Is the end really as near as some folks wish it was?

by Al Benson Jr.

How many of us have seen, over the years, the cartoon picture of the little old man with the long white beard, wearing a long robe, and carrying a heavy signboard over his shoulders on which is written "The end is near"? I've seen cartoons about him for over forty years now, and all I can say is that this poor guy must be getting kind of long in the tooth, carrying that heavy sign around, warning us about an end that hasn't happened yet. Just a hint, folks, don't hold your breath.

This whole "end is near" syndrome has been in vogue in Christian circles since starting out in Great Britain sometime in the early 1830s. It made it to this country sometime in the 1870s or 1880s and it became a full-blown epidemic with the advent of the Scofield Study Bible about 1909. It is the product of a theological system called dispensationalism, and it has neutralized much of the Christian church into spending its time looking for a secret imminent "rapture" instead of being about the business of discipling the nations as commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission.

Pastor Duane Garner of Monroe, Louisiana has written a very informative little book (only 56 pages, an easy read) called Why The End Is Not Near, Athanasius Press, Monroe, Louisiana. In dealing with dispensationalism Pastor Garner has noted: "This particular view of the future is not the product of serious biblical scholarship, but rather the product of a sensationalistic element in the church. It dates back not earlier than the beginning of the nineteenth century, and is entirely contrary to the biblical concept of the 'end times.' Wherever this doctrine has been applied, it has done immeasurable harm to the church and distracted her from her mission."

Pastor Garner continues: "Without exception, the dispensationalist reads the words 'end times' and the 'end of the age' in the Scriptures to mean the end of the earth, and expects such events to be soon on the horizon. The imminent rapture of the church is a much-anticipated event, and for many it is the chief impetus for any thought or action." Pastor Garner goes into the origins of dispensationalism in Great Britain under J. N. Darby and notes now Darby's new theology influenced C. I. Scofield, who published the Scofield Study Bible in 1909. The Scofield Bible gives you the good old standard King James text--accompanied by a "running dispensationalist commentary..." What happens is that most folks read the commentary and then filter their perceptions of the scriptural text through the grid of the commentary, which I am sure was the intent of the author. This creates serious problems, such as how you interpret such expressions as "the last hour" and the "last days." Pastor Garner has observed that: "...dispensationalism is itself wholly synthetic. It has no root in the eighteen hundred years of Christian thought that came before it. Its central teachings were unheard of before the nineteenth century..."

Pastor Steve Wilkins of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Louisiana has noted what the apostles believed when they spoke of "the last hour."  He has noted that John the apostle, in speaking of the last hour "is speaking of the time just prior to an end, though not the end of history. Rather he is speaking of something that was about to come to a close during the lifetimes of his hearers...John begins and ends the book of Revelation by saying that Jesus is coming 'quickly' and that he is writing about things which must 'shortly come to pass' and that the 'time is near.' He did not expect his prophecy to be delayed 2000 or more years. The apostles weren't mistaken. Jesus did come and the 'end' came. Not the end of the world literally, but the end of the 'old world' which had been centered around Jerusalem, the temple, and the people of Israel. Jesus didn't return physically, but He did come to judge unfaithful Israel (in 70 AD at the close of the Great Tribulation He predicted in Matthew 24). There is nothing in the Bible that would lead us to expect the end of history during our lifetimes."

Interestigly enough, Jesus judged unfaithful Israel and the Christian church became, in effect, the new Israel--yet today dispensationalist folks are trying to go back and recreate the Israel that Jesus judged and they seek to point Christians toward the restoration of national Israel rather than to the work of the church.

A couple more books worth reading on this subject are Joseph Canfield's The Incredible Scofield and His Book, Ross House Books, Vallecito, California, and Death of the Church Victorious by Ovid Need Jr., Sovereign Grace Publishers, Lafayette, Indiana, 2002. Both Mr. Canfield's and Pastor Need's books go into an in-depth study of the origins of dispensationalism, which more Christians need to be aware of.

More on this important subject as the Lord allows.