If you initially find this theory hard to accept, I understand; I was just like you not long ago! It can be very difficult to question tightly held beliefs that the church has taught. For many of us, the Bible and church has been the only refuge of truth in a world full of lies. This has led some of us to trust churches, their clergy, and their doctrine way too much. Because we discovered and experienced the beautiful truth of Jesus’ love there, we thought we could trust everything they said. This is stereotyped in the very lost sinners, who were deep in sin and were in a living hell before being miraculously transformed by Jesus Christ. Sometimes this fiery faith is seen in young aspiring clergy members – usually men, who are absolutely on fire for Christ, and can hardly speak a word without mentioning their faith and hope. I love this kind of faith, and I have experienced it myself. As a result, we naturally came to trust pastors and churches too much at certain points, because we found some answers there. We have personally experienced the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We have felt supernatural changes happen and have found inexplicable comfort in times of great trouble when we prayed to Jesus or the Father. We know that in many ways we are (or were) on the right path, because God has made his presence known in our lives. He is real to us! Still, the churches and different denominations have eventually failed us! They left us with unanswered questions, and in many cases, gave us wrong answers. Our parents or clergy members could not explain secular “scientific” challenges to our belief system. They almost never address the incredible scandals in government, banking, “science”, and culture. There was a culture of ignorance and cowardice that we could no longer ignore.
It follows then, if the “Christian” churches are wrong or falling short in so many ways, how is God working through them? I will address this in more depth, but the short answer is that God is powerful and gracious enough to recognize our hearts, and work within flawed people and weak churches, when and if we sincerely seek Him. The Fathers grace, and the Sons sacrifice, made a way for us, but the Enemy is always trying to deceive the church and lead Gods people astray. One of the ways the enemy does this is by corrupting the very institutions that seekers go to when they feel the desire to know God. The churches have been systematically under attack for a long time, but most notably and relevant to this discussion, is the attack of Dispensationalist doctrine, and “Christian Zionism”, which began in earnest around the beginning of the 20th century. These false doctrines are unbiblical and entirely invented by the enemies of God. The Enemy knows that when our doctrine is wrong or weak, we will easily stumble, we become ineffective witnesses, and our souls are in great jeopardy.
I like to visualize myfaith as a large Colonial-style brick home. The foundation, the steps up to the front door, the grand entry way, and the front door represent Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiac. Without Him there is no foundation or way in – there is no way to build the house. The first corner of the brick home is a solid understanding of Biblical Creation Science. Without that corner, the worldly lie of Evolution Theory collapses a vital part of the house. This corner has been under heavy assault for over 100 years since Darwin. Now we have thousands of online resources to easily defeat the attack on this corner, if we are willing to do just a little bit of research and work. The second corner is cerebral or mental knowledge of real (Biblical) history. Without it, we are not sure of where we came from or of who we are. Did you know archeologists rely more heavily on the Old Testament than any other document in order to find ancient ruins? Biblical history is a true story! The lies of hijacked “science” will easily collapse two corners of your “faith-house” of you do not have those in order. The third corner of your Faith-House is heart-knowledge of scripture. This often starts with the heart-changing spiritual transformation that comes from knowing and confessing the amazing redemption offered by God, to Man, through Jesus. Many Christians first and only experience with this was when they first repented and felt the indescribably relief of the Fathers forgiveness wash over them. We may feel again when we sing praise and worship songs, or hymns. Maybe you have felt it while praying for a loved one, and He suddenly comforts you. This an indispensable part of our faith. However, we are forgetful and weak beings, and relying too heavily on this corner, and neglecting the others, will likely cause your Faith-House to collapse someday. The fourth corner of my “faith-house” is correct eschatology, or a clear understanding of what Jesus and the prophets said about the end of this world. Without this, Christians have to do all kinds of mental gymnastics to explain dozens of verses, many of them the words of Jesus Christ, about His second coming, the “end of the age” the Millenium Kingdom, the “end of all things” the “new Heaven and Earth”, among other things. The graphs, overlapping timelines, the incredibly speculative links made by futurist-dispensationalists, gap-theorists, etc, will wrap your mind in confusion and seed many doubts about the truthfulness divinity of Jesus! This “fourth corner” of the faith-house is the primary focus of Little Season Eschatology, and this Fellowship.
