Sermon for the Sullivan SDA Church
October 23, 2004
Last Day Delusions II
Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,12 for the equipping of the saints
for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,13 till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;14 that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting,15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working
by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying
of itself in love.
our mission - our sense of what God has called us to do
Under God’s guidance, we meet people where they are, and lead them
to experience a growing relationship in Christ with us.
our vision - what our
church will look like when we are accomplishing our mission
To be a growing church that
transforms our community, models singular devotion to Christ, and is prepared
for His coming.
our core values -
principles that define how we do ministry together as we pursue our mission
1 Empowering Leadership - Many people are leaders and don’t even know it; we lead in a variety of ways. (e.g. parent/child, father/family, teacher/student, Christian/unbeliever) Leadership is influencing people toward something better in their lives. Not that we are better, but we participate with God in directing them to the happiest life possible with Him. We “empower” leaders by apprenticing new leaders. We guide and equip them so that together we multiply our influence for good and accomplish God’s mission.
Ephesians 4:11,12; 2 Timothy 2:2; RH
8/24/86; 11/6/88; 9T 82
2
Gift-Oriented Ministry - We serve the Lord in our
areas of giftedness through appropriate ministries so the Body of Christ “grows
and builds itself up in love.”
Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1,4-6; Ephesians 4:16;
1 Peter 4:10; Letter 19, 1901; 8T 186,7
3
Passionate Spirituality - We believe
continual spiritual growth should be normal for all Christians. Hence, we encourage Christians of all walks
and religious persuasions to become more devoted to Christ by taking delight in
the spiritual life. This includes daily
renewal through the personal disciplines of Bible study, prayer, and obedience.
Psalm 119:148; Mark 12:30; Romans 6:22; 13:11; 2
Corinthians 7:11; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15
4
Functional Structures - Our church’s ministries,
systems, programs and policies work optimally through well-defined objectives
which are regularly evaluated to ensure functionality and excellence.
Exodus 18:14-22; Romans 12:4-8; Ephesians 4:16
5
Inspiring Worship - We gather for worship first
and foremost for our heavenly Father.
We worship Him in spirit and truth because of His beautiful holiness,
creative power and loving kindness. The
blending of spirit and truth reveals our commitment to authentic expressions of
praise and adoration that are biblical, decent and orderly.
Psalm 29:2; 96:6,9; 99:5,9;
138:2; John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 14:40; Revelation 4:11; 5:9,10; 14:7
6
Holistic Small Groups - We desire everyone to be involved in a small group
that ministers to their spiritual, mental, physical, and social needs. Since leadership is vital to this ministry,
we equip them through regular training, encourage them through monthly
briefings, and evaluate them through annual reviews. While these discipleship groups vary, they are primarily focused
on life transformation and evangelism.
Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:46-47; Philemon 2; RH 5/30/71;
9/29/91; 7T 21-22, 195
7
Need-Oriented Evangelism - People are at the heart of our existence as a
church. We authentically and
intentionally cultivate friendships with pre-Christians to lead them to become
fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
We use Jesus’ own method of mingling with people desiring their good,
showing sympathy, ministering to them, winning their confidence, and inviting
them to follow Him.
Matthew 25:34-40; 28:29,20; Luke 19:10; Revelation
14:6; MH 143
8
Loving Relationships - People matter - they’re the only thing going to
heaven. We are known for our love for
all people without regard to gender, race, social or economic status. We accept people as they are and desire for
them the happiest, highest and holiest life possible with God. We hold special regard for those who are
destitute, without loved ones, and in need of our sympathy.
I
Ideas – The Syntopicon
A.
A
history of the development of ideas
B.
Where
did an idea come from?
C.
What
is there about an idea that allows large numbers of people to embraced it and
accept it as truth?
II
Lets apply these questions to the Idea called
Dispensationalism
1.
Generally believed by Conservative Protestant Christians. – this is the
overall background of Christian understanding of most everyone you witness to.
2.
Popularized by a continuing sequels of the “Left Behind” books
3.
Popularized by a number of “Left Behind” movies.
III
The Premises of
Dispensationalism
1.
All true Christians will soon vanish in the rapture.
2.
Seven years of apocalyptic terror will overtake those left behind.
3.
One sinister man – the antichrist will take over the world.
4.
The antichrist will enter a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, claming to be
God.
5.
The nations of earth will attack Israel at Armageddon.
B.
Last week we noted briefly the idea of The Secret
(silent) Rapture:
a
And we examined a couple of texts found in Scripture often used to
support and prove this idea.
b
And we noted the necessity to study Scripture in its total context. How
when studied in their full context these text are often found to be talking
about something quite different from the application they are being used to
support.
c
The Caught up text: 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
d
The thief in the night text: 1 Thessalonians 5:2 [1]For
you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in
the night. 2
e
The women grinding text: Matthew 24:41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill: one
will be taken and the other left.
II
Secondly, we reviewed the common belief of “The
Antichrist” -- The Evil Dude
1.
After the rapture, one sinister man, the antichrist, will take over the
world. He’ll enter the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
2.
He will fulfill the prophecies of the Antichrist, the Beast, the Little
Horn, the Great Dragon and a number of other end time symbols of Satan and his
structures.
3.
Ultimately this popular Antichrist will be exposed as Satan himself.
4.
