secular thing, “Never let a crisis go to waste” has been used religiously by the Millennialists to sell their books, rake in millions of dollars from unsuspecting listeners, and to keep their names before the public as hyper-intelligent prophets. With the advent of the recent attacks against Israel by Hamas, the nay-sayers of Christian Zionism have jumped on the band wagon of a crisis not going to waste, and ill-informed are lapping it up like dogs to their own vomit. I don’t know how many posts on social media I have seen of late, and most likely dear readers you have as well, that champions the premillennial notion that Jesus will set foot on earth when He returns and establish His 1000-year reign in Jerusalem.
Zionism finds its roots in 17th century England after the Reformation. Protestant eschatology began to include the return of the Jews to Palestine. A number of Oliver Cromwell’s chose advisors advocated that Jews be allowed to resettle in England after being banned in the 13th century. Cromwell’s secretary, John Sadler wrote a pamphlet in which he argued the English were kindred to the Jews, thereby initiating “British Israelism.” Sir Isaac Newton was scorned by his supporters when he predicted the Jews would return to Palestine, rebuild Jerusalem and the third temple by the 21st century, leading the end of the world no later than 2060. Napoleon called for all Jews to rally around his flag, and they would re-establish ancient Jerusalem. It was in the late 1800’s that Irishman John Darby would establish premillennial dispensationalism which became widely accepted with America. Many notables joined the Christian Zion movement such as (Professor George Bush, John Adams, Herman Melville, William Blackstone, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr., Hal Lindsey, John McArthur Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and John Hagee).
Evangelical Christianity is steeped in Calvinism, Dispensational Premillennialism, and Zionism (the establishment, support, and protection of the State of Israel) Why even Max Lucado has become a Zionist, supporting the Millennial position that all prophecy concerning Christ has not been fulfilled. Following is the common post being sent on social media:
Why Does Israel Matter? Did you know that the time clock of the return of Jesus Christ isn’t based on America’s timeline? It’s based on what is happening in Israel.
Did you know Jesus wasn’t a “Christian”? He was a Jew. He celebrated and kept the Jewish holy days and customs, as well as the feats of the LORD. He didn’t come to eradicate the Torah and writings of the Prophets/Old Testament. He came to fulfill the prophecies that were written in them. When Jesus returns, He isn’t returning to the United States. The Bible says He is going to plant His foot down on the Mount of Olives and go through the Eastern Gate, which is currently sealed off with sixteen feet of concrete. A cemetery was also place in front of the gate because touching the dead makes a Jew unclean and unable to enter the Temple, which is considered Holy. The Word of God says He will return there and from there He will rule and reign for 1,000 years.
The final battle isn’t going to be on U.S. soil. It’s going to be in the Valley of Megiddo, in Israel. The Bible says as the nations wage war against Israel Jesus will come and destroy His enemies with the breath of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). God did not replace the Jews with Christians as some believe. We are actually grafted in with them as you would graft a wild branch into an existing tree. The Word of God says, “when you touch Israel, you touch the Apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8). “He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. The LORD is thy keeper” (Psalm 121:4). “I will bless those that bless you and I will curse those that curse you” (Genesis 12:3). We are also commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122).
There is so much inaccuracy in this post that I can’t provide a detailed response but will furnish enough of answer to show the error of it. Sadly, most people will read it and take it as Gospel truth, without so much as thought of being a “fact checker.” But let us begin at the beginning. Does Israel matter? Absolutely! It mattered to Paul over 1900 years ago when he wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1). Paul was of Jewish descent, and he earnestly prayed for his brethren’s salvation. Why? Because they were lost, their souls were headed to hell for all eternity if they refused the grace of God. John tells us they as well as the Gnostics and others were “antichrist” (1 John 2:18, 22; 2 John 7). No, antichrist does not refer to one individual person yet to come in the future who will deceive the world. It refers to anyone who rejects the divinity and Messiahship of Jesus the Christ. The dispensationalists falsely contend that the Bible uses several terms and titles to describe him. Note the following assumptions:
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The Little Horn (Dan. 7:8)
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The Insolent King (Dan. 8:23)
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The Prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26)
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The Abomination of Desolation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15)
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The Man of Lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3)
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The Son of Destruction (2 Thess. 2:3)
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The Lawless One (2 Thess. 2:8)
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The Beast (Rev. 11:7; 13:1; 14:9; 15:2; etc.)
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The Strong-Willed King (Dan. 11:36)
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The Worthless Shepherd (Zech. 11:16-17)
If it is the case that anyone denying the divinity and Messiahship of Jesus is called by God “antichrist,” and since the Jews do not consider Jesus as divine or their promised Messiah, then it is the case they are “antichrist,” denying both the Father and the Son (1 John 2:18, 22). Which in turn means they cannot possibly be God’s chosen. As for the return of Jesus not being on America’s timeline, we agree, because it is in fact not on any timeline of mankind, but the Father’s alone (Matt. 24:36). Nor does it have anything to do with what has occurred in Israel, past, present, and future.
