Dangerous Idea (2)

The sign that Jesus gave in Matt 24:14 sign was fulfilled in biblical times. On the day of Pentecost, there were devout men in Jerusalem “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). They would have taken the gospel back to their on lands. The Bible confirms that this happened.

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world (Rom 1:8).

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing (Col 1:6).

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven (Col 1:23).

By the time that Paul was writing his letters to the Romans and the Colossians, the sign that Jesus gave had been fulfilled. The Bible says that the gospel had been preached in the entire world, but unfortunately many Christians refuse to believe it.

The sign did not require the completion of the Great Commission. That task is still not complete. The prophetic sign only required the preaching of the gospel as a witness and a testimony. The scriptural examples given above show that the sign was fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem. It is not a sign of the second coming.

Worst of all, the belief that Jesus is coming within the next decade is dangerous. It encourages short-term thinking that distracts Christians from seeking the Kingdom of God.

I am really encouraged by the number of Christians who are starting to think seriously about the Kingdom of God. I note that when this happens, they start more long-term thinking and planning. The idea that Jesus is coming next week will have to go out the window, if we get serious about the Kingdom.

False Ideas (11) - The Holy Spirit is a Failure

No one actually teaches this idea, but I think that most Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a failure. This deception is implicit in the teaching that Jesus must return to establish the Kingdom. This age is the age of the Spirit. We live in a time when God is working in the world through the Holy Spirit. God has given the Holy Spirit the task of establishing the Kingdom (working through the church). If Jesus has to return to do the job, the Holy Spirit has failed.

The truth is the other way round. Jesus came to earth as a man, so he was limited to working in time and space. His influence was limited to the country of Palestine. This meant that it was impossible for Jesus to establish the Kingdom. He laid the foundation for the Kingdom by his death, resurrection, but he could not make the Kingdom of God a reality. Ruling the world from Jerusalem would have been impossible. This is why Jesus said it was better for him to leave the earth (Jn 16:7). By departing, Jesus released the Holy Spirit to work in the world. While living on the earth, Jesus had no influence beyond Israel. Once he left the earth and began to work through the Spirit, his influence soon extended throughout the earth.

The Holy Spirit has the capability needed to establish the Kingdom of God. The only obstacle to the coming of the Kingdom is human sin, but through the salvation of Jesus, the Holy Sprit has the power to overcome sin. He can empower his people to witness to Jesus throughout the earth (Acts 1:8). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement" (Jn 16:8). He is able to give sinful people a new heart" (John 3:5). We can expect the Holy Spirit to be successful in these tasks. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the church means that it has dynamic power. Since he has all the infinite power of God, we should expect the Spirit to bring the Kingdom of God to victory.

Over the last century, Church has rediscovered the power of the Holy Spirit, but our understanding of his role has been limited to his work in the Church. We need a revelation of his role in establishing the Kingdom of God.

False Ideas (10) - The Rapture

According to most popular teachers of eschatology, Christians will be raptured out of the world before a "great tribulation" comes. The word rapt means to "be caught away". It is said that all true believers will be snatched up into the air to be with the Lord, in a secret rapture. The people of the world will suddenly realise that a lot of people have gone. In this way the Lord’s people would escape the terrible time of tribulation. This is a nice idea, but there are a number of problems with it.

They are described here.

False Ideas (9) - Jesus Big Prophecy

One of the most misunderstood passages is Jesus Big Prophecy in Matthew 24, sometimes known as the Olivet discourse (there are parallel accounts in Mark 13 and Luke 21). Most people assume that this passage gives a number of signs of the second coming of Jesus. This is not true. Verses 1-35 are actually a warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus was giving a strong warning to the Jews of what would happen to them, if they rejected him. Only at the end of the passage is the second coming described, and here no signs are given.

Start here for a detailed study.

False Ideas (8) - The Seventy Weeks

Daniel 9:24-27 is often misunderstood. It is used to justify the belief that there will be a seven year tribulation, just prior to Christ’s second coming. Those with this view see the passage as a description of the activities of the anti-christ. To get this result they have to insert a gap before the last week. There is not justification of this trick.

Careful study will be necessary to clarify its true meaning. Like Matthew 24, it is really a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. The seventy weeks were fulfilled in Jesus time.

