Gary discusses several recent books and articles based on the topic of Christian Nationalism and “dominionism.”
Question: Is it possible that the Bible teaches that the gospel will have worldwide success, that nations will be discipled, and that we will see the Word of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea before Jesus returns in glory to rapture His saints? (Isa. 11:9). But even if this were not possible, is it possible that the Antichrist will come to power before the rapture? Pretribulational dispensationalists have historically said no.
The unfortunate current situation is this: well-meaning dispensational Christians have upset themselves about a problem that the leading teachers of dispensational theology have always insisted is not a problem at all. They are worried about something that is a non-event as far as pretribulational dispensationalism is concerned.
Christians affirm that Jesus sits on the throne, ruling from heaven. They affirm that the Holy Spirit is working effectively on the earth. This means that the devil’s kingdom is in constant disrepair. The church has believed these doctrines since the dawn of the gospel. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, “And the God of peace.will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Amen” (Rom. 16:20, 27b). But today’s Christians no longer shout “Amen!” to Paul’s prophetic word. It is only since the people of God have believed the lie of the devil—that the church is impotent in history—that the church has ceased to be salt and light to a world that has the stench of moral and cultural decay and the darkness that comes from spiritual blindness.
Another question must also be raised: “Who gets to interpret History?” How can a Christian speak of the “progress of history” and not also affirm the progress of Christ’s church—creeds, missions, Bible translating, and electronic communications to name but a few? Where does this “progress of history” come from? From Satan? From evil-doing? Surely it must come from the healing effects of the gospel in history. Surely it must be the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Reduction of Christianity
Has the church merely been seduced, or has it been reduced as well? While ably sounding the alarms and capably rousing the troops, many of today’s cultural Christian critics have reduced the breadth and depth and power of the Faith once for all delivered to the saints. Unwittingly, they have offered the Church a shrunken and truncated version of the Gospel.
Buy NowGary discusses several recent books and articles based on the topic of Christian Nationalism. These authors are claiming that some Christians are trying to align Christianity and politics and change the country by taking forceful dominion. This is far from the reality and doesn’t match up with the biblical truth on the relationship between Church and State.