The law that entropy increases—the Second Law of Thermodynamics—holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. In fact, entropy appears to be the only true natural constant. All things fall apart, and human civilization is not exempt.

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington

With all this talk of the New World Order, the New Normal, and the Age of Aquarius, I have become somewhat nostalgic for the old world order. Now, I know that as a Christian, this world is not our home, and we are destined for glory upon glory into the eternal realm; but still, looking back over our lives, there were good and testing moments in our lives that made us who we are today.

We are living longer these days, which has caused an excess of generations to all be alive at the same time. From Centennials and Millennials to Generation X and Baby Boomers (even a few Silent Generation folk are still kicking around), the 20th-21st centuries have become a cornucopia of cross-generational experiences. Like many of you, I consider myself fortunate enough to have not only been born in the last century but also in the last millennium as well.

However, this idea of cross-millennial generations got me thinking about Dispensationalism and our current predicament as a nation. It’s easy to blame everything on Centennials (Gen Z, iGen [1996-Present]), on their general laziness and discontent for America, but can you blame them. Most grew up either right before or right after 9/11. They went from that to being a nation at war for almost 19 years. Right around the time they can get a job and start making money, the market crashes (2008). They then get eight years of the abomination, I mean, the Obama Administration. They lived through H1N1, Ebola, COVID-1984, and every natural disaster known to man.

Yet, they were not the first generation to suffer. The Silent Generation (1945 and earlier) saw two World Wars, the Spanish Flu, and the Great Depression. Baby Boomers saw the Korean and Vietnamese Wars and the Hippy movement. Still, Centennials have one greater disadvantage than these previous generations: they live in a largely Post-modern, Post-American, and Post-Christian world. Their lives are being earmarked by the upgrades in technology (pre/post iPhone).

Nevertheless, my thoughts of late regarding Dispensationalism has infinitely bordered more on the ambiguous than simply as a hermeneutical construct. It had more to do with the transition between dispensations rather than the dispensations themselves. At least the first two (Innocence and Conscience) had vastly different and physical ramifications in their before and after realities. For those who lived between them (Adam and Eve, Noah, and his family), the differences must have been shocking.

Within traditional Dispensationalism, there is a four-part organization regarding each particular age or epoch. The first part is the act, which separates it from the previous era. The second part is the challenge God gives mankind within that particular time period. The third is man’s failure to live up to said challenge. The fourth part is the judgment regarding that particular failure. The late Dr. Charles Ryrie explains as follows:

The principal characteristic of a dispensation is the economic arrangement and responsibility that God reveals in each dispensation. Such responsibility is a test in itself. Most men fail the test, and then judgment follows. The dispensational scheme has two perspectives: a cross-sectional aspect (which is sometimes misconstrued as cycles but which is, in reality, a spiral) and a longitudinal aspect (which emphasizes the unfolding progress of revelation and continuing principles throughout the ages of the dispensations). (Source)

For example:

• The Age of Innocence began with man’s creation in paradise, their testing of the forbidden tree, and ended with the introduction of sin, death, and expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:26-27, 3:6-24; Romans 5:12).
• The Age of Conscience began with fallen man and God’s introduction of sacrifice (for temporary atonement) and ended with the divine depopulation plan via global flood (Gen. 3:21, 6:11-13, 7:11-24; Rom. 2:15).
• The Age of Human Government began with the Noahic Covenant and was modified with the global dispersion and confusion of tongues at Babel (Gen. 9:5, 11:5-9; Acts 17:26; Rom. 13:1-7).
• The Age of Promise began with the Abrahamic Covenant and ended with Egyptian bondage, and a generation not being able to enter into the Promised Land (Gen. 12-15, 26, 28; Numbers 14:26-36, 23:19; Micah 7:20; Rom. 11:29).
• The Age of the Law began with the giving of the Law by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai and ended with the Jewish people crucifying their own promised Messiah (Exodus 19:1-8; Deuteronomy 7-8; Daniel 9:4-16; Matthew 27:25; Rom. 3:19-20).
• The Age of the Church began by the giving of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, and will end as chronicled by Jesus in His seven letters to the seven churches. The church age will culminate with a final church epoch sliding (minus the Philadelphian remnant) into wholesale apostasy (John 1:17; Acts 1:9-2:4; Titus 2:11-14; 1Pet 1:10-12; Rev. 3:15-16).
• The Millennial Age will begin the Second Coming of Christ at Armageddon, which will introduce a 1,000-year reign of righteousness and peace upon the earth. It will end with the loosening of Satan at the end of that reign and conclude with one final rebellion that God immediately crushes, thus ushering in the Great White Throne Judgment (Matt. 25:31-34; Rev. 20:4-6, 7-15).