Read here for an interpretation that does not need a gap.

False Ideas (7) - Mark of the Beast

Modern Christian make a lot of the mark of the beast described in Revelation.

He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for Wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666. Rev 13:16-18

This persecution takes place in a time of famine, when food is scarce. Every person is given a mark, which is a sign of allegiance to the Beast. It is the number or name of the Beast. Any person who does not have this mark, will not be allowed to buy or sell. Christians would not be able to take the mark, so they will not be able to buy or sell. The persecution will take the form of economic discrimination. The actual procedure will be implemented by the false prophet (Rev 17:6).

A great deal has been made about the introduction of credit cards and computerised check-out counters. It has been suggested that each person would be tattooed with a credit number on their wrist or forehead. These would be used to make all financial transactions, in what would be a cashless society. It has even been suggested that there is a giant computer in Brussels which will provide the link-up, and that its operators euphemistically call it "the beast". Some people have even imagined that they see the number 666 on some credit cards.

We should not get too carried away with all this. If we look closely at what John says, we see that each person is not given their own individual number, but the number of the Beast. Each person is given the same number or mark, and not a personal credit number. In fact the mark is not a credit number but a mark of allegiance to a political ruler, the Beast.

This vision does not need modern computer technology to be implemented. In John’s time when a slave was sold in the market-place, he was branded with a hot iron on the forehead or arm with the mark of his owner. This made it impossible for the slave to escape. It would be something like this that John saw.

A ruler could have done this in any age. He would have all his people tattooed with a mark representing his name. A decree would then be issued forbidding all citizens from trading with a person who did not have the mark. Anyone who refused to take the mark would be effectively outlawed. The persecution John saw in the vision could have taken place in any age. We should not place too much importance on the advances in computer technology. Computer technology may be used to bring it about, but the existence of computers and credit cards, does not necessarily mean that it is coming soon.

John did not have a vision of a cashless society. He only saw people being branded with a mark of allegiance. The fact that we appear to be advancing towards a cashless society, does not mean that this part of the vision is being fulfilled.

More here.

False Ideas (6) - The Antichrist

Many end times teachers say that a future ruler of the world will be called the Anti-Christ. They see this Antichrist as a person who sets himself up in Christ’s place in the world. He would rule the world from a throne in the temple in Jerusalem. They say he will demand to be worshipped by the whole world. However, this is a misunderstanding of the way in which the word is used in the Bible.

The word antichrist is only used four times in the whole Bible, and each time in the letters of John. Two of these are in 1 John 2:18.

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.

John is writing to believers who have heard that the antichrist is coming. He points out the fact, that even in his time, many antichrists have already come. This tells us that the antichrist is not a single person who will come at some time in the future. There are many antichrists and they will be in the world throughout the history of the church. In verse 19, John explains that the antichrists of his time had gone out from the church. They had originally been in the church, but were not really part of it, because they did not hold to the true faith.

John explains the meaning of the word antichrist in 1 John 4:2,3. He is speaking about testing the spirits, to see which are from God.

Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus in not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Antichrist is not a title applied to someone who claims that he is the Christ. It is a title applied to a person who spreads false belief about Jesus. In John’s time there were people who claimed that Jesus had not come in the flesh, but had come in a spiritual form. They denied the fundamental truth of Christ’s humanity. John applies the title antichrist to them. They are working against Jesus, because they are denying the truth of who he is. For John, antichrist was a title given to early heretics, and especially those whose teaching about Jesus was incorrect.

This understanding of the word is confirmed in 2 John 7, where he writes,

Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

"The antichrist" is any person who spreads false doctrines about Jesus. Jesus is central to the Christian gospel. Thus any misunderstanding of who he is, undermines the whole gospel. Christians claim that their gospel is true, so anyone who denies the basic truths about Jesus is a deceiver. He is leading people away from the truth, and becomes an obstacle to the gospel and the work of Christ. This is why he deserves the title "antichrist". The antichrist is any person who denies the truth about Jesus.

