Need to know.
THE THIRD TEMPLE DECEPTION

Everyon Is Looking In The Wrong Place For The Antichrist.

The belief that a third Jewish temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem before the second coming of Christ has become one of the most popular teachings in modern prophecy circles. Many Christians now watch events in Israel expecting the rebuilding of the temple to signal the final countdown of earth's history. Organizations such as the Temple Institute have prepared priestly garments, vessels, and architectural plans, while some groups have even trained men who claim descent from the tribe of Levi for future temple service. The search for a red heifer has also received worldwide attention because of the ceremonial purification described in Numbers 19.

To many, these developments appear to fulfill prophecy. Yet sincere belief does not make a teaching true. Jesus warned that many would be deceived concerning the last days, saying, "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Matthew 24:4). The apostle Paul likewise urged believers to "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Every prophetic teaching must therefore be tested by the whole Bible rather than by popular opinion or current events.

Those who insist on a future temple often point to passages in Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew 24, or 2 Thessalonians 2, but these texts are separated from their historical and biblical context. Paul wrote that "the man of sin... sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). In the New Testament, however, God's temple is repeatedly identified as His church. Paul wrote, "Ye are the temple of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), and again, "What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:16). Peter described believers as "living stones... built up a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5), while Ephesians 2:19-22 says the church is "an holy temple in the Lord." Therefore, the prophecy points to a religious power exalting itself within the sphere of Christianity rather than to a rebuilt Jewish temple in the Middle East.

History also shows that the modern expectation of a rebuilt third temple is not the historic understanding held by the majority of Christians through the centuries. During the Protestant Reformation, leaders such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox identified the Antichrist with the papal system based on Daniel 7, Daniel 8, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 13.

Historically, this was not the view of only a few individuals. It was the dominant Protestant interpretation for centuries. The Anglican Reformers, the Presbyterian Reformers, the Baptist pioneers, the Methodist founder John Wesley, and many others all identified the Antichrist as the papal system rather than a single future individual. This historical consensus is well documented in works such as Romanism and the Reformation by Henry Grattan Guinness.

In response to the Reformation, Jesuit scholars developed alternative prophetic systems that shifted attention away from the papacy. Francisco Ribera published a commentary in 1590 placing most of the prophecies of Antichrist into a brief future period involving a single individual, a rebuilt temple, and restored Jewish sacrifices.
These ideas have infiltrated many evangelical churches who has given up the protest against the papacy and has effectively lost their identity as Protestants.

The teaching spread widely in the nineteenth century through John Nelson Darby, who popularized dispensationalism. His ideas separated God's plan for Israel from His plan for the church and placed many prophecies into a future seven-year tribulation centered on a rebuilt temple. These teachings became enormously influential through the Scofield Reference Bible, whose notes shaped generations of Bible readers. Later books such as The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind series brought these interpretations into popular culture. Although widely accepted today, popularity is not proof of truth. Isaiah declared, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

The importance of this issue extends far beyond the question of whether another temple will be built. The rebuilt-temple doctrine fundamentally changes where Christians expect the Antichrist to appear. If the Antichrist must sit in a literal temple in Jerusalem, then believers naturally conclude that he must be a future political ruler who has not yet arrived. Their attention is directed toward Israel, a future seven-year tribulation, and a coming world dictator who will one day enter a rebuilt sanctuary.

Yet since the "temple of God" in 2 Thessalonians 2 refers to God's spiritual temple, the church, then the entire picture changes. Instead of looking for an unbelieving political leader to enter a Jewish temple, believers must look for a religious power arising within the sphere of professed Christianity that claims divine authority and exalts itself in God's place. The location of the temple determines the identity of the Antichrist. Change the temple from spiritual to literal, and the Antichrist is changed from a long-standing religious system into a future individual. This is why the interpretation of the temple is not a minor prophetic detail but the foundation upon which the entire identification of the Antichrist rests.

The Bible consistently warns that the greatest deceptions come from within the realm of religion rather than from obvious enemies of God. Jesus warned of "false Christs, and false prophets" (Matthew 24:24). Paul warned the Ephesian elders that "grievous wolves" would arise from among God's own people (Acts 20:29-30). He also foretold a "falling away" before the revelation of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Peter likewise warned of false teachers who would secretly introduce destructive errors (2 Peter 2:1). These warnings describe an apostasy arising within the visible community of faith, harmonizing with Paul's description of the man of sin sitting in God's temple.

This explains why Satan would benefit from directing prophetic attention elsewhere. If Christians are convinced that the Antichrist will only appear after a future temple is rebuilt, they are less likely to examine the religious system that has exercised enormous influence over Christianity for centuries and fulfills the prophetic characteristics described in Daniel and Revelation. Instead of recognizing a power already operating in history, they continue waiting for someone else. In this way the expectation of a future temple does more than change prophetic chronology, it redirects prophetic attention. Rather than watching for the fulfillment of biblical characteristics already given in Scripture, many are waiting for a future event that becomes the prerequisite for identifying the Antichrist.

