Revelation Church Recap & The Problems with Dispensationalism (The Church part 12)

Why we are not dispensational: • Dispensationalism promotes escapism which hinders discipleship in the present because the goal is to escape the earth. If Christ’s goal is to be his body on earth why would he want us to escape it and if he is the pattern and his pattern was suffering leading to victory then the dispensational interpretation is opposite of the pattern of Christ. If a true disciple looks like Jesus then we are called to endure to the end not escape, this actually builds our faith and discipleship. • Staunch Dispensationalists see the 7 churches as ages from the ascension up till the “GREAT TRIB” and this stunts the application of Jesus’ message to these churches because they apply them to other “ages” and cannot see the application (not written to us, but written for us). To give the benefit to Dispensationalists some do see the pastoral applications of the churches (The "things that are”). • Dispensationalists interpretations of the 144,000 as Jews in the “Great Trib” screws up much of the rest of the letter. If they can’t see this as what John “sees” in Rev 7 (The interpretation of 144000) as all tribes, tongues, and nations (the church) who worship the lamb and follow him wherever he goes (Rev 15) and rather see it as some end times jewish army with the church “raptured” out of the picture it can really screw up the mission of the church in following the lamb in suffering and service because that is only reserved for the end times jews (The same that are called a synagogue of Satan in Smyrna?). • A major thrust is the futurist nosterdomist misinterpretation of what prophecy Is, but we addressed this in part in our intro episode. If it’s all about predicting the future then it has no bearing on the present except to just “watch” for it. It requires not action on the part of the church.