The
Great Pause
Surely you have heard about the administration
(dispensation) of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the
mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (Ephesians
3:2-3)
One of the most difficult things for someone unfamiliar
with dispensational theology to understand is why Israel needs to exist at all
in the last days, let alone rebuild their Temple.
A recent discussion with a theology professor from a well known West
Coast Christian school made this clear.
We were talking about our respective views of the End
Times. When I mentioned the coming
Temple and Israel's re-awakening into their Old Covenant relationship, he looked
at me like I was from another planet.
He graduated from one of the main line denominational seminaries where he
had been immersed in liberal theology, so what little he knows about the end
times is all allegorical. He had
never been taught anything like what I was saying.
Why on Earth, he asked, would God bring Israel back when
the Church has replaced Israel in His eyes?
And even if He did, why would He bring them into an Old Covenant
relationship when He's told the Church that since the cross the Old Covenant no
longer applies?
Good Questions
Most Christians can't answer these questions, and even
among those who take the Bible literally, many can only say , “Because the Bible
says so.” They can't explain why it
says so.
It's only when you understand that the Age of Grace didn't
end the Age of Law, but only interrupted it seven years short of its alloted
time, that it all becomes clear.
Here's what happened.
Near the end of the Babylonian captivity the Angel Gabriel
told Daniel that Israel was being given 490 years to complete 6 tasks.
"Seventy 'sevens' (490 years)
are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish
transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in
everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most
holy (place). (Daniel 9:24)
When the Lord was crucified, 483 of those years had past.
Remember, that's why the disciples were astonished when He told them the
Temple would soon be destroyed (Matt. 24:2).
It's also why, 40 days after the Resurrection, they asked if He was was
going to restore the Kingdom to Israel now. (Acts 1:6) They thought they
were only 7 years away from the Kingdom Age. Ten days later, on Pentecost, the
indeterminate Age of the Church began, with the Age of Law still 7 years short
of its prophesied end.
After 20 years had passed the Lord's half-brother James,
who was the head of the Church in Jerusalem at the time, explained that Israel
had been set aside while the Lord took from among the Gentiles a people for
Himself (the Church). After that he would turn again to Israel and pick up where
He had left off (Acts 15:13-18).
About 18 years after that the Temple was destroyed and has never been
rebuilt. In 135 AD the nation ceased
to exist in any form. The Roman
Emperor Hadrian destroyed what was left of
Jerusalem, built a new city called Aelia Capitolina on its ruins, and
forbade any Jew from entering it. But the Lord's promise still stands.
As soon as He has taken the Church, He'll turn again to Israel to
complete the last 7 years of the Age of Law.
These facts from both the Bible and history completely
undermine any arguments for the validity of replacement theology.
They explain why Israel has to exist in the End Times and why the Jews
will need a Temple.
The Great Pause
While Pentecost was the official beginning of the Age of
Grace, it didn't signal the end of the Age of Law, as so many in the Church
wrongly assume. It was only a Great
Pause while the Lord pursued His Church, something He intended to do all along,
but had only divulged in a general way in the past.
Speaking to His Messiah, the Lord said, "It is too small
a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back
those of Israel I have kept. I will
also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah
49:6)
When you understand the Great Pause, lots of other things
fall into place. We've already
discussed the re-birth of the Nation and the re-built Temple.
Israel had to be re-born and will have to become a covenant people again
in order to complete their final 7 years.
This is what makes their re-birth such a powerful sign that the Great
Pause is about to end. The only reason for Israel to exist again is to complete
the 7 years remaining in the Age of Law.
It also explains the return to animal sacrifice during this time.
This is the way things were before the Great Pause began, and the way
they'll have to be after it ends.
Although people have always been saved by faith, during the Age of Law their
faith has to be evidenced by obedience to the Law.
Understanding the Great Pause also helps us see why the
Rapture of the Church has to precede the final 7 years. The purpose of the Great
Pause is so the Lord can take from among the Gentiles a people for Himself.
The Greek word translated “take” in Acts 15:14 is lambano.
A look at the primary meanings of lambano reveals that the intent of the
word is to describe one who takes something for the purpose of carrying it away.
Once the church is complete the Lord will carry us away before turning
again to Israel. This is consistent
with Paul's statement in Romans 11:25 that Israel has experienced a
partial blindness until the full number of Gentiles has come in. The phrase
“come in” means to arrive at one's destination, as when a ship has “come in”.
According to John 14:2-3 our destination is Heaven.
Once the church has been carried away to its destination in Heaven the
blinders will fall from Israel's eyes, the Great Pause will come to an end, and
Israel will complete its final seven years.
The Rapture has to happen before Daniel's 70th
Week can begin, because the 70th Week is all about Israel.
It's their final opportunity to be reconciled to God through the Messiah
and prepare for the Kingdom He promised them so long ago. 2500 years before the
fact, Zechariah prophesied that this would take place near the end of the 70th
Week.
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on
me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an
only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
(Zech. 12:10)
Paul confirmed this and said it would happen after the
rapture.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery,
brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening
in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will
come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my
covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27)
And the Great Pause explains why post rapture salvation
will be like it was in Old Testament times. The only difference is post rapture
believers will be looking back to the cross whereas Old Testament believers
looked forward to it. Speaking
of the time when taking the mark of the beast will be required of everyone on
Earth, the Lord said, “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the
saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” (Rev.
14:12) Again, people have always
been saved by faith, but during the Age of Law their faith has to be evidenced
by obedience to the Law.
It also explains why the 144,000 servants of God have to be
sealed before undertaking their mission. (Rev. 7:3)
If the church was still here they would be sealed just the way we are.
But during the Age of Law believers were not, nor will they be, sealed
with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of their inheritance as we are (Ephes.
1:13-14). The 144,000 is the
only group in the post rapture world that is described as being sealed.
By the way, some scholars believe this means only the 144,000 will be
supernaturally protected from the demonic locusts spoken of in Rev. 9.
I Can See Clearly Now
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
No other system of theology explains God's overarching plan as succinctly
as dispensationalism. None gives us
such a clear understanding of the connection between events before Pentecost and
those after the Rapture. No other
one helps us see the “why” behind the “what” described in the Bible. None other
so vividly demonstrates the absolutely unique nature of the church, while
maintaining the integrity of God's promises to Israel.
And best of all it does so in a manner consistent with the literal,
historical, grammatical interpretation of His Word. 06-27-09