This mistaken teaching serves as a deceptive diversion from the real issues presented in Bible prophecy. Revelation does not direct the world's attention to a rebuilt temple but to a beast that receives worldwide admiration and worship. "All the world wondered after the beast" (Revelation 13:3), and "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him" (Revelation 13:8). Daniel described the same power as speaking "great words against the most High" and thinking "to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25). Paul warned that this power would exalt itself above God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

By persuading millions to look almost exclusively toward political events in Jerusalem and a future temple, attention is diverted from examining the continuing work of the power that Scripture identifies. Satan has always worked through deception, for Jesus called him "a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44), and Revelation 12:9 says he "deceiveth the whole world." The greatest deceptions are those that contain enough truth to hide serious error.

The Bible reveals that God's people are called to fix their eyes on Christ rather than on an earthly building. Jesus declared, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," speaking "of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21). Believers are now "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20). Hebrews repeatedly directs the believer's attention to Christ as our High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 8:1-2). The book of Revelation portrays God's end-time people as those "that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12), not as those waiting for renewed animal sacrifices or an earthly sanctuary. Their attention is fixed upon the Lamb "that was slain" (Revelation 5:12), whose perfect sacrifice can never be repeated.

The New Testament consistently teaches that the earthly temple reached its fulfillment in Jesus Christ and that its sacrificial system ended forever at the cross. When Christ died, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matthew 27:51), showing that the earthly sanctuary services had come to their end. Hebrews declares that Christ entered "into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24), ministering in "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Hebrews 8:2).

His sacrifice was offered "once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). To rebuild a temple for renewed sacrifices would deny the completeness of Christ's atoning work. The true focus of Bible prophecy is not an earthly sanctuary in Jerusalem but Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.

Conclusion
The expectation of a third temple is not a harmless difference of prophetic opinion, but a teaching that shifts the focus away from Christ's finished sacrifice, His present ministry in heaven, and the identification of the power Scripture repeatedly warns against.

The devil benefits whenever prophecy is misunderstood because error always hides truth. Paul warned that Satan transforms himself "into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), while Jesus warned that false prophets would arise and "deceive, if it were possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).

God's people are therefore called to search the Scriptures diligently, like the Bereans who "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). The safest guide is not popular prophecy, sensational headlines, or human tradition, but the clear testimony of God's Word, which points believers to Christ, His heavenly ministry, and the final conflict over worship and obedience described throughout Daniel and Revelation.

Gospel Angels Broadcasting

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A NUGGET OF TRUTH.
WHO ARE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF GOD?
(A Lengthy Biblical And Historical Investigation).

In an age where rhetoric and emotions often determine people's beliefs, one of the most countercultural things that anyone can do is to objectively look at the evidence, regardless of how it makes them feel. It is also important to remember that things are not often what they seem, that history is not always what we have been told, and that the truth will always be hated by the world. Today, we must abandon political correctness and oversensitivity to learn the truth about one of the most consequential questions of our time: Who are God's chosen people?

Many believe that the Jews are God's chosen people and that God intends to bless the Jews and the state of Israel at some point in the future because He obligated Himself to do so with Abraham. One reason people think this makes sense is that they believe today's Jews are direct descendants of Abraham. Many Christians even believe that the Zionist state of Israel and anyone calling themselves a Jew today have a special place in God's heart, and therefore we as non-Jews need to bless and honor these people more than others, lest God curse us or withhold His blessings. These and many similar attitudes must be tested thoroughly with Scripture and with history. After all, when the devil tempted Christ in the desert, he did so by twisting God's word to suit his agenda. This is why we must exercise discernment and test all things.

To understand who God's chosen people truly are, we must begin with Abraham. The Jewish Almanac of 1980 makes a critical observation: strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a Jew or to call a contemporary Jew an Israelite or a Hebrew. The word "Jew" originates from one of the tribes of Israel named Judah, and the term refers to people who lived in or were from Judah, the territory that the tribe of Judah received as their inheritance. This means that those before the territory of Judah was created were not Jews. Moses was not a Jew, nor was Jacob, Isaac, or Abraham. Abraham was a Hebrew, a descendant of Eber, and he was promised to be the father of many nations, not just one nation or group of people.

This distinction is vital because it reveals that God's covenant with Abraham was never intended to be limited to a single ethnic lineage. A careful examination of the biblical record shows that from the very beginning, God intended His covenant community to be inclusive, based on faith rather than bloodline. Abraham's household was large, numbering well over a thousand people, and he taught all within his household, regardless of their origin, to follow the Lord. The direct physical descendants of Jacob who entered Egypt numbered only seventy, yet at the Exodus, Israel numbered over two million people. This astonishing growth cannot be explained by biological reproduction alone. The Scriptures record that a "mixed multitude" went up with Israel out of Egypt, and these foreigners were fully integrated into the covenant community, partaking equally of God's promises.

Throughout Israel's history, this pattern continued. Joseph married an Egyptian, Moses married a Midianite, Caleb was a Kenizzite, Rahab was a Canaanite, Ruth was a Moabite, and Uriah was a Hittite. These individuals were not biological descendants of Abraham, yet they were counted among God's people because they joined themselves to the Lord in faith. King David himself was only partially Israelite by ancestry, being descended from Ruth the Moabite. In the time of Esther, we read that "many of the people of the land became Jews," indicating that conversion and incorporation into the covenant community was a regular occurrence.