Thus, Dispensationalism is not just some theological “construct” teasing out academic particulars so that it can be different from other interpretations like Reformed Theology or Roman Catholicism. The failures found in Dispensational theology’s dispensations uniquely validate God’s word both by history and current events. Simply look around today and look at the strength of the denominational churches. See how watered- down and diluted they have become. The modern church has suffered death by a thousand cuts, splintering and crushing professing Christendom under the weight of political correctness, governmental overreach, and the deconstruction of civil society. The failures highlighted by Dispensational theology has everything to do with the reality we are currently living in, the future of America and the Church, and the end of our age.

Assessment

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours” (Luke 4:5-7).

Throughout Satan’s long history on planet Earth, his desire has always been for there to be one system he could command and control for his own purposes. From Babel until today, he has, with limited success, ruthlessly used individuals, kingdoms, geography, resources, religion, mythology, and all sorts of machinations to try to achieve this end. While it is true that many were taking the broad path that leads to hell, thus, Satan was achieving a backhanded victory of sorts, he only really cares about where he spends eternity. He is feverishly trying to derail Bible prophecy so he can, somehow (in his mind), make God break His own word. Mankind was progressing too slowly, and like herding cats, mankind’s free will was becoming increasingly problematic for Satan, which is why the Industrial and Technological Revolutions were so convenient and necessary.

It is no mistake that for the past 4,000 years, man was limited to the speed of horse. God intentionally put the brakes on us back at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:6). It is also no mistake that here in the last 150 years, mankind’s technological innovation has evolved exponentially. Therefore, it is in the last 70 years or so that Satan has increasingly turned towards the use of this technological evolution to push humanity over the edge into his dark, dystopian dream.

The great industrial and technological achievements of mankind over the past two centuries were all hailed as our great achievements and upward mobility: global travel, global communications, and the development of information technologies. These were meant to make our lives easier. Instead, they have complicated our lives. Complicated geopolitics. Compounded the threats we face on a daily basis. The same technology that was supposed to make our lives better will one day enslave humanity. Nevertheless, Satan has unregenerate man so blinded by the shiny bells and whistles that they believe they are evolving into some newer, better version of themselves. Mankind is so enamored by the idea of becoming superhuman (thanks in part to Hollywood and pop fiction) that many are literally rushing headfirst to put the mark of the beast prototype technology into/onto their bodies.

Satan is using technology to mass-produce fear and anxiety on a global scale so that people willingly turn over their liberty for peace and safety. This has become an increasingly useful twist of fate, as man has entered headfirst into the Digital Age. Actually, the age we are in now has many different names because we are converging into so many different spectrums of maturation as a species: Information Age, Computer Age, Post-Modern Era, and Fourth Industrial Revolution.

It is interesting to me that we are now living through the greatest prophetic convergences of events in 2,000 years; yet, the Church Age is also culminating at the same moment information is being weaponized at a terrifying rate. The effect is you would hardly notice our proximity to the end, given the silence of most pulpits. I wonder if the deception Jesus warned us about repeatedly in His Olivet Discourse was not just deception by commission, but by omission as well.

Nevertheless, you cannot have this New World Order without blowing up the old one first. Therefore, the fact that we have seven dispensations, as opposed to having just one, means each has ended (or will end) with Satan’s fingerprints all over it. Satan’s efforts to pervert, corrupt, and silence our generations have been effective. Everything (Creation, marriage, gender, history, science, truth, etc.) is on the table for redefinition.

It makes sense, though. He has to ramp up the fake news, the misdirection, increasingly polarizing bias, and deep fakes because he knows his time is short. Now he has the global stage and microphone to promote his satanic agenda. He knows the Rapture is about to happen. He already has his army of disinformation agents seeding the ground for the great delusion (via propaganda), so when the Rapture happens, he can consolidate his power. Although we do not know exactly when the Rapture of the Church will finally provide Satan the necessary crisis he can use to bring all of the world’s governments together.

Conclusion

As the world is coming to the end of our present dispensation, it is in the process of tearing itself apart politically and ideologically. It is only natural for believers to want the country they live in to turn back to God. We are seeing calls for revival, repentance, and a return to prayer. While those things are worthy aspirations in and of themselves, it is, however, not how things will turn out. This is not about my pessimism, nor dispensational doom and gloom theology, but a predetermined end for how the Bible says the world will turn out.

Ø Enoch said they would be filled with the ungodly preserved for destruction (Jude 1:14-15).

Ø Jeremiah was told that this would be a time called “Jacob’s Trouble,” in which God would destroy all the nations of the earth and discipline Israel (Jeremiah 30:7-11).

Ø Daniel was told they would be fearful times, with people full of knowledge, traveling back and forth across the earth (Dan. 7:7, 12:1, 4).

Ø Zechariah was shown how the world would become infatuated with dividing Israel at a cost of their own destruction (Zech. 12:2).

Ø Jesus warned about it, saying deception would be rampant, and this time will culminate in the worst period of human history ever (Matt. 24).

