Why Bad Eschatology Sells! | Dispensationalism & Christian Nationalism

The Cultural Conditions That Shape Eschatology

Jesus could come back today, how do you feel right now? You probably have mixed feelings because we've not been taught well. Like during World War II,.

Dispensationalism was on the rise, right? Everything is a disaster, everything's out of control, it's in chaos, and because there's a world war, Jesus is coming back, right? And I grew up with like the idea of the Bible and the newspaper in the hand.

America starts to get into more of a prosperity, like we're doing well, but it feels like post-millennialism is now on the rise, right, and we're talking about really the transformation of culture. Our eschatological views.

Are driven very much by circumstance. That's right. It's not driven by the text of scripture, but we look around, things are terrible, dispensationalism sells because of its framework. We look around, things are really good, we buy into this like pop-level, hyper-optimistic post-millennialism, you know, like is so common today, and it's entirely driven by what's going on in the culture, which is not a good way to do theology, and it's not a good thing to hitch your wagon to in terms of the hope for your soul.

Dispensationalism, Postmillennialism, and Political Circumstances

Yeah, one's eschatology is often dictated in the moment by surrounding often political circumstances, right? And that's exactly what's happened right now, the sort of pop post-millennialism that has taken root.

It's because, and I find it an interesting time. You're absolutely right about dispensationalism. It's kind of interesting to think how the eschatologies are then pitched or critiqued by those on the opposite end of the spectrum.

You get the pessimistic or the optimistic charge thrown everywhere, which is fascinating. With dispensationalism, it's historically been characterized as a pessimistic eschatology, which I think is right for those who don't make the rapture.

It's an awful scenario that then follows. But very few people, at least in my circles, maybe in your circles it's different, are talking about the rapture. A lot of people right now are talking about how to reclaim and make a sort of Christian nationalist movement to reclaim America for Christianity.

That comes at the end of a long run of American prosperity in a nation that had the greatest light ever in the nations of the world. Bibles, gospel preached, churches, look what this nation in its borders has done to the ends of the earth.

Now it comes to a point of Christendom collapsing. So now all of a sudden everyone's taking the reins to try to save America, save Christianity in America. What has that done to our hope? I think that's a really important question.

The Church’s Hope in the Coming of Christ

Are our minds set on things above where Christ is or are we so caught up now in temporary things that we have taken our eyes actually off the coming of Christ? And that's my question. Who's talking about the judgment?

Who's talking about the second coming? These are largely, I'm not saying across the board, these are largely absent from pulpits today where they've been replaced, which is burdening God's people with political activism.

And then we have, I trust well-intentioned saints, I would never impugn their motivations in the United States, at least people who profess faith in Christ, who act as though the Lord has been dethroned in heaven because the church is not the majority influence in the culture.

It's like, what are we doing, guys? Like, I think we've missed something here. You're weaving political activism, to use your phrase, into the mission of the church. Like you are burdening saints to where we understand a piece of our fidelity to the Lord Jesus is to be cultural transformers.

It's to even overhaul the government. The assumption of Jesus and the apostles is that the church will be a counterculture. And I think we've lost sight of that. And I agree completely that nobody's talking about the return of Jesus.

Nobody's talking about the judgment because we have become so earthbound in our thinking. We've become so wrapped up in how our lives look in the United States of America. And we are not thinking about the life to come in the ways that we should be.

The Second Coming, the Judgment, and the Church as Counterculture

I think that's apparent. Christ said, be of good cheer, I've already overcome the world. The victory is won. The whole book of Revelation is Jesus has won the victory and now the mission of the church is, you shall go and take the gospel into all the world as a witness and then the end shall come.

Go preach the gospel, make known the truth, minister. Christians can be involved in the good of society. We should encourage that, absolutely. But the point is we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell.

That's an inherently optimistic vision of everything. It's exactly right.