This understanding transforms our perspective on what it meant to be part of Israel. In God's eyes, true membership in Israel depended not on ancestry but on faith. The Apostle Paul acknowledges this when he points out that out of the whole nation of Israel during the time of Ahab, only seven thousand had remained faithful to God, and it was they who constituted the true Israel. Biblically, Israel was a spiritual community to which people were added or removed with no consideration of ancestry or race.

As we move through biblical history, the term "Jew" becomes increasingly complex. After the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they eventually formed two kingdoms: Israel in the north, composed of ten tribes, and Judah in the south, composed of Benjamin and Judah. The people of the northern kingdom were Israelites, not Jews, and many of the most prominent figures in Scripture came from these non-Jewish tribes. Samson was from Dan, Deborah from Ephraim, Gideon from Manasseh, Elijah from Gad or Manasseh, Joshua and Samuel from Ephraim, and Moses and Aaron from Levi. All of these biblical heroes were Israelites, not Jews.

When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC, the ten tribes were dispersed and assimilated among the nations, effectively ceasing to exist as a distinct people. The southern kingdom of Judah survived for another century and a half before being conquered by the Babylonians. After the Babylonian exile, a remnant returned to the land, but by this time, the territory had been occupied by various pagan tribes, including the Edomites. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother, and had a long history of hostility toward Israel. They had allied with Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian invasion and rejoiced at Jerusalem's destruction.

A critical development occurred in the second century BC when the Hasmonean dynasty, led by John Hyrcanus, forcibly converted the entire Edomite nation to Judaism. This was the only case of forced conversion in Jewish history, and it brought into the Jewish community a people who were not only not descended from Judah but who were traditionally enemies of Israel. The Edomites became fully integrated into Jewish society, and from them came the notorious Herodian dynasty that ruled Judea at the time of Christ.

By the time of Jesus, therefore, those who called themselves Jews were a complex mixture of genuine descendants of Judah, descendants of the other tribes who had survived, and large numbers of converts from various pagan nations, including the Edomites. This historical reality explains why the Gospel of John often distinguishes between "the Jews" who opposed Jesus and the faithful remnant who followed Him. It also explains why the Apostle Paul identifies himself as a Hebrew and an Israelite rather than simply as a Jew.

The complexity only increases when we consider developments after the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70. Following the failed Jewish revolts against Rome, the Jewish population was scattered, and all records of genealogies were destroyed. Today, it is impossible to reliably trace ancestry back to the biblical Israelites or even to the tribe of Judah.

One of the most significant events in this regard was the conversion of the Khazar kingdom to Judaism in the eighth century AD. The Khazars were a Turkic people who ruled a large territory in what is now eastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. Their conversion to Judaism was a political decision, and the entire ruling elite and many of their subjects adopted the Jewish religion. When the Khazar empire was destroyed, its people dispersed throughout Eastern Europe, and their descendants became a significant portion of what is now known as Ashkenazi Jewry.

While some scholars debate the extent of Khazar ancestry among modern Jews, the historical fact remains that a large-scale conversion of a non-Semitic people to Judaism occurred, and these converts and their descendants became part of the Jewish community. This means that many people who call themselves Jews today have no biological connection to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but are rather descendants of Turkic converts.

Many argue that the Jews are still God's chosen people because God owes them the land He promised thousands of years ago to Abraham. But careful study reveals two significant problems with this argument. First, Abraham was not a Jew, nor were Isaac or Jacob. God made the promise to the Hebrews who eventually became the Israelites, not to the Jews. Second, these land promises were fulfilled long ago.

The biblical record is explicit on this point. In Joshua 21:43-45, we read that "the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and not one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass". During the reign of Solomon, the boundaries of his empire matched exactly the area of land described by God to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21. The land promise was fulfilled in its entirety.

The covenant of land was conditional upon obedience, as God had made clear from the beginning. Because the Israelites repeatedly rebelled, intermarried with pagans, and abandoned God's laws, they lost the land. God's judgment was just, but it did not nullify His promises. The greatest blessing God promised Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed, was fulfilled in Christ through the gospel, and this is why the Church, not any ethnic group, is the true body of chosen people.

The prophecy of Daniel 9 provides a clear timeline for when Israel's role as God's chosen nation was to be fulfilled. The prophecy states that "seventy weeks are determined upon thy people," referring to Israel, not Judah alone. These weeks represent years, giving a total of 490 years during which God's purposes for Israel as a nation would be accomplished.

Historical and archaeological evidence aligns this prophecy precisely with the coming of Jesus Christ. The starting point was the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, which is generally understood to be the decree of Artaxerxes in 445 BC authorizing Nehemiah to rebuild the city walls. From this date, the prophecy of sixty-nine weeks (483 years) leads directly to the time when the Messiah would appear.

The seventy weeks conclude with the cutting off of the Messiah and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The critical turning point comes in AD 34, when Stephen was stoned and the apostles were dispersed from Jerusalem to spread the gospel to the nations. Shortly afterward, Paul was converted and Peter received his vision about the Gentiles. The time for the Old Testament system had passed, and with it, the special status of physical Israel as God's chosen nation had come to an end.

