Appendix B—The Late Jesus

This was an article I had written for a Christian publication summarizing many of the themes of this book but proceeded to fold before it was published!

Firstly, it must be admitted that there are and have been some fine scholars (Walvoord, Chafer, Pentecost) who have defended dispensationalism as an innovation of premillennialism. It cannot be denied the system has provided some genuine prophetic insights and scarcely a radical preacher will not accuse the current church of “Laodicean lukewarmness,” a concept birthed in dispensationalism viewing the containing passage of Rev 3 as a particular “sub-dispensation” within the church age. However, on the contrary, there are also fine scholars (Gentry, Mathison) who have objected on an exegetical basis, historians (Macpherson) who have thoroughly repudiated it as an orthodox development of premillennialism, reclassifying it as a mystical, unorthodox innovation, and missionologists (like Cope) who have repudiated it on a theological level. The latter is what I am interested in here first and then to consider the theological credibility of the favorite “blessed hope” of the dispensationalists, the “rapture” doctrine. I include some references at the end for the other categories if you are interested.

With regards to the eschatological tenor of dispensationalism, Landa Cope, one of the founders of YWAM in the 1970s with Loren Cunnigham, asserted that “theologies of imminent return” have repeatedly emerged as the church began to take on its social and political kingdom-building role and have led to its premature termination and surrender of culture to the secular humanists, with disastrous consequences for culture as a whole.[1] She views Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth as “the one for our generation,” as the evangelical church began to emerge in the 1970s from over fifty years of self-imposed cultural ghettoism to asserting itself again in the cultural sphere. She argues Peter and Paul expected return in their lifetimes and every Christian generation since has had those who adopted a similar position.

Yet, we must hold this important scriptural imminence in tension with our social responsibility as believers in line with the scriptural admonition to “occupy until he comes.” In her words, we must “build the kingdom” and not worry about the return, for Jesus told us not to; we are to be about the King’s business and be ready to give an account of our works (Luke 19:13–27).[2] In my words, it should not distract us from exercising dominion and subduing the earth to God’s law. To bastardize Vernon McGee’s dispensationalist quip, “You don’t polish brass on a sinking ship,”[3] I say, “Let us get an army of marine maintenance men and women if it helps the ship stay seaworthy.”

Now, the second issue I would like to consider is the illogical nature of the favorite doctrine of classical dispensationalism, “the rapture.” The valley of decision for the rapture was 1988 and its final burial, if there had been any lingering doubts, should have been 2007—the two dates featured prominently in the dispensationalist’s calendar for “sound prophetic reasoning.” The year 1948 was the foundation of the state of Israel, “the budding of the fig tree” (Matt 24:32–34) and forty years is a generation of Israel. Edgar C. Whisenant allegedly sold 6 million copies of “88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988,”[4] basing his logic on detailed mathematical calculations and prophetic principles (this is still available on Amazon), and his failure did not discourage him from predicting 1989, 1990, and 1991. I have in my collection recordings from the late 1980s of otherwise rational and sane preachers I would happily recommend, thoroughly convinced the rapture was days away, and their audiences shrieking in ecstasy. One friend of mine believed a minor earthquake that occurred in North Wales in 1990 (where we were both living at the time) was the “trumpet call” in Revelation—he sold his profitable and successful business and waited to be caught up! His sad spiritual story since, despite his enormous intelligence, is a lesson for any believer. Yet he simply, with a greater degree of conviction, believed and acted on a lot of the traditional teaching in British Pentecostalism that I, too, had received and been sincerely taught.

For some, the rapture could legitimately be delayed until 2007, for 1967 was the first time that Jerusalem had been in the hands of the Jews for two thousand years, this clearly being a prophetic marker of some kind for anyone with true prophetic discernment (obviously). However, these passed as did the apocalypses predicted by the pagan astrologers with the unusual and rare alignment of all nine planets at around the same time. Even now in 2025, with a healthy dose of Jewish mysticism, some believe that the rapture will be on September 21, 2025. (Prudentially, I am editing this on that very date, and subsequently, November 13, 2025, so we can safely assume the rapture did not occur unless Starmer is in fact the antichrist’s UK government representative, and I really was “left behind.”) The Jewish prophet Jonathan Cahn explains forcefully why this is really a very weak mode of reasoning, making the point that other very similar prognostications just bring shame and disrepute on the church, and it should be stated that he believes in a rapture![5]

However, dispensationalism and its predilection for predictions and “signs of the times” has somehow survived. In the last few years, planetary convergences, comets, and consecutive “blood moons” on Passover/Jubilees that have not occurred for millennia have all been posited as signs of the end and our imminent removal by otherwise sane and competent ministries. Unless I missed something, nothing of note has happened, except the sales of lots of DVDs and MP3s of their “prophetic packages for [mis]understanding the end times”—but I hasten to add, I could have missed whatever was supposed to have happened. There has always been a tendency amongst dispensationalists of “special revelation” and prophetic insight concealed from the rest of us “Moabite evangelicals.”[6]

Remarkably, there are still able scholars committed to the view who can maintain a critical view of the failures of their forerunners as “rapturists” or suffering from “rapture mania.” One such able scholar was Chuck Missler who I thoroughly recommend on most subjects.[7] However, it was notable in his late work there was no mention of the “budding fig tree” as the reformation of Israel that has featured predominantly in previous prophetic iterations. According to his final position, the marker for the forty years and the last generation is the rapture itself. In other words, he has foreclosed the issue of trying to predict the date in any specific way, though he was still comfortable predicting it was “possible within the next twelve months,” though that was during the long-past and otherwise excellent 2011 Strategic Perspectives conference. He separates previously dispensationalist harmonized “end time” passages between Luke and Matthew into pre- and post-tribulation events, posits specific psalms as additional sequences of prophetic events that have previously been “missed” (Ps 89—see his “Perilous Times” and “Planet in Jeopardy” series) and separates pre- and post-restoration events. This increasing granularity in dealing with the text to extend the prophetic time frame is befitting to the resilience of the position against all the odds after 1988.

Notwithstanding this attempted academic reorientation of dispensationalism, there is still a huge appetite for rapturist psychological escapism bred by it, if the Left Behind series is anything to go by, which made millions for its creators in the 2000s and was still having “behind the scenes” YouTube videos made about it in 2018. I contend there is clearly something seriously amiss with such an attitude of a Christian with regards to their educational, social, and political responsibility. It is about as far from the Reformation call of Luther and Calvin to redeem society and establish godly secular states as one could get, and these teachings should now be in disrepute.

I believe it is a sign of maturity in the believer to take their place as heavenly ambassador in an earthly kingdom by fully engaging with their social responsibility and not retreating into mysticism, even when dressed up as the fashionable prophetic lingo “God’s government in the heavenlies” or “we are God’s government in session this evening.” Maybe there is a place for climbing to the tops of mountains and proclaiming to the powers and principalities the judgments of God, but I struggle with this; it would be far better if prophetic direction, admonition, and maybe even rebuke could be given to our own apostate rulers. Let us think clearly and build the kingdom on Earth and within our vocations, without distraction or condemnation that we are being “worldly.”

Planet M Blog

The blog of Dr Michael Pòl Macneil PhD

Appendix B—The Late Jesus

Appendix B—The Late Jesus

Further Reading