Ø The Apostle Paul called them perilous times, where many would depart from the faith (2 Tim. 3).

Ø The Apostle Peter said they would be filled with scoffers and people walking after their own lusts (2 Peter 3).

Ø Jude compared the ancient apostates to the ones who would come in the last days (Jude 1:12-15).

Ø The Apostle John said the spirit of antichrist was already at work in the world and was shown how it would be amplified into the physical coming of Satan’s chosen man in the final week of years (1 John 2:18; Revelation 6:1-2, 13).

While we, the Church, should actively pray for repentance as a nation and for revival, we should be discouraged neither by our efforts nor by the results. Revival and repentance are never mainstays in our world. They are temporary endeavors because the unregenerate human heart is incurably wicked (Jer. 17:9). It is not that God is not listening, for many in the world are still coming to saving faith. It is because God is even now in the process of giving people over to their sins and delusions. The wicked are hardening their hearts because of the mercy of God, not for lack of it. God did not delay the flood because of a lack of converts. He gave ample warning through Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah.

The Holy Spirit-filled Church (the body of Christ) is the restraining force of evil on the planet. Denominations are not the Restrainers, but the body of believers who, through the Holy Spirit, work to fulfill God’s plan, is the restraint holding back evil wholesale. As the power and authority of the true church diminishes, darkness has begun to creep back over the land. That is not to say the forces of evil (principalities and powers) have not wrought evil and wickedness upon this earth, because clearly they have. However, the fervent prayers of a righteous man (men and women), availeth much (James 5:16). We have been able to effectively keep evil at bay from completely taking over this planet.

Thus, our time has become increasingly dark and heavy. Spiritual oppression and alienation are at an all-time high for believers. However, you are not alone. As Ambassadors of Christ, we have to remember, we are not here to change the policies of this fallen planet. We cannot; that is not the role of ambassadors. That would be like trying to fix minor plumbing issues on the Titanic after it has already struck the iceberg and is listing to one side. This ship is going down, and we do not have the means to fix it, nor is it in the plan of God to repair Satan’s busted ship. Imagine the Titanic, having struck the iceberg, is now disabled, sinking, and now in the path of a massive Category 5 hurricane. That is what is coming.

As Ambassadors of Christ, we are here as representatives of our Heavenly Father and His Kingdom. We are here to bring as many people WITH us in the upcoming rescue operation from planet Earth. However, God has both the power and ability to hold back the winds of the coming storm, until His perfect timing. He will not declare war on this planet until He has removed His ambassadors from enemy territory first.

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”‘ (Revelation 3:10-13).

End Notes:

https://www.thebookwurm.com/dispchrt.htm

 

An Exposition

Luke 16:19-31: “The Man Who Was Lost Forever”

“Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man also died, and he was buried.”

“And in hades [hell] he lifted his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things and likewise Lazarus bad things, but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead’” (Luke 16:19-31, NASB).

The topic that the Lord Jesus spoke of the most in the Scriptures is ignored or denied in this day of rampant apostasy and reprobate preaching where people want to be entertained and made to feel content with themselves. I have not heard many sermons on the topic over the years, and if it were preached more often by ministers with a backbone, we would not have the society we see now that is falling apart and heading to a horrendous end.

What is this topic?

It is the reality and terror of a literal, actual hell created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and is the final destination for anyone who refuses to bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord (John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4;12; Romans 10:9-10; Philippians 2:9-11). He did not give anyone a third option as to where to spend eternity. It is either heaven or hell, and all the fame, riches, mockery, and denial in this world will not change that reality.

This story is a scathing rebuke of the mindset both in Jesus’ day and today that riches and notoriety are sure signs of the blessing and favor of God upon someone. I hear that quite a bit from the personalities that dominate religious television and media in general today. Their siren song of promised heaven-sent prosperity draws the weak, naïve, gullible, and desperate to their poisonous embrace. These smiling, articulate agents of deception end up fleecing them, and they conveniently distance themselves from the aftermath when these promises tend to evade their audience, bringing about the curse of unbelief and hatred for the name of God as a result. The belief in riches as a visible blessing from God was part of the thinking of the Pharisees in the time of Jesus’ ministry. This story will end up shattering that mindset and bring up the issue of what happens after you are gone and that you cannot take anything with you.

This story shows that life can end at any time without warning and that we need to be prepared for that day because the rapture, notwithstanding (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10), we will die in one way or another, and that cannot be avoided or ignored. None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow (Luke 12: 13-21; James 4:13-15). We may go to sleep tonight and wake up in the presence of God, or the horrors of hell. Age and health are irrelevant. I have lost loved ones and friends, from birth to old age in a variety of ways, and have had to perform many of their funerals. Because of the saving grace of Christ in which they all confessed and believed, I know that I shall see them again, and I feel that day is not too far off.

