musterion
Well-known member
Have you ever wondered about this?
Fact: for many in Christendom, even the suggestion that, someday, God will once again deal with a nation called Israel is the most offensive and infuriating thing to tell them. Preterists are royally ticked off by this but they're hardly alone. This has been the case for a long time but the opposition to d'ism has gotten more strident in recent years.
Such people can and do tolerate anything else: gradual ecumenical drift towards universalism; finding "Christ" in pagan religions; "scholarly" denials of the reliability of God's Word; contradictory gospels; even contradictory Christs. But most of them WILL NOT tolerate the idea that God will once again be dealing with Israel as Israel.
Do you know why that is?
The reason is not political, although idiotic accusations of "Zionism" have been overlaid on top of it. Nor is it plain old fashioned Jew hatred...well, in some cases it is, but not all.
The real reason behind this is, to some degree or in some sense, these professing Christians who hate the idea of a renewed national Israel all believe either (a) that they have personally inherited fallen Israel's covenant position, up to and including the N.C., or (b) that they have permanently replaced national Israel altogether.
Either way the result is the same: they've been deceived into believing they have a very personal stake in no such Jewish nation even existing, much less being dealt with by God as Israel.
For many, having larcenously read themselves into Israel's "mail," they're naturally convinced that their ultimate salvation (not a present possession in Christ but something to earn or maintain by their works) is conditional and depends on adherence to their view. So they defend it very fiercely.
That is the #1 reason dispensationalism (Mid-Acts in particular) is so hated: it's the only view that consistently and inflexibly observes the Israel/Body distinction as a non-negotiable. It challenges their myths that there's little if any prophecy yet to be fulfilled and that God does not intend to someday restore Israel as Israel. This tenet of dispensationalism, if accepted, would require that they admit they've never been Israel, are not now Israel, and never will be Israel. It would require admitting they've believed a lie.
All dispensationalism does is point that out. That's why they hate it so much.
Fact: for many in Christendom, even the suggestion that, someday, God will once again deal with a nation called Israel is the most offensive and infuriating thing to tell them. Preterists are royally ticked off by this but they're hardly alone. This has been the case for a long time but the opposition to d'ism has gotten more strident in recent years.
Such people can and do tolerate anything else: gradual ecumenical drift towards universalism; finding "Christ" in pagan religions; "scholarly" denials of the reliability of God's Word; contradictory gospels; even contradictory Christs. But most of them WILL NOT tolerate the idea that God will once again be dealing with Israel as Israel.
Do you know why that is?
The reason is not political, although idiotic accusations of "Zionism" have been overlaid on top of it. Nor is it plain old fashioned Jew hatred...well, in some cases it is, but not all.
The real reason behind this is, to some degree or in some sense, these professing Christians who hate the idea of a renewed national Israel all believe either (a) that they have personally inherited fallen Israel's covenant position, up to and including the N.C., or (b) that they have permanently replaced national Israel altogether.
Either way the result is the same: they've been deceived into believing they have a very personal stake in no such Jewish nation even existing, much less being dealt with by God as Israel.
For many, having larcenously read themselves into Israel's "mail," they're naturally convinced that their ultimate salvation (not a present possession in Christ but something to earn or maintain by their works) is conditional and depends on adherence to their view. So they defend it very fiercely.
That is the #1 reason dispensationalism (Mid-Acts in particular) is so hated: it's the only view that consistently and inflexibly observes the Israel/Body distinction as a non-negotiable. It challenges their myths that there's little if any prophecy yet to be fulfilled and that God does not intend to someday restore Israel as Israel. This tenet of dispensationalism, if accepted, would require that they admit they've never been Israel, are not now Israel, and never will be Israel. It would require admitting they've believed a lie.
All dispensationalism does is point that out. That's why they hate it so much.
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