Any honest and diligent student of the Scriptures knows Jesus was Jewish, as Christianity didn’t even exist during His ministry. Yes, Jesus obeyed the law, with its feasts, customs, and Holy Days. And yes, Jesus said He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-18; Luke 24:44). By declaring such to be the case, does not make their case concerning what is happening in Israel at this time. Jesus clearly pointed out to the Jews, “Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill…” (Matt. 5:17). Notice, Jesus did not say one word about “perpetuating” the law and the prophets, as if it were meant to teach the Law and the Prophet would remain as long as the heaven and earth remains. Perpetuating the Law and the Prophets would mean Jesus could not fulfill it. The word destroy means to annul, to throw down, to bring to nought. Jesus did not annul, or abolish the Law and Prophets, but rather brought them to their conclusion. To fulfill denotes carrying through to the end, to carry out, to accomplish, to bring to realization. What Jesus told the Jews was that He came to accomplish the intent of the Law and Prophets, bringing them to perfection. One such prophecy foretold the implementation of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-33). It would take the place of the Old Covenant, as it is impossible for two laws to be in force at the same time (Rom. 7:1-7; Heb. 10:9-10).
Next the post says when Jesus returns, He is going to plant His foot on the Mount of Olives and go through the Eastern Gate. This is a millennial misinterpretation of Zechariah 14:4. It must be understood that Zechariah is the same type of writing as the book of Revelation, it is apocalyptic, which is figurative in nature. Yet, millennialists love to misapply figurative writings only when it suits their doctrinal beliefs, thereby eisegeting rather than exegeting (reading an interpretation into the text instead of drawing out what the author meant to say). Chapters 9-13 of Zechariah are fulfilled in Matthew chapters 21-28 in Christ Jesus. Which leaves chapter 14 an eschatology chapter—a study of last things. In an effort to prove their 1000-year earthly kingdom theory, millennialists must use 14:4 as the golden rod of Jesus’ return. According to them, He will return at the exact same spot from which He ascended from the earth (Acts 1:9-11). Something they have yet to prove, since Zechariah only says, “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,” but nothing specific about where on the mount of Olives. What we find in chapter 14 of Zechariah is the spiritual conflict between the saints of God and the forces of Satan. Those who took refuge in spiritual Zion lived safely in spite of the siege (vs. 11). Those who fight against God and His people are dead as they live (vs. 12). Jesus will not literally set foot on the mount of Olives at His second coming.
Nowhere in all of Scripture does God inform us that Jesus rule and reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem at His second coming. Yet, that is what this post is trying to disseminate. Jesus spoke of His return in Matthew chapter 24. There, Jesus was asked by His disciples three questions, (1) when shall these things be? (concerning the destruction of the temple), (2) what shall be the sign of Thy coming? And (3), and of the end of the world? (vs. 3). Jesus then proceeds to answer their questions in order (vs. 4-35) answers the first question about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Verses 36-51 answers questions number 2 and 3, for the end of the world will occur after the Judgment. As for the second coming of Jesus, He stated, “that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only” and by the examples He gave, there will be no signs that tell us the time is near. Not even the attacks of Hamas or any other carnal warfare.
When Jesus left His apostles behind, standing at Mount Olivet, they were told by two men in white apparel, “why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 Paul informs us of Christ’s return for Judgment when he wrote:
…when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believe in that day.
Then, speaking of the same event (which millennialism irrationally divides into as many 8 different judgments), Paul wrote:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming (the second) of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep (dead). For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:15-17).
When answering the apostles’ questions about Jesus’ second coming and the end of the world, Jesus continued His answer through chapter 25. In verses 31-46 when the Son of man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, He shall sit on the throne of His glory with every nation of people from every generation, both saints and sinners to be judged. If it is true that Jesus’ second coming finds Him standing on the Mount of Olives, then where are His angels? Why did the dead in Christ rise up to meet Jesus in the air? Why is Jesus not in the clouds as the angels told the apostles He would be when He returned? Twisting the Scriptures to add a mythical rapture, where only the saints are raptured out for 3 ½ years of the tribulation period, and the wicked not being judged until the end of the 1000-year reign, does not help their case, because there is far too much evidence to the contrary.
Our tribulation period is in the here and now. This life was given to us by God to prepare us for eternity. This is the only chance we get to be granted heaven. If we squander our chance, then that is on us, in the end, God only grants us the choice we have made for our eternal home. There is only one return of Christ, and that is for the judgment, which there is only one of all accountable men and women from every age, separating the sheep from the goats. There is no battle of Armageddon, in the Valley of Megiddo. The Book of Revelation is figurative, not to be taken literally. If taken literally, then Jesus is a literal lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (5:6).
