Christian Zionism - New Life Tabernacle of Chattanooga

As has been shown, similar assertions were made in 1948 when the State of
Israel was declared 1044 and again in 1967 with the capture of East
Jerusalem. 1045 Some thirty-five years later Lindsey was still insisting, ‘Folks,
the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, can already be heard as
He approaches the doors of heaven to return.’ 1046
Dwight Wilson observes how premillennial history is ‘strewn with a
mass of erroneous speculations which have undermined their credibility.’ The
supposed restoration of the Jewish people merely compounded disagreement
as to whether the Jews were to be restored before or after the coming of
Jesus, in faith or in unbelief. Similarly, he argues pessimistically that since:
‘The restoration … has been pinpointed to have begun in 1897, 1917, and
1948 ... It is not likely that the situation will change greatly.’ 1047
While covenantal and dispensational premillennialists agree that these
are the ‘Last Days’, they disagree, however, over what will happen next.
While dispensationalists disagree among themselves as to whether a secret
Rapture will remove Christians before, during or after the period known as the
Tribulation, covenantalists believe the Church will remain on earth until Christ
returns.
7.3 The Rapture: The Great Escape
Dispensationalism, with its distinction between God’s eternal purposes for
Israel and the Church, is also associated with the belief, popularised by
Darby 1048 but probably originating with Irving, 1049 that there will be two stages
to Christ’s imminent return. First, there will be an invisible ‘appearing’ when
Christians will be removed from the earth and meet Christ in the air, a
process which came to be known as ‘the Rapture of the saints.’ With the
1044 CMJ, ‘The State of Israel: Why should we support it?’, Always be Prepared to Give an
Answer Resource, (St Albans, CMJ, 1996).
1045 van der Hoeven, Babylon, op.cit., p151.
1046 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p160, Final., op.cit., p108.
1047 Dwight Wilson, Armageddon Now, (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1977), pp216-218.
1048 J. N. Darby, ‘The Rapture of the Saints and the Character of the Jewish Remnant,’
Collected, op.cit., Prophetic. I, II, pp.153-155.
1049 Bass, Backgrounds, op.cit., p41; Dave MacPherson, The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin,
(Kansas City, Heart of America Bible Society, 1973) and The Incredible Cover-Up,
(Medford, Oregon, Omega Publications, 1975). See also Edward Irving, ‘Signs of the Times
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