Reading in the book of Mark, I came across a verse which causes a great deal of trouble for the ideals of dispensationalism. If you’re new to the blog, this post will probably not make much sense on its own, so you may want to review the prior series on dispensationalism. This is post is a capstone follow-up to the prior series.
In an earlier post, we reviewed Christ’s words in Matthew 24:34, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Obviously, Christ has not returned, yet an untold number of generations have passed away since Matthew 24:34. “These things” were proposed to be expounded upon in Revelation. Contrary to popular opinion, there does not appear to be any discussion in Matthew on the second coming of Christ until 26:64.
We also considered that Christ’s reference to “this generation” is an indication of time and what will occur within the living generation. A reading in this manner makes it entirely plausible that Christ was indeed referring to the massive tribulation culminating in AD70. Indeed, the fall of the temple was foretold by Christ, so AD70 most certainly marks the fulfilling of Christ’s prophecy.
In Mark 13:24-27, Christ says, “But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.”
While this seems to be apocalyptic in nature, in the backdrop of Christ referring to the fall of the temple and the events ending in AD70, it makes more sense that the “sun” and “moon” are references to earthly kingdoms and powers, not to the literal sun or moon. The “stars” likewise may be earthly princes or princes of hell (demons), and powers in the heavens must be considered as the Mosaic law, the sacrificial system, and earthly empires. In other words, the words of Christ are figurative as to what would soon occur, namely, the full ushering in of the kingdom of heaven and the end of the Mosaic law.
The “Son of Man coming in the clouds” is not a reference to the second coming. Instead, it is the ushering in of the kingdom of heaven upon earth, represented in the destruction of the temple.
Consider, then, what Christ says in Mark 13:19, “For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.” If indeed Christ is referring to events through AD70, there will never again be a similar tribulation on earth.
We must take “never will” literally and seriously. This means that the whole premise of dispensationalism, namely, that a major tribulation is coming is just bunk. Laid against Matthew’s rendition of Christ’s teaching, it is obvious that Christ makes references to time and that the tribulation described was near in time rather than distant in time at the second coming.
Thus, we are not under threat of a major tribulation. We will no doubt continue to have trouble in this world, but Christ’s words are a promise. There will never again be such a tribulation as occurred in AD70.
So what? Why refute dispensationalism and provide clarity on the words of Christ? The primary threat from dispensationalism is that we will relax spiritually-speaking. If you believed that bad stuff is coming, but the Lord will remove you before it gets bad, then you can relax. Unfortunately, we very much do need the Lord’s strength to live this life. We must also prepare for tribulation and trials, and the Lord’s strength is a major asset and help.
When we relax, our commitment to the Lord also reduces, which in turn makes us more susceptible to veering off course and not taking Christ seriously. This is how we identify that dispensationalism is false teaching. Instead of bringing us closer to Christ, it is causing the church en masse to drift away.
What tribulation the world has seen since AD70 has not resulted in the return of Christ. Not war, not famine, not pestilence, not economic ruin. We must be prepared to face challenging times, or those challenges will break our faith and commitment to Christ.
Like this post? Subscribe to stay up to date on new posts.