Once again, this post misinterprets 2 Thessalonians 2 concerning the man of sin. Millennialists have chosen to see the “Antichrist” around every corner of the Scriptures, and here they have chosen to relate the man of sin to him. There ain’t no such animal, let alone one man or individual who is called the antichrist. The only place all of Scripture where the word antichrist is used, is found in 1 John 2:18, 22 and 2 John 7. There John defines for us what it means to be “antichrist.” We don’t need to run to other books to find out what the term means, God has already provided us with the definition. It refers to anyone that does not believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Word. John said there were many antichrists in his day, and he was speaking of the Jews, Gnostics, Epicureans, and others who held the antichrist spirit. Today there are many antichrists among us, of which the Jewish people are still antichrist, as are the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, Christian Scientists, Unitarians, United Church of God, La Luz del Mundo, to name just some of the over 40 groups.
Then the post ungodly continues its falsehoods by contending that “God did not replace the Jews with Christians, but grafted Christians into the Jews faith.” That is exactly what the Judaizers of the first century thought needed to occur when they convinced congregations of Christians to be circumcised and obey the law. When God said He would establish a new covenant, and on the cross of Jesus, the old law was nailed, taking it out of the way, fulfilling its purpose (Jer. 31:31-33; Col. 2:14), the old Jewish religious economy was over. The reference to being grafted in is found in Romans chapter 11. In the context of verses 11-24 Paul is discussing the salvation of Israel, keep in mind he is writing to Christians in Roman, of which they consist of both Jews and Gentiles. In speaking about the Jews stumbling in verse 11, he is speaking of their choice in refusing to understand and listen to the words of God it is they, the Jews who must change their way of thinking, worshipping God. The idea of Israel stumbling was a fact, but was it their intention to fall? Paul says, “God forbid.” While they did indeed stumble and fall, they did not do so for the purpose of falling. They had no intention to fall from God’s favor, but because of their rejection of Christ, His Gospel, and His church it caused them to fall.
In verse 16, Paul demonstrates that all was not lost for the Jews, they could be saved. In figurative language Paul speaks of the first fruit and the root (first Jewish converts to Christianity) and the lump and the branches (remnant of fleshly Israel). Then the Gentiles are brought into the discussion in verse 17 as a wild olive tree. The broken off branches here refers to those Jews who rejected Christ and His gospel. But the Gentile Christians should not glory over the broken branches, because the wild olive does not bear the root, rather it is the other way around. The root referring to the Abrahamic promise that led through the Jews to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and His church. New Testament Christians are now God’s chosen people from all nations. True, Jews were descendants of Abraham, but not all Israel were truly Israel (Rom. 9:6-7). The true Jew since the first century is one whose circumcision is of the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). True Jews are Jews inwardly, not outwardly, meaning that all physical Jews must obey the gospel of Christ and become an inward Jew, a spiritual Jew (Philp. 3:2-7). Any Jew believing in the Old Covenant concept of being Jewish has blinded themselves. Only when they turn to Christ and are enlightened by His Word can he become a true Jew, God’s chosen (2 Cor. 3:6-18).
To understand the truth of the Abrahamic promise one must respect the types and antitypes of the Old Covenant. Old Israel was a type of New Israel (Christianity). The church of Christ is viewed by God as spiritual Israel, making each member a spiritual Jew, whether Jew or Gentile.
But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both one, and break down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that He might create in Himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby; and He came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were nigh; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father. So, then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Eph. 3:13-19).
The natural Israel, as God’s chosen people from all peoples on the earth, were types of the elect seed, a royal priesthood of believers whom Christ chose out of the world and redeemed for His everlasting kingdom. Therefore, being of both Jewish and Gentile origin, believers in Christ being the antitype, are Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:29). Are we today commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as called for in Psalm 122:6? A Psalm not written by David, but some other author of King Hezekiah’s day. A Psalm of welcoming to the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel by the king to join the Passover. The king is asking that between the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes, “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Let there be unity among them, and may they lead peaceable lives with all godliness within the walls of Jerusalem. This is not a command to anyone today, but a simple Psalm of civility and observation for that particular time. Do we pray for Jerusalem, for the Jewish people, absolutely, as we pray for the souls of every lost individual in the world. As Paul prayed, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1).
There will never be a sign that points to the return of the Christ, just as no thief ever prepares his intended victim for the hour he will strike (2 Pet. 3:10). Jesus will not set one foot upon the earth at His return, but will come in the clouds and we all (saint and sinner, alive and dead) will rise up to meet Him in the air and be judged from the book of life (Rev. 20:12-15), at which point the faithful sheep will accompany Jesus and His angels into heaven, while the goats, Satan and his demons will be sent into torment (Matt. 25:32, 46; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Pet. 2:4; Rev. 20:10). After the Judgment, the universe will be burned up and cease to exist (2 Pet. 3:10-12). There will not be a thousand-year reign in Jerusalem, that is hogwash of the devil’s making. Stop listening to the date setters, they have failed to get it right once over the last 2,000 years. Why would anyone choose to be misled by charlatan’s that never get it right? “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). Keep telling yourself that there is no such thing as a literal 1,000-year kingdom, no such thing as an antichrist, no rapture, no tribulation period except for the one we face every day, no battle of Armageddon, no signs to prepare us for the return of Christ, and no, the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people because they are antichrist!
