Amillennialism, Kingdom Now, Preterism, Reformed & The Truth

I thought I would summarize this discussion in this blog format. Please

understand that not every church in a particular denomination or stream of

theology holds to some of this aberrant theology!

So, here’s a short list of theologies you might want to understand, and

particularly if you are looking for a new church. I suggest you avoid any

church that embraces:

Amillennialism:

The Millennium Began at the Cross and We’re in it Now!

Tragically, almost all major denominations embrace this today. The

Millennium is not literal, in spite of the fact that Revelation 20 says it is a

thousand years multiple times. It’s not that they deny a Millennium; rather,

they don’t believe it is literal. They believe that Jesus is sitting on the Throne

of David in heaven, and that this present Church Age is the kingdom referred

to, over which Christ reigns.

To the Amillennialist, nothing is taken literally. Jesus is never going to rule

from Jerusalem. There is no special role for modern-day Israel. Her rebirth is

of no significance. The Church is the new Israel (Replacement Theology.)

To embrace this is to call into question God’s desire and/or ability to keep His

promises, and this opens up a host of other theological problems. For

example, if God would renege on His promises to Israel after proclaiming

those promises to be “everlasting,” how could we be sure of anything He

promises, including the promises of salvation to believers in Christ?

Dominionism / Kingdom Now/ Postmillennialism/ Latter Rain:

Things Just Keep Getting Better and Better!

Mankind does not have the ability to improve a decaying, sinful planet! But

try to convince people who embrace any of the above theologies because

they believe the Church can, indeed, bring Heaven to earth. Is this

delusional? Perhaps. Jesus Christ cannot even return until we clean up the

planet physically, spiritually, and politically, they teach!

The command in Genesis 1:28, to take dominion over all things, has nothing

to do with creating perfection on a stained planet!

We cannot bring Heaven down to earth even though that is the message that

is screaming at those who visit the website of Bethel Church, Redding, CA.

The Bible says everything will deteriorate as we move further into the end-

times, and apostasy will rage in the church. The love of many will grow cold

(Matt. 24:12). People will primarily focus on self and money (II Timothy 3).

Many, but certainly not all Pentecostals embrace one of these similar

theologies. Thanks to the church, things will keep getting better! Glory days

are ahead! Instead, society will so decline that a “man with a plan” known as the

Antichrist, will have to step up to the plate and try to save everything.

These theologies are not really interested in the nation of Israel as their

single focus is using the Church to perfect the world. Those caught up in any

of these belief systems will never be able to understand the times!

Preterism:

It Already Happened and Who Knew?

This is one of the strangest theologies ever! All prophecy is history. It

happened in 70 A.D. The Tribulation was the sacking of Rome and Nero was

the Antichrist. There is no relevance to the rebirth of modern Israel. Some

branches of Preterism even believe Christ returned “in spirit” in 70 A.D. and

that’s it. It’s all over. A Parial Preterist would believe in a Second Coming.

Two prominent Preterists include Hank Hanegraaff and R.C. Sproul.

Hanegraaff has misled millions who listen to his call-in radio program. He

seems to constantly be at war with popular Dispensationalists.

His belief system causes him to make inflammatory remarks that come close

to anti-Semitism. No Preterist can possibly understand our crazy days!

Reformed Theology:

The Rapture? What’s That?

There are many popular teachers today who embrace Reformed Theology but

very few of them will be able to make sense of our times. Reformed scholar

Dr. John Piper says, “The promises made to Abraham, including the promise

of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual

Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel.”

His Replacement Theology, or the Church is the new Israel, will blind many of

his followers to the truth of what is happening on a daily basis! This kind of

teaching causes evangelicals to abandon Israel and become pro-Palestine

and even pro-Hamas. After all, they conclude, Israel has no right to the land!

Reformed blogger, Tim Challies, says he rejects the concept of the Rapture

and says he will always hold to the fact that Satan is bound right now so he

will cling to his Amillenialism. There is no coming Millennial Kingdom.

The Reformers got a lot of things right but they collectively got eschatology

(Bible prophecy) very wrong!

Some ten years ago, Dr. John MacArthur scolded his Reformed brethren at

his annual conference and asked them if they had ever met a Hittite? He

reminded them that today there are several million Israelites and please

adjust your glasses to see that this has huge significance for the believer

trying to understand the times! Without MacArthur’s perspective, nobody

embracing Reformed Theology will properly understand our times.

Premillennial Dispensationalism:

The Truth!

Though it’s mocked and scorned, it is the biblical truth and the only theology

that will allow you to understand the times, contend for the faith, and

become a watchman on the wall! Some just call this “Left Behind” theology,

based on the Tim LaHaye book series of 15-20 years ago.

The key word here is “literal.” It teaches a literal Rapture, Tribulation,

Antichrist, and Millennium. It fully understands the important role of Israel

and her miraculous rebirth in 1948. It predicts that the church, right before

the Rapture, will be Laodicea—riddled with heresy. It does not promote an

end-time revival other than during the Tribulation, at which time untold

millions will come to salvation through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and

the Two Witnesses.

Jesus Christ will return at the Second Coming to save mankind and to save

the earth. He will install one thousand years of perfect government. This will

be followed by the New Heavens and New Earth.

Conclusion

Because space is limited, I had to limit this discussion, but I hope this helps.

If you are church shopping, all of these issues are relevant for you! Today,

many churches and denominations will lead you astray thanks to these

flawed theologies.

Thankfully, there are some who refuse to buckle to false theology and reject

the aberrant, having a love for the truth! May their number increase! Our

times will continue to get crazier and people will desperately search for some

answers. But because so few churches actually embrace theological truth,

the sheep just wander from church to church trying to find one that will help

them cope during these last days.