What’s the allure of false teaching, particularly in regard to future things? Why do so many people go astray from what the words of Scripture tell us about what lies ahead for us and the world?

These questions again came to my mind after I received an email boasting that “dispensationalism is on the decline.” By that, the writer meant that many Christians are turning away from our belief in Jesus’ thousand-year rule on the earth. As evidence, he cited Kirk Cameron’s apparent switch from belief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture to Dominion Theology, which teaches that the church will usher in millennial conditions on Earth before Jesus returns to the earth.

As I thought about the email heralding the merits of Dominion Theology, I began to see a pattern of what made it appealing to the writer and thus to many other Christians.

It’s Popular

I responded to the email by asserting that our beliefs are not a matter of what’s popular, but they must find their basis in the words of Scripture. Sadly, a great many churches adhere to the belief that world conditions will get better, not worse. This viewpoint stems from the errant teaching that God has rejected Israel and the church is now God’s physical kingdom on Earth. Dominion Theology takes this a step further by asserting that it, not Jesus, will bring kingdom conditions to the nations.

They also claim that the antichrist is not a person but rather a spirit that the church will defeat.

Such teachings do not match the words of Scripture, not at all. Paul referred to the antichrist as the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and distinguished this person from the “mystery of lawlessness” that was already at work in the world in his day. He also revealed that the Lord would “kill” him at “his coming” (2:7-8). The Lord will end the antichrist’s reign of terror, not the church.

Jesus warned His disciples that the world would “hate” them (John 15:18-25); He never promised that they or the church would win the world over to their side. The Lord told us to expect persecution.

Human Wisdom and Experience Fueled by Emotion

When it comes to alternative beliefs regarding future things, human wisdom and experience play a significant role. The email I received mentioned a book, Victorious Eschatology. In the book’s description on Amazon, the author referred to his experiences that led to his passionate belief that the church would triumph over all the world’s ills.

Unfortunately, human wisdom and experience fueled by emotion lead many astray from the truth of God’s word. I remember watching a video of an author who described his encounter with God that led him to believe that everyone would someday receive eternal life, regardless of what they believe. Sadly, his persuasive and passionate presentation likely appealed to many Christians who lack a basic understanding of the Bible.

Is it not the same with cults and false religions? They start with someone claiming to have an encounter with God through which they received special revelation that negates the clear teachings of God’s Word.

My belief in Jesus’ imminent appearing is deeply personal. I can relate several stories, some emotionally charged, of how the Lord used my beliefs to comfort and encourage me in the darkest of times. However, that is most definitely not why I’m convinced Jesus is coming to take us to glory before the start of the Tribulation. I believe what I do about the Rapture because the words of the Bible support my eager anticipation of His appearing.

It’s New

It’s insanely ironic, is it not? Many of the same people who vilify the Rapture as a belief that no one held before John Darby in the 1800s promote Dominion Theology because . . . it is new. Yes, they do!

Based upon new revelation supposedly given to newly appointed apostles and prophets, its adherents cling to the hope that the church will usher in kingdom conditions on the earth. Even the name of this teaching, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), emphasizes the recent nature of this theology.

However, its beliefs are not fresh. They represent a rehabilitated postmillennialism that flourished in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The two world wars put an end to its teaching that the church would bring kingdom conditions of peace and righteousness to the world.

We base our hope of eternal life on the words of the New Testament. The same must be true of what we believe about the Rapture, the Tribulation, Jesus’ return, and His reign over the nations. The words of Revelation 19:11-20:10 dispel all the NAR beliefs as well as its basis in Replacement Theology. These teachings rely on human-based interpretations of the book of Revelation rather than what the Apostle John plainly tells us about Jesus’ Second Coming, when He brings His kingdom to earth.

Identifying the church as God’s physical kingdom on Earth goes all the way back to Augustine, who popularized this idea in the fifth century. Dominion Theology is but a different wrinkle to the Dark Ages’ belief that God had called the church to physically rule over the nations.

Lack of Sound Biblical Teaching on Eschatology

False teachings, particularly in regard to eschatology (the doctrine of future things), flourish today because of a lack of sound biblical teaching. Most pastors either ignore Bible prophecy or teach that the church is God’s promised kingdom on the earth (or will be).

When we let the words of Scripture speak for themselves, they lead us to a belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Our hope does not rest on human wisdom or experience but rather on what the Bible says.

Jonathan Brentner, Rapture Ready