If the entry-way or any of the corners of your house are broken down in piles of rubble, or were never built, you cannot put on the roof. What is the roof in this analogy? The roof is Faith! An indestructible roof of powerful faith, built upon: 1. Jesus, the foundation and entry way, 2. Creation Science, or knowledge of the beginning, 3. Cerebral knowledge of scripture, our intellect and logical application, 4. Heart-knowledge of scripture, the spiritual connection, 5. Accurate Eschatology, or understanding when we are, so we are not deceived.
Only when this “faith-house” is built correctly, can we invite others in and show them our beautiful home, our hope, our past, our future, and the amazing reality of our salvation through Yeshua Hamashiac! You can have dinner and fellowship, you, your family, and your guests, are protected from the storms, the rain, and the blistering summer sun. This house is earthquake-proof, storm-proof, and will stand forever!
My Story
Whether you are a Christian who thinks Jesus’ Second Coming did not happen, or an agnostic, I was once like you. I grew up in a Dispensationalist, “non-denominational” Christian home. My parents, both of whom were raised Roman Catholic in the Midwest during the 1960s and 70s, “converted” to Protestantism and became career missionaries in their early 20s. They were trained in Baptist and Calvinist leaning schools and churches, and had those beliefs cemented in the 1980s, during the heydays of Billy Graham and Hal Lindsey. In 1975, they committed to a five-year training program with a well-known missionary organization. In 1980, when I was four years old, we moved to Mexico, to spread the Gospel. My father, a few other missionaries, and some local Native Americans eventually built us an adobe home and later a church in a remote Tarahumara village in the Sierra Madre Oxidental, deep in the “Mexican Rockies”.
In many ways it was a great childhood, as I was always surrounded by strong Christians. My parents and their associates protected me from most of the negative influences of the sinful world we live in, and nearly always deferred to Biblical principles in their daily conduct. I asked Jesus into my heart at the age of six, and shortly after, I began to contemplate the big questions. I asked my parents about science, evolution, matter, infinity, God’s plan for the world, and why God would create billions of people, most of whom would reject Him and be damned to hell. I wondered how a loving God, with infinite knowledge, could create sentient beings who He would later allow to be tortured for eternity. My parents tried, but failed to answer these questions. Early on, I knew something was missing from their doctrine, but little did I know, it would become a life-long mission of research and discovery.
My parents, and 99% of American Evangelical Christians of that day, relied too heavily on the heart-knowledge of scripture and, and neglected the other three corners of their faith-house. For that reason, their house was open to the storms of temptations, lies, deceptions. The foundation and one corner were intact, but the rest of the structure was crumbling, propped up by old timbers and covered by tarps. They had Jesus and heart-knowledge, but their house was largely unfinished and held together by bailing wire. Eventually, about 15 years into their walk with Christ, their faith house largely collapsed. They quit the Mission, moved back to the U.S., and divorced. They have both gone through decades of personal struggles since then. It is not my place to speculate on another person’s salvation, but without a doubt, they could have spared themselves a lot of heartache and suffering in this life had their faith-houses been completed.
Some will argue, “Jesus is enough” and to them I ask “what do you mean by that?”. Certainly, Jesus IS enough, in the big picture, but he gives a lot of instructions and warnings. He instructed his followers to prepare, to obey, to forgive, and to follow the commandments. He said “broad is the way and easy is the path that leads to destruction. Narrow is the way and difficult is the path that leads to salvation, and few find it”. He said “In that day (the day of Judgement) many will say to me, Lord Lord, I have prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and I will say to them, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, I never knew you”. Solomon had some beautiful words concerning knowledge and wisdom, calling them more precious that gold, silver and precious stones, and instructed that we seek them as hidden treasure.
So, maybe it is time you question your pastor’s dispensationalist and faith-alone doctrines. Or maybe it’s time that you give up on being a quitter, which is also known as agnosticism. It’s a difficult journey, but you can do it. You’ll go through some struggles, but you will come out the other side much stronger!