One of the most remarkable pieces of evidence that the Jews were not God's chosen people after the time of Christ comes from their own rabbinic literature. The Talmud records in Yoma 39b that for forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the signs that the Jews had relied upon for centuries to confirm God's forgiveness of their sins no longer occurred. The lot that should have come up in the High Priest's right hand did not, the crimson wool that should have turned white remained red, and the western lamp of the candelabrum would not stay lit.

Counting inclusively, forty years before the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 brings us to AD 31, the exact year that Jesus was crucified. For forty years, God was giving the Jews a clear message that their sacrifices were no longer accepted because the true Sacrifice had been offered. In the spirit of their fathers, most of the Jews remained stiff-necked and were judged in AD 70 when the Temple was destroyed. The Temple was not rebuilt because there was no more need for it. The time for physical Israel as an outward demonstration of God's electing purpose had come to an end.

Zionism, the political movement that led to the creation of the modern state of Israel, was not a religious movement but a secular, nationalist one. It emerged in Europe in the late nineteenth century, spearheaded by Theodor Herzl, an atheist or agnostic Jew. Herzl's vision was not for a religious state governed by biblical law, but for a secular Jewish state that would serve as a haven for Jews from persecution.

This secular origin is significant because it demonstrates that Zionism was not a fulfillment of biblical prophecy but a political project. Herzl himself had little interest in the religious aspects of Judaism and was primarily concerned with nationalism and state-building. The state that was eventually established in 1948 was similarly secular in character, with its founders being largely atheist or agnostic.

The creation of the state of Israel was not the result of divine intervention but of political maneuvering. The Balfour Declaration of 1917, the British Mandate, the support of the Rothschild banking family, and the geopolitical interests of Western powers all played crucial roles. The transfer of large numbers of Jews to Palestine was facilitated by agreements with Hitler's Germany, which sought to deport Jews from Europe rather than see them remain.

The New Testament reveals that the Old Testament system of physical Israel was a type and shadow of a greater spiritual reality. The tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices, and the nation of Israel itself were all foreshadowing the coming of Christ and the establishment of His church. When Christ came, He fulfilled what these types had pointed toward, and the physical reality gave way to the spiritual.

This is why the Apostle Paul writes that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and that the true children of God are the children of the promise. In Galatians 3:16, Paul explains that the promises made to Abraham were made to his offspring singular, who is Christ. If we are in Christ, then we are Abraham's offspring and heirs according to the promise. There is no promise to anyone who is outside of Christ.

In Romans 4:11-12, Paul writes that the covenant of circumcision with Abraham was made so that those in the future who would not be circumcised could be counted as righteous by faith as children of Abraham. This is the New Covenant announced in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promised to write His law on hearts rather than on tablets of stone. This covenant is not determined by fleshly lineage but exclusively by the work of God to give people a new heart.

The Apostle Peter appropriates the language of the chosen people when he writes to believers: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people" (1 Peter 2:9). This language, originally used of Israel in Exodus 19:5-6, is now applied to the church, the body of believers from every tribe and nation. Paul calls this new spiritual reality "the Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16.

What then does it mean to be chosen by God? The New Testament reveals that God's electing purpose has always been sovereign and unconditional. Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them, and that all whom the Father gives to Him will come to Him. This electing purpose was established before the foundation of the world, based not on human merit or effort but on God's own will and pleasure.

The true people of God are not those who can trace their physical lineage to Abraham, but those who have been given new hearts and new spirits by God, who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and who place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This group includes people from every nation, tribe, and tongue, and it excludes anyone, regardless of their ancestry, who does not have faith in Christ.

This is not replacement theology, as it is often accused of being. The church did not replace Israel; rather, the church is the fulfillment of Israel. It is the spiritual reality that the physical Israel was designed to foreshadow. Just as Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, so the church is not a replacement for Israel but its fulfillment. Dispensationalism and Jewish-focused futurism are the true replacement theologies, for they replace the elect bride of Christ with a political state, replace the spiritual temple with a physical building, and replace the gospel of grace with identity politics based on ethnicity.

If the Jews of today are God's chosen people, one would expect them to exemplify the character that God desired for His set-apart people. Yet the evidence points in the opposite direction. Surveys indicate that Israel is among the least religious nations in the world, with a significant percentage of the population identifying as atheist. The founders of the Zionist movement and the early leaders of Israel were largely atheist or agnostic. David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and many others who shaped the modern state had no interest in biblical religion.

The state of Israel has also become a center for cultural movements that are directly contrary to biblical values. Tel Aviv has been called the gay capital of the world, and the promotion of transgender ideology is prominent in Israeli society. The very symbol that the Zionist movement adopted to represent itself, the Star of David, is not of biblical origin but was a pagan occult symbol appropriated by Kabbalists in the sixteenth century. The biblical prophets condemned the Israelites for taking up the star of their pagan gods, yet this very symbol now represents the modern state.

If these are God's chosen people, they are a strange representation of His character. The true people of God, by contrast, are those who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, who love God and keep His commandments, and who are being conformed to the image of Christ. They are not perfect, but they are being sanctified by the Spirit, and their lives bear witness to the power of the gospel.

