The Purveyors of ‘Peace and Safety’
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To me, one of the strangest oddities of the year of 2020 was the call for safety in the face of COVID-19.
“Stay safe,” we were cautioned. Here in Wisconsin, our governor even issued an order titled “Safer at Home.”
This seemed to me to be an extraordinary choice of wording—because COVID-19 results from a virus. I’m sure that experts disagree on the best methodologies for warding off infection from a virus. But one thing that you certainly cannot do to escape it is to stay safe. Your only hope is to stay healthy.
So, the expression itself was bizarre, but yielded little public scrutiny. I wondered from the beginning if it was setting us up for some future use of safety as a new cultural buzzword.
I share all that to illustrate—not necessarily form a connection with—the fact that the Bible tells us of a time when the universal catchphrase will indeed be “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3). It seems to me that we are seeing a precursor to that even now.
Since the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists, Bible prophecy teachers of all stripes have been on high alert.
Being a dispensational premillennialist who loves Bible prophecy, I have certainly tried to do my part to warn and teach that I believe we are witnessing what Jesus called “the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3). I believe that such signs (of His second coming, and of future prophetic fulfillment in the tribulation) are intensifying as never before, and I am certainly not alone in that view. Many pretribulationists are on the very same track.
I’ve noticed that those who hold other eschatological views have also been turning up their own volume in response. Postmillennialism seems to be on the march once again. Amillennialism remains popular in many realms. These camps often present a more sophisticated appeal than we dispensationalists seem to be able to muster. And our theological opponents are very quick to seize on those kind of advantages—and sometimes disrespect our views in a manner that borders on mockery.
Granted, some of this criticism is deserved. We certainly have some within our broader pretribulational prophetic circles who have devoted their ministries to speculation and sensationalism—including far-out subjects, wild predictions, spiritualizing the text of Scripture, engaging in unbiblical date-setting and, sometimes, just offering nonsense.
But this is not the dispensationalism that I have received, nor that which I preach. Every time I speak, I attempt to handle the Word of God reverently and responsibly, emulating the scholarship which has been bequeathed to me by “faithful men” (2 Tim. 2:2).
Sadly, dispensationalists have not always done a great job of policing their own. The temptation is always to accommodate those who might be considered borderline even in their faithfulness to Christian orthodoxy—if we feel we might benefit from reaching their audiences. But transgressions committed by those on the outer edge of the movement do not warrant throwing the baby out with the bathwater. No matter where you’ve been or what view you hold, the ultimate issue is the literal, clear meaning of the text of Scripture.
To those brethren who disagree with my prophetic position, I would simply state that I was raised in an amillennial environment, and understand that system quite thoroughly. I have been involved in ministry contexts where varying end-time views had to be respected. I have read and listened to—and certainly benefited from—many great Reformed teachers who embrace a different understanding of eschatology. While I disagree with them, I deeply respect them and would never malign their motives.
So, I would also throw out a caution to the men in these other camps: Feel free to engage with dispensationalism—and even to criticize it. But, in your criticisms, watch out so that your voices do not begin to meld, to the undiscerning ear, with those of the outright skeptics, even atheists, who have nothing but utter disdain for a pretribulational rapture. Beware that you do not begin, like them, to offer a baseless hope of “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3), almost as if to cry sneeringly, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet. 3:4).
Of course, such contempt only leaves me wondering if the signs are intensifying even more.
I close with a plea to my dispensational brethren: We must do a better job of representing the cause of Christ, and heralding His imminent return, with integrity and valor.
This is our time to explain to the world that what lies ahead will be anything but “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3).
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Paul Scharf 2023 bio
Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.
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I think it’s worth noting that there is a difference between working for peace and safety (aka human flourishing) now vs. saying there will always be peace and safety in the future. We know the eschaton comes dramatically amid global upheaval and, most importantly, an expression of God’s wrath on unrepentant and defiant humanity.
That’s clear.
It doesn’t follow that we should be opposed to efforts for the peace and safety of our fellow human beings in the present—or that we should view with suspicion those who are focused on that kind of work.
There is no love of neighbor without valuing their safety—their wellbeing—which includes physical wellbeing, aka health. (Relevant: Rom 14:19, Jas 3:17, Gal 6:10, Rom 12:14).
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
"I believe we are witnessing what Jesus called “the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3). I believe that such signs (of His second coming, and of future prophetic fulfillment in the tribulation) are intensifying as never before, and I am certainly not alone in that view."
One thing that has always bothered me in the dispensational camp is this need to connect hardships and tribulations they see today as the worse it has every been, and that we are near the end, and then subsequently tying something they have seen going on in the news with a connection to Biblical scripture. Especially amongst Americans. The church suffered much greater persecution in the first 100 years after Christ's death and cannot be compared today to mask mandates. I would argue that in America we live in a historical microcosm of a lack of suffering. While we constantly suffer in this life and while Christ's return is always imminent, I find great futility focusing on connecting the elements of today with a Scriptural view of the end times. And I am in no way saying that Paul is doing it here. I just making a generalized point that I see all to often in this camp (an no I am not an "a" or "post", so I am not attacking the theology, just the practical application.
I do not disagree with the statement:
This is our time to explain to the world that what lies ahead will be anything but “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3).
