Fallacious Notions
Temporal Displacement
By Gordon Graham | April 21 2023
What if the same controligarchs behind the gaslighting of the general populace have intentionally corrupted the Church’s understanding of the word of truth -- the Holy Scriptures? Their objective being the establishment and popularization of distorted theology towards the advancement of their globalist agenda and neutering the church militant. It was largely achieved via the publication of a Bible with explanatory notes presenting delusory interpretations of the text:
“…Cyrus Scofield, a forger, felon and trained lawyer, had been hired by the Rothschilds to write this dispensational reinterpretation of biblical events and Christian doctrine.” …
”The writing and promotion of “Scofield’s Reference Bible” was a massive effort to subvert true Christianity to serve Zionist/NWO interests…
“Throughout the 20th Century and with incredible support from the Rothchild controlled Oxford Press, various editions of Scofield’s Bible would actually create a new religion, Christian Zionism (Judeo-Christianity), altering words and meanings through deceptive footnotes.”
– Merlin L. Miller1
First published in 1909 and still available today, the Scofield Notes have systematized a fanciful, invalid exposition of Scripture, serving the agenda of wicked globalists the likes of which are now being exposed more and more as the great democide of the 2020s unfolds.
One minister who broke with Scofieldism described it as a “subtle, intriguing heresy”.2
Thankfully, the unscriptural teaching of a literal, earthly Jewish kingdom, with all the associated temporal deceptions (e.g. inserting a “gap” of time in to the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27) has come to be largely rejected. Even so, erroneous understandings of Bible prophecy, exacerbated by dispensational seminary teachings and media sensationalism, remain ingrained in the church at large, to the detriment of the gospel’s advancement.
Not rightly dividing the Scriptures in their historical context has led to a general “temporal displacement” in the understanding of eschatology, typically manifested by removing passages from their native context, i.e. the time period when they were written, and interpreting them as if they are written contemporaneously to the generation presently living.
Thus, in the minds of many, near-at-hand prophecies which were fulfilled accordingly in that 1st century generation, have remained unfulfilled and somehow continually imminent for almost 2 millennia now.
“The End is Near”
“The end of all things” which was at hand when the apostle Peter wrote of it (1 Peter 4:7) refers, in its proper context, to the passing away of the old covenant as per Hebrews 8:13: In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. The civil state of the Jews, their sacrifices, temple, city and nation would soon be gone. Of course, physical death, which is indeed the end of all things in this world, is always near at hand to any particular person, but the literal end of the physical world was clearly not near at hand nor in view in this passage.
Neither can the apocalyptic language of the book of Revelation prophesying the days of vengeance on the Harlot (apostate Judaism) and the Beast (Rome) be rightfully construed as foretelling an end of the cosmos at the end of time, since the events were foretold shortly before they were to take place (Revelation 1:1; 22:6). Just like the apocalyptic imagery of judgment in 2 Peter 3:10-13, the prophesied events were near-at-hand then.
Furthermore, the end of time is not near now. In this gospel age, the present millennial reign of our ascended Lord will continue until He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). We rightfully expect that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14) before the end.
“Heaven and Earth will literally pass away”
The Bible teaches that, at the end of this church age, the presently bound Satan will be released for a short time (Rev. 20:3) to deceive the nations again and mount a rebellious army which is crushed as, in the apocalyptic language of the vision, “fire from heaven came down and consumed them” (Revelation 20:9). This does not mean that the creation itself will be destroyed by being burned up! The creation itself is being redeemed from the curse, not headed for dissolution, as it is written:
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:20-21)
The crafty deception that the earth will be destroyed at the end of time is perhaps the most critical of all fallacious eschatological notions, and is at the root of many others.
Jesus’ statement that “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (Matthew 24:35) cannot be interpreted to refer to the physical cosmos without violating the analogy of faith, i.e. there can be no essential contradictions in the Scriptures. To wit:
The literal earth is determined to not pass away. In Psalm 104:5 David said that God "laid the foundation of the earth, that it shall not be removed forever." And in Ecclesiastes 1:4 Solomon said, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth abides forever."
"And He built His sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He has established forever." (Psalm 78:69).
"Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens… "He has also established them for ever and ever: He has made a decree which shall not pass" (Psalm 148:4,6).
God promised after the flood that He would never again “strike down every living creature as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21). This, it is thought, does not rule out God's destruction of the entire world by fire someday, and that 2 Peter 3:10 teaches this. But no, with the phrase “as I have done” the LORD attests to His power and majesty in His manner of declaration, not to give Himself a “loophole” to smite everything living again but in a different manner, which might be a laughable consideration if not so irreverently preposterous.