Conclusion

The evidence from Scripture and history is clear. The people who live in the state of Israel today are not the biblical Jews, nor are they God's chosen people. The biblical Israelites were a covenant community defined by faith, not ethnicity, and they fulfilled their purpose when the Messiah was born and accomplished His work of redemption. The land promises to Abraham were fulfilled long ago, and the covenant with physical Israel ended with the coming of Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant.

The term "Jew" has undergone so many transformations over the centuries that it no longer refers to a people who can be reliably traced back to the tribe of Judah. Mass conversions, forced conversions, and the destruction of genealogical records have made it impossible to establish any certain connection between modern Jews and ancient Israelites. The Zionist movement was a secular political project, not a fulfillment of prophecy, and the state it created is a political entity like any other, with no special claim to divine favor.

God's chosen people today are those who have been chosen by Him before the foundation of the world and given to Christ, those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and placed their faith in Jesus, those who are being conformed to His image and are awaiting His return. They come from every nation, including Israel, but they are defined not by their physical ancestry but by their spiritual rebirth. They are the true Israel, the Israel of God, and to them belong the promises of Abraham, fulfilled in Christ and applied by the Spirit.

We must therefore reject the false narrative that the modern state of Israel or the people who call themselves Jews today have any special place in God's plan. This narrative is not supported by Scripture, is contradicted by history, and leads people away from the true gospel of grace. Instead, we must embrace the biblical teaching that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, but all are one, and that the true children of Abraham are those who share his faith, not those who share his blood. This is the truth that sets us free, and it is the truth that we must proclaim without compromise.

Gospel Angels Broadcasting

A NUGGET OF TRUTH.
THE ORIGIN OF THE SECRET RAPTURE DOCTRINE, IT CAME FROM THE PEN OF JESUITS, AND THE BIBLE PROOF THAT THE RAPTURE THEORY IS FALSE.

For almost 300 years after the Council of Trent, Jesuit futurism remained largely within Catholicism, but the plan of the Jesuits was that Protestants would adopt this doctrine. This adoption process actually began in the early 1800s in England, and from there it spread to America.

The story of how this happened is both fascinating and tragic because those who made futurism a mainstream Protestant doctrine were Protestants themselves. The Futurism of Ribera never posed a positive threat to Protestants worldwide for three centuries. It did stop the Reformation in Eastern Europe. However, largely, it was virtually confined to the Roman Church. But earlier in the nineteenth century it sprang forth with vehemence as it latched on to Protestants of the Established Church of England.

Origin of the Secret Rapture Doctrine

As the doctrine of futurism was spreading across Europe, the much-respected Scottish Presbyterian minister Edward Irving (1792-1834), the acknowledged forerunner of both the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, came onto the scene. Irving pastored the large Chalcedonian Chapel in London with over 1000 members.

When Irving turned to the prophecies, he eventually accepted the one-man Antichrist ideas of Todd, Maitland, Bellarmine, and Ribera. But Irving went a step further. Around 1830, Edward Irving began to teach the unique idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. This is how Protestants themselves worked to undermine the doctrines once held by the Reformers.

The dispensational view of the rapture is unBiblical, and gives those who reject God the false belief that they will have another chance to turn to God after God's people are raptured.
Some Christians believe that Christ will secretly steal away His church before the tribulation. Then after seven years of Antichrist ruling on earth, Christ will return with His saints to reign with them on earth for a thousand years. What does the Bible say about these things?

One of the main verses used to support these ideas include the following:

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

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 Thessalonians 4:15-17

This passage reassures believers that because Christ rose from the dead, resurrection is certain for “the dead in Christ” (vs. 16). It also teaches the order of the “rapture”: the dead in Christ rise first, then we which are alive and remain will rise up to meet them in the clouds. So, the living saints will witness the opening of the graves and the resurrection of the sleeping saints. What a privilege it will be to be alive at that time!

However, the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 presents a problem for those who believe in a secret rapture. Some think that unbelievers won’t know about this snatching away of God’s people, but, according to these verses, there’s nothing secret about it. These verses are not talking about a “secret rapture” at all, but rather about the one and only second coming of Christ when He takes His people home.

The Lord will “shout,” the “voice of the archangel” will be heard, and the trumpet of God will sound. The only way these verses can be made to be a silent event, is to assume something that Scripture does not say here or elsewhere. To assume that only God’s people will hear what the Bible describes as loud and audible is to read something into the verses that isn’t there. Some assume that unbelievers, by some miracle, will not hear these announcements from heaven. This is imposing a view upon the text, making it say something it is not saying. (See also Matt 24:31-32, John 5:28-29, 1 Cor 15:52, Ps 50:3, etc.) According to Scripture, the “secret” part of the rapture does not exist. We must let Scripture interpret Scripture.

Another idea is that, at the rapture, Jesus will come “as a thief in the night” and steal His people away. This idea is based on Paul’s words to Christians in Thessalonica.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 1 Thess 5:1,2
Does this verse tell us that Jesus will come secretly as a thief to steal away the church? No. Paul is saying that we can know that Christ’s coming is near.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1 Thess 5:3

One of the signs of Christ’s coming would be when people think there’s peace and safety, and then, just as a pregnant woman suddenly goes into labor, there will be no stopping the last-day events (vs. 3). Then he says,

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thess 5:4

In other words, Paul was warning the Thessalonian Christians that they should be alert and ready for Christ’s return. They should not be caught off guard as those who are unaware of the thief’s approach and are overtaken when he comes (vs. 4) and sudden destruction comes upon them (vs. 3).