-However, as a premillennial pre trib rapture guy, I do not spend time worrying about how to get through the time of Jacob's trouble. I do not expect to be here for that. However, even if I am wrong, I still know that our God is loving and full of compassion and that he will never leave me nor forsake me no matter how bad things get (as was also pointed out above things have often been bad for Christians throughout history). I can trust God no matter how bad things may get. Aaron made a great point about loving our neighbors. My hope is that as we see the day approaching, we will be motivated to share the GOOD NEWS not just the bad news. What an opportunity we have to point people to Christ.
I remember going through the book of Daniel with a then-young man who was very enamored of some of the "prophecy experts" out there--probably some of the same guys that others here would say "you guys give dispensationalism a bad name", really--and the refrain that I constantly used was "Let's assume that what you say is entirely correct. Now how is this going to motivate you to live your life for Christ?"
I don't know that I entirely got through, but I have noticed over the years that all too often, the "purveyors of prophecy" seem to neglect an awful lot of theology and Christian living in the pursuit of "what is the best system we have for analyzing the prophets?".
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
I appreciate all the readers, and all the comments. I'm wondering, however, if I made my point clearly enough....
Aaron, certainly we want to work for "peace and safety," in the everyday sense of those terms (cf. Ps. 122:6). In this article, I am using that phrase entirely in its context in 1 Thess. 5:3.
dgszweda, I do not know anyone who thinks that life on planet Earth is harder today than it has ever been.
As an example, where I live we have just endured two weeks of heavy snow and extreme cold. We got through it with only minor inconveniences. Two hundred years ago, it would have been common, I would guess, to hear of someone perishing as a direct result of those kind of conditions.
What we are saying is that the prophetic stage is being set today for future fulfillment. Some of that stage-setting even includes the niceties and conveniences of our time. I believe that the world is being specifically prepared today in at least two ways, through technology and psychology, for the antichrist's kingdom to appear.
JD, yes on the good news.... A different way of saying the same thing, I trust.
Bert, I agree, that is not the kind of dispensationalism I want to be involved in promoting.
My article, I think, speaks for itself, as a call to all dispensationalists to put their best foot forward at this critical time, and as a plea to non-dispensationalists to be careful in their criticisms of dispensationalism and the pre-trib rapture (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:24-25).
Also, if you don't understand the best arguments of your opponents, please don't bother making a video against their views.
And, if you find yourself being interviewed by a skeptic or an atheist, or vice versa, so you can both laugh at the views held by any other serious Christian group, well ... it's time to check yourself.
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
Aaron, certainly we want to work for “peace and safety,” in the everyday sense of those terms (cf. Ps. 122:6). In this article, I am using that phrase entirely in its context in 1 Thess. 5:3.
That makes sense to me.
In part, I got distracted by the reference to calls for safety during the pandemic. As others in the thread have observed, there does seem to be some correlation between beliefs about how the end will unfold and a tendency to see sinister actions in our own times—if the people doing them are our political opponents.
But in fairness to classical dispensationalists, I also know more than a few eschatology agnostic and reformed folks who seem to have the same tendencies—as far as the perceived “evils of our present day” goes.
So maybe there really isn’t any correlation.
Anyway, setting aside the covid safety example, which is probably not important…
Beware that you do not begin, like them, to offer a baseless hope of “Peace and safety!” (1 Thess. 5:3), almost as if to cry sneeringly, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet. 3:4).
Of course, such contempt only leaves me wondering if the signs are intensifying even more.
There are three ideas here: a) Some today are offering a baseless hope of peace and safety, b) there are signs today, and c) they are intensifying.
On point a), you’re referring to some but not all who reject the pretribulational rapture? On points b and c… Are events of today “signs” that the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’ is about to begin, or just possible signs of it (if it turns out to happen in the next year or two)?
When it comes to current events, I think we have to view them as ‘signs’ in a more general way: Signs that the world is indeed broken, that humans are not going to fix it, signs that we should look forward with joy to the coming of the One who will fix it.
So, while I believe there will be a rapture of the church, very likely pre-tribulation, I don’t see signs as “indicators of soon-ness” as we normally think of chronological indicators like that.
For example, if I order a pizza, I get a text when they’re getting close to delivery. The text is certainly a sign that my pizza is coming. It’s also a sign that it’s coming in the next 10 minutes or so. There’s an ETA range. But I think current events only work as signs for the first of those two things, not the second.
Events should remind us that He is certainly coming, but they don’t give us chronological information to form an ETA.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Is life today the hardest that is has ever been on the Earth? Are our struggles and prospects the worst that any people have ever faced?
No.
And, again, I do not know any prophecy teacher who is saying that.
Something to keep in mind: Through much of church history, persecution was administered by the official Church (whether it be from Rome, England, etc.), which had the power of life and death over the citizenry. Much of what the Church did was done in the name of fighting heresy and promoting righteousness, as it was understood by the authorities.
What is the point? Life was much more difficult, but also very vastly different, in such times.
One might make the point that this kind of arrangement was, in itself, a sort of precursor to the antichrist's kingdom.
However, that was obviously not to be the end of history. As many have made the point, what could Hitler (just 80 years ago) have done if he had access to the technology we have today?
We are just in an entirely different and much more complicated situation today, and there is almost no comparison between our time and any other when we factor in technology. I believe that the world is being prepared for the future prophetic fulfillment of the tribulation in terms of technology and psychology.
I am NOT setting a date. Perhaps the preparations will go on for much longer than I can fathom.
I also cannot imagine the trends regressing, however.
Blessings!
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
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