However, if you take some time to do some research and reading on the topic of “last words of atheists/infidels,” which can easily be found on the internet, there are some terrifying accounts of the final moments of dying unbelievers. Some die saying that they feel the flames of hell, or that they see the demonic forces approaching them as they breathe their last and react with horror, or they lament that they refused to surrender to Christ, and now there is nothing in them except a hardened heart doomed to eternal misery. Many of them had been blasphemers, skeptics, haters of Christianity, and mockers of God during their lives, and realized too late that it was not going to end well for any of them.

There are also many people who thought that they were “good,” “moral,” and said they “believed in God” who ended up in hell because their conceived “goodness” could not in any way, shape, or form redeem them from their sins and wickedness. They trusted in themselves to reach heaven and rejected God’s sole way for anyone to receive salvation, and that is only through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins (John 14:6; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:19).

The tragedy of the rich man had nothing to do with his wealth or status, but his negligence of preparing his soul for eternity plunged him headfirst into a place that he did not expect to be, as are a lot of people today who are blissfully heading in the same terrifying direction.

This story, which I believe to be a real account, as do many other ministers and scholars, now points out that this man, suffering in the flames, showed no observable evidence of repentance or sorrow concerning the state of his soul. He still sees Lazarus, now in the portals of paradise with the redeemed, as nothing more than a servant that he can order to do his bidding, such as giving him a bit of water, and tells Abraham to send Lazarus down to hell and fulfill his demand, to no avail.  He is rather self-centered and now listens to Abraham telling him that his life on earth did not mean much of anything because it was all focused on him and not the obvious needs of people like Lazarus. He did nothing for anyone but himself and his immediate family and ended up neglecting his accountability before God.

There is regret and remorse in hell from the damned, but nowhere do we read of or hear of anyone repenting in hell. Repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict individuals of sin and the need to turn their lives over to Jesus Christ for salvation, and the only way to avoid the eternal misery and torment (not torture) that awaits those who reject God’s offer of mercy and grace.

Once an unregenerate soul enters the domain of hell, all efforts of repentance vanish, and the act of continual sin and wickedness goes on for all time, and the punishment for it never catches up. All one must look forward to in hell is continual misery, pain, and the lack of love, mercy, grace, compassion, empathy, sympathy, and concern. There will only be the eternal wrath of God abiding on the prisoners, both human and demonic, without pause or rest.

Lazarus looks on at the rich man’s predicament, and likewise the doomed man looks upon the paradise that he could have received and enjoyed by putting his faith in the Lord, but it is too late for any changes or revisions, nor is there mentioned in Scripture anyone returning from the afterlife to get another opportunity to make things right. There is no account of someone spending minutes or longer in heaven in Scripture, nor is there any solid description of what awaits us, save for the vision John receives in the book of Revelation and the testimony of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6; and he was given a “thorn in the flesh” by God to keep him from boasting about the experience.

No one spends minutes in hell and then comes back with a story that is the product of a vivid imagination, as if the Scriptures were not enough. Doubtlessly, we will hear of more “Heavenly Tourism” as the days get more wicked and confusion spreads in the churches due to ignoring God’s sufficient, inerrant Word and embracing experiences, visions, personal revelation, signs and wonders instead as a substitute. God has said all He needs to say through the Scriptures. Anything else is a ruse and source of deception.

The plea by the rich man for the welfare of his brothers is that Lazarus be sent back to the land of the living as a sign to them to turn their lives over to God and avoid the eternal fate he now suffers. Abraham informs the man that the brothers have access to the Scriptures, and they can read what God says about being saved from sin and its consequences.

The rich man was adamant. He wanted his brothers to see a sign and wonder to convince them of God’s authority and power, but Abraham made it clear that this would in no way convince them or get them to change their ways. Did not the Pharisees continually ask Jesus for a sign to verify His divine claims? Would they have been satisfied and convinced? Read what they wanted to do with Lazarus, the friend of Jesus whom He raised from the dead after four days in the grave. This obvious work of the LORD turned their hearts further away from the Lord Jesus, and they wanted to kill Lazarus as well (John 12:1-11).

The Pharisees wished to hold on to their power and turn people away from Jesus. This should be a strong warning against relying on “signs” or anything extrabiblical to convince someone of the truths of Christianity.

It is the power of both the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit that the Lord uses to open blind eyes and brings any penitent heart to the foot of the cross for salvation and spiritual renewal. This was true for the brothers of the lost man, and it still holds true today.

There is a heaven to gain, and a hell to avoid. If you do not have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, I implore you to get that settled TODAY (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow is not certain, and I do not want you to end up as this poor soul did, lost forever with the wicked and the devil and his angels, sharing in the torment and misery that will never end. Please surrender your life to Christ this day. Eternity awaits, ready or not.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

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