Another problem with using the “thief in the night” scenario to describe the secret rapture is that those who use this analogy see Christ as the thief. They believe that His coming as a thief is a good thing. The trouble with this is, that nowhere in the Scriptures is a thief used in a positive light. When used as a figure or symbol, the coming of a thief is always bad news, never good news. (Job 24:14, Jer 2:26, Joel 2:9, Mt 24:43-44, Lk 12:39, John 10:1, 2 Pet 3:10, Rev 3:3, Rev 16:15)

Dispensationalism may create a false hope of a second chance for those who put off making a full commitment to Christ. Actually, some dispensationalists believe that the great multitude (Rev 7:9-14) will be made up of people who are saved during the great tribulation. Some believe the great multitude will be those who never had an opportunity to hear the true Gospel until it’s preached to them during the greatest revival of all time that will happen after the rapture. Some believe that after the rapture God will send 144 000 Jewish evangelists, the two miracle-working witnesses, and an angel from heaven to preach the Gospel and a great multitude will be saved. Some believe this, though there is no such precedent of supernatural evangelism anywhere in the Bible.

Another problem with dispensationalism is that it leaves believing Christians unprepared to face hardship and persecution and may set them up for faith-shattering disappointment when they realize the time of trouble has come and they were not raptured.

A NUGGET OF TRUTH.
10 ERRORS OF DISPENSATIONALISM.

Today, dispensationalism is a method of Bible interpretation that is common to nearly every Protestant denomination around the world. The doctrine is so firmly established that few even stop to consider its origins or validity. As a Counter-Reformation tactic, the development of dispensational theology upon the foundation of Ribera’s interpretive method of futurism, has been a resounding success. Few Protestant churches today teach that the papal system is the Biblical Antichrist. Ribera would be pleased.

Dispensationalism is a dangerous corruption of Scripture. Here are seven errors in the dispensational viewpoint:

1. Dispensations.
God’s plan of salvation has always been the same for all people through all ages. The teaching that history is broken into different periods with a unique plan of salvation for each is unbiblical.

2. Antinomianism.
The rejection of God’s law is an important feature of dispensationalism. Dispensationalists believe that since they are living now in a dispensation of grace and not of law, the moral law is no longer necessary.

Apparently popular among Gnostic sects, antinomianism was revived among the Anabaptists and by Johann Agricola, who later retracted his position after arguments with Luther and Luther's associate Philip Melanchthon.

John Nelson Darby, the “father of dispensationalism," believed in antinomianism, as did those in the movement he founded—the Plymouth Brethren:

Mr. Darby would say that if any man had anything to do with the law of God, even to obey it, he was a sinner by that very act...Of course they strenuously antagonize inwrought and personal holiness as an utter impossibility, since the old man has a lease of the soul which does not expire till death. Yet they insist that they are perfectly holy in Christ "up there," while perfectly carnal and corrupt "down here" in their moral state.

Mr. Darby taught that no act of sin, even murder, can remove us from our standing in Christ. Sin may obstruct communion, and leave the soul in sadness and darkness for a season, but sin in a believer is ok and will not hinder one from attaining eternal life.

*Grace and the Law*
It is true that salvation can be found only in God's grace through faith, and not by human action. However, antinomianism brings with it a license to continue living in sin, which defies the purpose of salvation in our lives, that is, to free us from sin. Romans 6:1-2 explains:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
As Romans 3:20 tells us, the law's purpose is to show us that we are sinners who need God's grace. The law is like a mirror that reflects to us our sin. The law gives us the knowledge of sin—the realization that we are sinners and need a Saviour. If there is no law there is no sin (see Romans 5:13, 7:7; James 1:22-25). Martin Luther agrees, saying that the person "who destroys the doctrine of the law, destroys at the same time political and social order. If you eject the law from the church, there will no longer be any sin recognized as such in the world.

Antinomianism forgets that the law has a purpose in our lives today. However, the truth is that the Ten Commandments, written by God's finger, still stand today. John Calvin gives this admonition:

We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law, for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable as the justice of God, which it embraced, is consistent and uniform.

3. Antichrist.
From the days of the early church until the time of the Reformation, Bible scholars consistently applied the literal-historical interpretation method to prophecy. Based on this clear interpretive method, there was consensus among Reformers that the Papacy is the Antichrist. Futurism, a feature of dispensationalism, was created by the Roman Catholic Church to deflect attention away from this well-established truth. Dispensationalism teaches a future Antichrist who builds a temple in Jerusalem, makes, and then breaks, a covenant with Israel.

4. 7-Year tribulation.
Against all logic and without Biblical precedent, dispensationalism teaches that the last week of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy (Daniel 9:25-27) is not consecutive with the prophetic 69 weeks that precede it. Instead, the final week is separated from the other 69 by an unspecified period of time and is thrown off into the future. In dispensationalism, end time prophecy centers around this final 7-year period of time dominated by the Antichrist.

