Dispensationalists ignore the fact that Israel is typological of the Church.
The nation Israel and the church are two separate entities. The church is made up of both Jew and Gentiles, The nation Israel/the woman of Rev.12, are those who did not and do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah.
The church is not Israel.
While claiming to interpret Scripture "literally", in reality what they are doing is interpreting Scripture in a manner that supports their doctrine, whether it makes sense or not.
I stand by a literal interpretation, unless the plain literal sense does not make sense.
Then, they accuse covenant theologians of allegorizing, when covenant theologians simply realize the typological nature of the given Scripture.
Regarding prophecy, their general claim is that the book of Revelation needs to be read as a sequence of events, but it is not...it is a series of visions with overlapping content, for the most part. For instance, it is easy to see that events applying to the return of Jesus are mentioned throughout the book.
It is because they misunderstand and misinterpret what those other scriptures are saying. And then they write books and gain followers of that teaching. The only time that Jesus is going to return to the earth, is after the 7th bowl has been poured out, which completes God's wrath and not before.
For instance, Revelation 11:15ff is describing the return of Jesus, and Revelation 12:1-4 is describing the birth of Jesus, and Herod's attempt to destroy him.
The above is a perfect example of misinterpreting what the context is saying. Below is the scripture:
"Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: '
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.' ”
The verse above is not saying that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet that Jesus is returning to the earth to end the age, but is apart of the process of the authority over the kingdoms of the world reverting back from Satan to God and mankind. For in Luke 4:5-6 Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said if you will bow down and worship me, they and all their glory will all be yours. The results of the seventh trumpet and third woe, is Satan and his angels being cast out of heaven, which will be a woe to the inhabitants of the earth during that last 3 1/2 years. As previously stated, Jesus does not return to the earth until after the seventh bowl has been poured out.
In addition, Rev.12:1-4 is also misinterpreted as the male child symbolically representing Jesus. The events of Rev.12 are future events. The woman clothed with sun, with the moon under her feet and wearing a crown of twelves stars, is representing the unbelieving nation of Israel, which is identified in Genesis 37:9-10 from Joseph's dream.
Sun = Jacob
Moon = Wife/wives
Eleven Stars = Eleven of the twelve sons/tribes of Israel, with Joseph being the twelfth star.
The woman as a whole = Unbelieving Israel
Jesus does not fit the criteria as being the male child:
Jesus = crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Father
Male Child = Caught up to God and His throne before the dragon/Satan can kill it.
The word "harpazo" translated as "caught up" is the same word used for those who are still alive at the time of the resurrection will be changed and "caught up" which is defined as "force suddenly exercised, a snatching away, being caught up." Jesus did not escape the dragon by being snatched up, where the male child is.
Also, we are told in Rev.12:9 and 20:2, that "the dragon is that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." Therefore, dragon cannot be Herod. That verse is not referring to Jesus escaping from Herod, but is referring to what is going to happen at the sounding of the seventh trumpet to the woman, Satan, his angels and the Male child during the middle of that last seven years. So, who is the Male child?
It is important to understand what is meant by the woman/Israel giving birth to a male child. This is one of those scriptures where the plain literal sense does not make good sense and therefore must be interpreted symbolically.
The woman/Israel giving birth to a male child, is referring to the 144,000 who will come out of unbelieving Israel (gives birth to) who will recognize Jesus as their Messiah. In Rev.14, it is said of the 144,000, that "These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins." That these 144,000 are said to have not been defiled
with women, would infer that they are all males, ergo, male child.
The male child is a collective name symbolically representing the 144,000 who will be sealed in the beginning of the seven years who will be caught up to God and His throne in the middle of the seven years.
The mistake dispensationalists make in regards to Revelation involves a failure to recognize the genre. It is apocalyptic literature, so it's going to use symbolism. Dispensationalists will recognize the symbolism only when it supports their doctrine, and they will accuse others of allegorizing if they view the "literal" interpretation they employ as being inconsistent.
Provide some examples and I can explain them to you.
The book of Revelation should be read in the literal sense unless the context demands a symbolic one. We don't interpret it to support our doctrine, but what the context demands. What you're doing is believing and adopting the false teachings of men.
And, no, I don't recognize the nation of Israel as separate from the Church in God's program.[/quote}
And that is why you are in error regarding Israel and the church.
As I indicated by quoting Ephesians 2, the two (Gentile, Jew) have become one, and Gentiles have been brought near through the death of Christ.
The believing Jew and Gentile make up the church. God is going to deal with the unbelieving nation of Israel during that last seven year period, which will be the fulfillment of that last seven year period of the seventy sevens which was decreed upon them in Daniel 9:24.
Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." When Christ was crucified, God put a hold on that last seven years of the seventy sevens and began to build the church. Once the church is completed, in fulfillment of John 14:1-3 and I Thess.4:16-17, the Lord will descend to the atmosphere and call up His church, dead and living and will take the entire church back to the Father's house to those places that He went to prepare for us. Once that takes place, God will pick up right where He left off with Israel, which will be initiated when that ruler, the antichrist establishes his seven year covenant with Israel, complete with a new temple and sacrifices. This is the tribulation period, with the last 3 1/2 years referred to as "the great tribulation." It is at this time that the antichrist will cause the sacrifices and offerings to cease and will set up that abomination which is what causes the desolation of Judea, when they flee to the mountains and which is referred to in Matt.24:15-22 and Rev.12:6, 14 where they cared for out in the wilderness during that last 3 1/2 years until Christ returns to end the age.
Anyone with a decent understanding of Scripture understands union with Christ, and that the two, Jew and Gentile, have been made one man in Christ.
That is true, which makes up the church. But as previously stated, the unbelieving nation of Israel is a separate dispensation.
By the way, I don't think Revelation 7 is talking about a group of Jewish virgins, but is talking about the church redeemed through the tribulation. The Church is spiritual Israel./quote]
Interpreting the 144,000 as representing the church is in great error. The plain meaning of the context supports a literal 144,000 Israelites 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes. Above you mentioned that dispensationalist symbolize in order to support their view. Yet, that is exactly what you are doing by ignoring the information of who the context states that they are and instead, you interpret it symbolically.
Throughout Revelation, there is a pattern that is observed. John first sees something, and then he hears something that interprets what he sees. Or, he hears something, then he sees something that clarifies the meaning of what he heard.
In this case, he hears the reading of the names and numbers of Israel, and then he sees the multitude of those who have been redeemed by the LORD through the great tribulation.
There are two separate groups referred to in Revelation 7, the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel and those with white robes which no man can count from every nation, language, tribe and people, which makes them all Gentiles. The latter are referred to by the elder as being the great tribulation saints. Again, there is no reason to interpret those who are being identified as 144,000 from Israel as being the church.
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