This period of seven years between the rapture and the second coming of
Christ to overthrow the Antichrist is called the
Tribulation.
B.
LAST WEEK We reviewed briefly the texts found in 1st
and 2nd John that speaks of the antichrist. 1 John 2:18-26
1.
We found
a John speaks of antichrist
being present in his time, and that they were many.
even now many antichrists have come
b They didn’t arise outside of
Christianity, but from within. They went out from us
– in the time of John
c
Anti Christ are those who hold certain positions (ideas)
i
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
ii
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,3 and every spirit
that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and
is now already in the world
iii
2 John 7-10 For many deceivers
have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the
flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
d
And we reviewed the idea of the “Immaculate
Conception” which is a teaching that Mary did not have the same nature as sinners.
And, that the very flesh of Christ was that of Mary His mother – a nature
different, and somehow holy and without original sin such as all other people
possess. The idea of “the Immaculate Conception is that Christ did not possess
the same flesh as the rest of humanity.
e
This is not a dispensationalist idea, but never the less, an idea that
permeates the thinking of millions of people in this world.
III
The source of these ideas:
1.
Where did these ideas come from?
2.
Who thought them up?
3.
What is the source of this lore?
4.
Are they new ideas? How old are they?
A.
Two
Approaches: the biblical source, the Need Oriented Source.
B.
Many
ideas that you might consider as you read the Bible are some of the sources of
many of these ideas.
1.
The concept that All of God’s promises are absolute and must
be fulfilled to the Jewish people just as God spoke.
Isaiah 41:8-20
8 “But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from
its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10 Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed
and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12 You shall seek them and not find them—
Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.
13 For I, the Lord
your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help
you.’
14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp
teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the
hills like chaff.
16 You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues
fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear
them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord
has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
[2]
5.
The denial of the Conditionalist Faith of our Fathers
Matthew 3:7-9 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come?8 “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,9
“and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I
say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.[3]
2.
The central test as to whether on is a
dispensationalist is accent to the belief in the dichotomy of Israel and the
Church. The promises of the Old
Testament were made to Israel, to the Jewish Nation, and not to the Christian
Church.
a
From this one concept flows many of the core beliefs of most of our
Christian neighbors.
i
Most do not recognize the consequences of such a concept.
ii
These consequences are profound and totally destroy the Biblical
teaching of much of the New Testament.
b
But, for now we’ll just consider that from this concept we have the
necessity of getting the Church out of the way to provide a venue in place and
time for God to fulfill His so far unfulfilled promises to Israel.
B.
The GAP theory
Daniel 8:13-14
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one
said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be,
concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving
of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?”14 And he said to
me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be
cleansed.” [4]
Daniel 9:20-27
20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin
and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my
God,21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in
the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the
time of the evening offering.22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and
said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.23 “At
the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to
tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and
understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
1 For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes
desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” [5]
C.
The 70th, Week
1.
The 70 weeks is a period of time from the period of time reaching from
the Command to restore Jerusalem to the Crucifixion of Christ and the Stoning
of Stephen.
a
Fairly easily understood from the description given by the angel and a
comparison with the events that have actually taken place in history.
2.
the last week, the 70th, week has been moved from the end of
the 69 weeks, forward to the end of time.
3.
the year for a day principal gives one day for a year. One week is
seven years.
4.
In Dispensationalism teaching the 70th week begins after the
Rapture (the time of the end) and extends for seven years until the coming of
Christ. These seven years, this 70th week is the tribulation.
D.
We find that Dispensationalist take their teaching of much of the end
of time events from the books of Daniel and Revelation. Just as the rest of the
Christian world does, but with the need to provide God with a time and place to
fulfill His promises to the Jews, and to provide a time and place for the work
of Antichrist the final week of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 is moved to the
future.
E.
Dispensationalism is a Futurist theology. Most all events described in Daniel and Revelation are pushed in
to the future.
1.
As compared to the Preterist theology
which pushes most all the events of Daniel and Revelation into the past during
the time of the Macchibees and into the period of the Roman Empire.
2.
Or to the Historical interpretation,
which sees God acting through out the history of the world, and sees the events
outlined in Daniel and Revelation happening from the time of Daniel
continuously to the coming of Christ. Seventh-day Adventists are historicist.
IV
The reason people find Dispensationalism Viable,
Valuable, and Satisfying.
A.
Dispensationalism provides a framework to understand Bible Prophecy
that is exciting’ Left Behind, Carpathia
1.
Check out the popular books and movies.
a
Like “The Lord of the Rings” it sets good against evil.
2.
Most people are not aware that there are other viable, accurate, and
historically frameworks.
3.
Most people do not consider the consequences and implications of the
Dispensationalism teachings.
4.
In general, no one is taught the negative aspects of one’s beliefs.
B.
Dispensationalism seemingly makes God’s promises
absolutely
sure and reliable. God’s promises are unconditional. They will be fulfilled
without any response on our part.
C.
Dispensationalism provides a second chance. Those who miss the rapture
can be converted during the time of the tribulation.
D.
Dispensationalism provides a way to escape the tribulation.
Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael shall stand up,
1 The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your
people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book. [6]
V
Our Purpose:
Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,12 for the equipping of the
saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,13 till
we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;14 that
we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting,15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working
by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying
of itself in love.