5. Third temple.
In dispensational theology, end-time events depend upon the building of the third temple, which will be destroyed after 3 ½ years.

6. Secret rapture.
Despite such clear statements about the order of events at Christ’s return (Greek parousia, or coming) as Matthew 24:30-31 and others, many have swallowed the lie of a secret rapture. The secret rapture is a contradiction of the Bible’s teaching on the Second Coming of Christ.

In addition, while 61% of evangelical leaders polled7 believe Christ will rapture believers before the great tribulation, the Bible teaches that the entire world, including believers, will be plunged into the greatest time of trouble in history just before Christ returns. What if the secret rapture, a core belief of dispensationalism, is wrong? How will the faith of believers fare when they realize the tribulation is upon them and they were not raptured?

7. Israel.
Expecting the rise of Israel to fulfill end-time prophecy shifts Christians’ focus from Christ’s great commission to take the good news of salvation by grace to all people. Belief that the Jews will be converted and evangelize the world, instead, turns attention to supporting Israel politically and financially.

Believing the Jews of Israel have a significant role to play in relation to Christ’s return, evangelical Christian organizations engage in massive funding campaigns providing millions of dollars of private funding to Israel. “US Evangelicals have donated some $65M to illegal settlements,” reports the International Middle East Media Center.8 It is difficult to estimate the total amount of funds and volunteer hours American Christians have provided to Israel over the years, but their economic and political support is significant.

Evangelical views on Israel are also reflected in US foreign policy. A Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Israeli governments shows the US is committed to $38 billion in military aid between 2019-2028,9 or $3.3 billion annually with “an additional $500 million in missile defense funding.

But what if the Evangelicals are wrong? The fact is, this colossal economic and political support for Israel is based on a religious belief that stems from a misunderstanding of Scripture and an erroneous method of prophetic interpretation. History is clear that futurism, from whence comes dispensationalism and Christian Zionism, was introduced by the Roman Catholic Church as part of their counter-attack on the Reformation, the Bible, and the authority of God.

8. Millennium.
Dispensationalism teaches 1000 years of peace as Christ reigns on the earth. Is this what the Bible teaches about the millennium?

9. The Kingdom of God.
John Nelson Darby believed that even in New Testament times, the church and Israel were distinct and separate entities. He taught that in a future kingdom dispensation, the ethnic-national state of Israel would yet experience earthly blessings. This is in opposition to Christ’s teaching when He was on earth that the kingdom of God was available to believers even then. (See Luke 17:21, Luke 11:20.)

10. Salvation after rapture.

Dispensationalism teaches that the Gospel will still be preached after Christians have been raptured, giving people a chance to accept Christ during the tribulation and the millennium. But this unbiblical view may give some a false hope for a second chance of salvation to those who refuse Christ’s mercy now.

Dispensationalism did not exist until the 19th century. Its development relied upon the foundation laid by Ribera, a member of the Jesuit Order, an order whose purpose was to destroy the Reformation. As the events described in Revelation 13 draw nearer by the minute, it’s time for Protestants to rethink Dispensationalism, open their Bibles and plead for God to send the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth once more.

What is the dispensation of grace?

The dispensation of grace is a scriptural concept in Christian theology, particularly in dispensationalism. It refers to the current period in human history, where God is graciously offering salvation to all people, saved Jews and Gentiles joined in one body, through faith in Jesus Christ. This dispensation began with the apostle Paul's ministry and is characterized by God's patience and mercy towards humanity, beseeching all people to come to faith in Christ.

Tthe dispensation of grace is distinct from other biblical dispensations, such as the law or the kingdom. It's a period of time when God's focus is on salvation through faith, rather than on works or adherence to specific laws or rituals.

This dispensation is clearly stated in Ephesians 3:2, which mentions "the dispensation of the grace of God," and is a central theme in the writings of the apostle Paul. Different Christian traditions and interpretations may understand the dispensation of grace slightly differently, but the core idea of God's gracious offer of salvation to all, for now there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. Plus, it was a Secret or mystery, hid in God since before the world began, until revealed to the Apostle Paul.

The "gap theory" (detaching the 70th week and placing it thousands of years later at the end of time) has no direct scriptural backing. It is not taught anywhere in the Bible. It was invented in the late 16th century by Jesuit Francisco Ribera as a counter-Reformation strategy to deflect historicist interpretations that identified the papacy as the antichrist power. The idea was later popularized in the 19th century by John Nelson Darby and Cyrus Scofield, becoming the foundation of dispensationalism.

Believing in this gap theory is believing a lie. The 70 weeks started in 457BC and ended in 34AD.

#70weeks #tribulation #rapture #Bibletruth

THE ORIGIN OF THE SECRET RAPTURE DOCTRINE, CAME FROM THE PEN OF JESUIT A PRIEST, AND BIBLE PROOF THAT THE SECRET RAPTURE THEORY IS FALSE.
For almost 300 years after the Council of Trent, Jesuit futurism remained largely within Catholicism, but the plan of the Jesuits was that Protestants would adopt this doctrine. This adoption process actually began in the early 1800s in England, and from there it spread to America.