These are the only references to an antichrist in the whole Bible. John teaches that antichrists are present throughout the Christian age. They are heretics who distort the truth of the gospel. Nowhere in scripture is the word antichrist connected with the Beast of Revelation. It is never used to describe a political figure who sets up a world empire. This means that it is wrong to give the title antichrist to either of the beasts that John saw in Revelation 13.

False Ideas (5) - Binding Satan

A popular idea is that Satan is bound at the Second Coming.

However, the Bible teaches very clearly that we do not have to wait for Satan to be bound in the future. He was defeated by Jesus’ victory on the cross. Jesus disarmed Satan and all his powers, by making a public spectacle of them, when he triumphed on the cross (Col 2:15). He has already done everything that needs to be done to secure Satan’s downfall.

The reason Satan still seems to be so active is that the church has failed to realise the full extent of what Christ has achieved. In binding Satan, Jesus works through the church. He has placed the chain that binds Satan in the hands of his people. They must restrain Satan’s power over the nations.

Jesus won a judicial victory on the cross. When a decision is made in a court of law it does not become a fact until the police enforce it. The church has the police power to enforce Jesus judicial victory. Satan will not be fully bound until the church forces him to recognise the sentence that was passed against him at the cross.

The church has the power to bind Satan, but is not using the authority that has been given to it. Satan will not be bound in some future event. He will be bound when the church becomes aware of the binding power that it already has, and begins to exercise that authority in Jesus’ name.

More here.

False Ideas (4) Last Days

Most Christians believe that we are living in the last days. This is another false idea.

The Bible teaches that the "last days" are finished. Many readers will find this hard to accept, as I did. The reason we are surprised is that we confuse the last days (plural) of the Jewish nation with the last day (singular), that glorious day when Jesus will return. The last days are really the period of time between the ministry of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

An examination of the Scriptures shows that there are five references to the last days (Acts 2:17; 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 1:2; James 5:3; 2 Pet 3:3) and two referring to the last times (1 Pet 1:20; Jude 18). In four of the seven, the author considered that he was living in the last days. For example, Heb.1:2 states that Jesus ministry on earth was in the last days. This does not make sense, if the last days come just before the Second Coming. However, if the writer of Hebrews is referring to the last days of the Jewish nation, it makes a great deal of sense. When we remember that Hebrews, James (1:1), and Peter's letters were written to Jewish Christians and that Timothy was a Jew this really makes sense; all the references to the last days were in epistles written to the Jews. They would have understood that they were in the last days of their nation, at the time when they received these letters.

This means that Scripture references to the last days have already been fulfilled. They don’t describe a future event, so it is futile to believe that we are living in the last days now.

False Ideas (3) Jesus is Coming soon

Most Christians believe that the second coming is very close. This belief is now so universal that it is hardly ever questioned. However, Christians in every age have believed that the second coming is near, but they all proved to be wrong. We need to be careful that we do not make the same mistake. The second coming of Jesus is not necessarily as close as most bible teachers claim.

I believe that the second coming of Jesus could be several thousand years away. There is a lot of good stuff promised in the Bible that has not happened yet. Fulfilling all God's glorious promises could take quite a while.

Most Christians will disagree with me, but I am not worried, because through history, people who did not believe Jesus was coming soon have been proved to be right. I am in good company.

False Ideas (2) Revelation

The common view is that the the book of Revelation is a description of the events leading up to the second coming. This is a serious mistake. The book is primarily about the calling of the Jews, explaining how this relates to the judgments of God and the coming of the Kingdom. This can be seen from the prologue of the book, which summarises the events to be described.

The book of Revelation covers the whole of the church age, but it concentrates specifically on the time when the Jews will be converted, and the kingdom of God established. It has very little about the second coming of Jesus. Once this is understand, our interpretation of this book will change dramatically.

More here.

False Ideas (1) Newspaper Theology

Christians have tended to base their views on the course of history on what they read in their newspapers, rather than on what they read in the Bible. We certainly live in evil times, and our newspapers make rather dismal reading. But the Bible is quite realistic about evil. It warns us to expect times when evil will rise in power. However this realism is never allowed to detract from the certainty of Christ’s victory. Despite the worst that Satan can do, Jesus and his church will eventually be victorious. It is time for the church to rediscover this important biblical message.

This is just one example to the Pessimistic Christianity that has become so prevalent