It would be a blatant contradiction if God was to burn up the elements, meaning atoms & molecules according to the literalistic misinterpretation of the prophetic language of 2 Peter 3:10.3 Besides, the apocalyptic destruction Peter wrote of was near at hand when he wrote in the last days of the old covenant.
Thus in light of the full counsel of Scripture, our Lord’s statement that “heaven and earth will pass away” cannot be interpreted literally in the context of Matthew 24:35. Rather, especially in consideration of the prophetic idiom being used, the reference is to the old covenant and its temple system (the house left desolate) just as it is in 2 Peter 3:10.
Jesus had also said “…assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18). The ceremonial ordinances were finally abrogated when the temple was destroyed, the Lamb of God having fulfilled all of the sacrificial typology.
Conclusively, the reference to the “passing away of heaven and earth” must be considered in light of the establishment of that same “heaven and earth” in Isaiah 51:15-16:
”I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared --- The LORD of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, 'You are My people.'”
The LORD was not depicting the original physical creation 3,000 years previously, but rather the establishment of the old (Mosaic) covenant upon bringing His people out of Egypt. (cf. Jeremiah 31:32).
“The Great Tribulation is Yet to Come”
Great tribulation may indeed be expected for present and future generations, especially as God’s people stand for the truth of God’s word in a culture of decadence and tyranny. Even so, Jesus’ prophecy that then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be (Matthew 24:21) was declared in no uncertain terms to take place before the generation then living would pass away.
The book of Revelation, which apocalyptically presents the undiluted wrath of God poured out on that wicked generation, was written by the apostle John as a fellow partaker in that tribulation with the original hearers of the letter (Rev. 1:9). From our historical perspective, the events which happened then manifestly align with the things signified to John in the Apocalypse shortly before they were to take place as per the “temporal bookends” of Rev. 1:1 and Rev. 22:6.
The works of Jewish historian Josephus document the events of the great tribulation which took place in the time leading up to and including the destruction and desolation of the old covenant temple in 70 AD.
For a concise, highly readable record of those now historical events see George Halford’s The Destruction of Jerusalem. Judgment fell heavily upon that generation in those “days of vengeance” in vindication of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“No one knows the day or hour”
When predicting His coming in judgment (via the Roman armies) on apostate Judaism, the Lord stated, “But of that day and hour no one knows…” (Matthew 24:36). This He declared not in reference to His Second Coming at the end of time, rather, in context, the reference is to the day and hour of His near coming in judgment of which He was prophesying.
No one knew exactly when the Temple would be utterly destroyed and the Jewish age of sacrifice finished. But they were given warning signs: when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near (Luke 21:20) and more importantly, the general time by when it would take place: within that generation!
While it is true that the day and hour of the Second Coming of Christ (cf. Hebrews 9:26-28) remains unknown to mankind, the temporal markers in the text of the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 (and parallels) do not authorize direct application of the saying to that great, final, end-of-time event which Christians ought to hopefully expect in accordance with God’s timetable, when all His enemies have been put under His feet, which may not happen within the lifetimes of anyone reading this now.
Not to dare prognosticate on this matter, but it looks like a long term proposition, as God gathers in the multitudes of His elect. Let us hasten the day by advancing the gospel that it may flourish in ours and future generations towards the final consummation of all things.
“Satan is the god of this age”
An “age” is a period of time. There is no other age that will follow the present age of Christ’s mediatorial reign (what the New Testament, written prior to the termination of the Old Covenant age with the fall of Jerusalem4, refers to as “the age to come”). We are now in the final age of time and history, as the ascended Lord Jesus Christ reigns in majesty on high at the right hand of the Father.
Satan is NOT “the god of this age” that we are in now. Satan was the god of an age that was passing away. He was “the god of this age” when the apostle Paul wrote 2 Cor. 4:4; Gal. 1:4; Rom. 16:20, etc. Jesus crushed Satan’s head and bound him in the first century (cf. Matt. 12:29; Luke 10:18; Rev. 20:2; etc.).
Not to say that the evil one is not still active other than in wholesale deception of the nations the way he was before, but the Lord Jesus Christ is reigning now and in the process of putting all His enemies under His feet (cf. Ps. 2; Ps. 110; Dan. 7:13-14; 1Cor. 15:25; etc.) and we are instrumental in the process.
Let us not let temporal displacement of the texts of Scripture be a rationale to expect defeat in time and history in the battle against evil, as we fight for and with the Way, the Truth and the Life.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world---our faith. (1 John 5:4)
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1 Christian Zionism - Scofield Rothchild Puppet
3 Passing Away… - A Study of 2 Peter 3
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Gordon Graham is a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and Clerk of Session at Auburn Road Presbyterian Church in Venice, FL. Husband of one wife, father and brother of two each, and brother in Spirit of many, he also writes under the pen name of Gorphilus DeJesus.
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Also see: Eschatology Between the Extremes