The story of how this happened is both fascinating and tragic because those who made futurism a mainstream Protestant doctrine were Protestants themselves. The Futurism of Ribera never posed a positive threat to Protestants worldwide for three centuries. It did stop the Reformation in Eastern Europe. However, largely, it was virtually confined to the Roman Church. But earlier in the nineteenth century it sprang forth with vehemence as it latched on to Protestants of the Established Church of England.

*Origin of the Secret Rapture Doctrine*

As the doctrine of futurism was spreading across Europe, the much-respected Scottish Presbyterian minister Edward Irving (1792-1834), the acknowledged forerunner of both the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, came onto the scene. Irving pastored the large Chalcedonian Chapel in London with over 1000 members.

When Irving turned to the prophecies, he eventually accepted the one-man Antichrist ideas of Todd, Maitland, Bellarmine, and Ribera. But Irving went a step further. Around 1830, Edward Irving began to teach the unique idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. This is how Protestants themselves worked to undermine the doctrines once held by the Reformers.

The dispensational view of the rapture is unBiblical, and gives those who reject God the false belief that they will have another chance to turn to God after God's people are raptured.
Some Christians believe that Christ will secretly steal away His church before the tribulation. Then after seven years of Antichrist ruling on earth, Christ will return with His saints to reign with them on earth for a thousand years. What does the Bible say about these things?

One of the main verses used to support these ideas include the following:

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

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 Thessalonians 4:15-17

This passage reassures believers that because Christ rose from the dead, resurrection is certain for “the dead in Christ” (vs. 16). It also teaches the order of the “rapture”: the dead in Christ rise first, then we which are alive and remain will rise up to meet them in the clouds. So, the living saints will witness the opening of the graves and the resurrection of the sleeping saints. What a privilege it will be to be alive at that time!

However, the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 presents a problem for those who believe in a secret rapture. Some think that unbelievers won’t know about this snatching away of God’s people, but, according to these verses, there’s nothing secret about it. These verses are not talking about a “secret rapture” at all, but rather about the one and only second coming of Christ when He takes His people home.

The Lord will “shout,” the “voice of the archangel” will be heard, and the trumpet of God will sound. The only way these verses can be made to be a silent event, is to assume something that Scripture does not say here or elsewhere. To assume that only God’s people will hear what the Bible describes as loud and audible is to read something into the verses that isn’t there. Some assume that unbelievers, by some miracle, will not hear these announcements from heaven. This is imposing a view upon the text, making it say something it is not saying. (See also Matt 24:31-32, John 5:28-29, 1 Cor 15:52, Ps 50:3, etc.) According to Scripture, the “secret” part of the rapture does not exist. We must let Scripture interpret Scripture.

** Another idea is that, at the rapture, Jesus will come “as a thief in the night” and steal His people away. This idea is based on Paul’s words to Christians in Thessalonica.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 1 Thess 5:1,2
Does this verse tell us that Jesus will come secretly as a thief to steal away the church? No. Paul is saying that we can know that Christ’s coming is near.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 1 Thess 5:3

One of the signs of Christ’s coming would be when people think there’s peace and safety, and then, just as a pregnant woman suddenly goes into labor, there will be no stopping the last-day events (vs. 3). Then he says,

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thess 5:4

In other words, Paul was warning the Thessalonian Christians that they should be alert and ready for Christ’s return. They should not be caught off guard as those who are unaware of the thief’s approach and are overtaken when he comes (vs. 4) and sudden destruction comes upon them (vs. 3).

Another problem with using the “thief in the night” scenario to describe the secret rapture is that those who use this analogy see Christ as the thief. They believe that His coming as a thief is a good thing. The trouble with this is, that nowhere in the Scriptures is a thief used in a positive light. When used as a figure or symbol, the coming of a thief is always bad news, never good news. (Job 24:14, Jer 2:26, Joel 2:9, Mt 24:43-44, Lk 12:39, John 10:1, 2 Pet 3:10, Rev 3:3, Rev 16:15)

Dispensationalism may create a false hope of a second chance for those who put off making a full commitment to Christ. Actually, some dispensationalists believe that the great multitude (Rev 7:9-14) will be made up of people who are saved during the great tribulation. Some believe the great multitude will be those who never had an opportunity to hear the true Gospel until it’s preached to them during the greatest revival of all time that will happen after the rapture. Some believe that after the rapture God will send 144 000 Jewish evangelists, the two miracle-working witnesses, and an angel from heaven to preach the Gospel and a great multitude will be saved. Some believe this, though there is no such precedent of supernatural evangelism anywhere in the Bible.

Another problem with dispensationalism is that it leaves believing Christians unprepared to face hardship and persecution and may set them up for faith-shattering disappointment when they realize the time of trouble has come and they were not raptured.

Apologist Frank Turek strongly rejected accusations that dispensationalism and Christian Zionism are "heresies." #ChristianNews #News2025 #USA #Pastor #Christians #Church https://noticiacristiana.com/2025/12/rechaza-dispensacionalismo-herejia/

It sad how some churches are misleading people. Why does there have to be so many theories out there. Calvinism, dispensationalism, and I’m sure many others that I’m not aware of..