2 Thess 2:11-12
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

In the early 1800s, a group of Evangelical Anglicans discovered the writings of a Jesuit priest named Manuel Lacunza. During the period when Lacunza wrote the book, the Jesuit order had been disbanded by the Pope. Instead of using his own name as the author, he used a psuedonym claiming to be a Jew who had converted to Christianity.

Manuel Lacunza’s book is the origin of what is today called Dispensationalism. While he lived he tried to get the book published, but he could never get it sanctioned and legally distributed. After he died someone illegally published the book for him.

The book contained the theological system known as dispensationalism.

A group of Evangelical Anglicans who would soon be known as the Plymouth Brethren discovered a copy of this book. A man named Edward Irving was so taken with the book that he translated it into English.

Edward Irving established his own congregation and based their church’s theology on Lacunza, but he also added the teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture. While Lacunza had created systematic dispensationalism, the concept of the rapture as a separate event from the resurrection of the dead did not come about until a Scottish girl in Irving’s congregation fell into a trance (after sitting under Irving’s dispensational teachings) and prophesied that the rapture would happen before the tribulation.

Before I go on, let’s briefly look at what scripture has to say about this rapture teaching. In Paul’s day, people began to teach it – I know this because he specifically addresses the teaching that we might today call the ‘imminent return’ (i.e. that Christ could return at any moment and rapture the church from the earth) is clearly refuted by Paul even in a portion of the passage I quoted at the beginning of this article:

2 Thess 2:1-12
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [Here Paul speaks clearly of Christ’s return & the gathering of the church to Him – that is the resurrection of the dead or (as some call it) the ‘rapture.’]

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. [Paul here states that we should not be troubled by the concept that the day of Christ is at hand – i.e. that his return is ‘imminent’ or could happen at any moment.]

3 LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU BY ANY MEANS: FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME EXCEPT THERE COME [1] a falling away first, and [2] that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [Here Paul straitly charges us not to be deceived by any means, and then he gives the two signs that must appear before the resurrection occurs: a ‘falling away’ or ‘apostacy’ in the church (which Paul gives greater description to in a few verses), and the antichrist is ‘revealed’ or fully manifested in the world.]

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. [Here, again, Paul points out, we now know what is withholding the return of Christ – that the fulness of iniquity in the world will become ripe through the apostacy and the antichrist kingdom.]

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [If any doubt yet remains, here Paul states that Jesus will destroy the antichrist when He returns, how then could He return before the antichrist is revealed?]

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: [According to these verses, many in the church will be deceived by antichrist, therefore God will send them a delusion to believe a lie. In fact, the last time this happened was Isaiah 6.]

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Edward Irving taught – through Lacunza’s theology and a girl’s prophetic utterances – that the rapture would occur before the revelation of the antichrist.

John Nelson Darby came to believe Edward Irving’s rapture doctrine, although he rejected Irving’s Pentecostalism (prophecy, tongues, etc.). JN Darby was the leader of a movement of Evangelical Anglicans who came to be known as the Plymouth Brethren. Darby and the Brethren were downright evangelistic about their new rapture theology – believing it to be the final essential step in the reformation of the Church.

A man named Cyrus Scoffield picked up this Brethren eschatology and was as fervent and evangelistic with it as the Brethren were. He became involved with Evangelist D.L. Moody and wrote the Scoffield bible commentary; Scoffield’s commentary quickly permeated the evangelical world because of his association with D.L. Moody.

Many people who are reading this may never have heard of Scoffield before, but you have in all probability been taught the rapture – you were taught this because your teachers’ teachers accepted the doctrine through Scoffield’s notes.

Now, while the rapture is the main thing that we think of as dispensationalism, the whole fabric of dispensationalism is erroneous well prior to the rapture doctrine.

It teaches that there are various epochs of time (dispensations) during which God deals differently with man. It makes Adam in the garden one dispensation and the world before the flood another, and the world after the flood another, and the time after Abraham and the time after Moses, etc. etc., as if God arbitrarily deals differently with man in different ages for no known reason.

Now, that is not to say that there are not different dispensations. According to the bible, there are two dispensations – these are the two covenants.

God made a covenant with Abraham – the covenant of circumcision (and of land (see Gen. 17))

Throughout the Old Testament, God promised that Messiah would come and establish a new covenant which would not only be for the Jews, but salvation for all people.

Jesus came and established a new covenant in His blood.

These are the two dispensations:

Old Covenant, New Covenant.

We are presently under the New Covenant in Christ’s blood.

Heb 8:13
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

The other thing that dispensationalism does – even if we discount the rapture – is to convince us that the Gospel can change, and WILL change in the last days.

The rapture doctrine teaches that God will catch the church out of the world and leave Jews in it, but that the Jews will then become – again – God’s people in the world.

This would constitute a different dispensation, indeed. It would also require God to revoke the New Covenant and return to the Old Covenant which He will never do.

Dispensationalism thus also creates what some people call ‘replacement theology.’ That is because they believe in dispensations which are not based on the covenantal agreement that God has established with man, that Jews are a separate body from the Church. As a separate body, God can continue to honor the Old Covenant of circumcision and LAND with the Jews despite the fact that the Old Covenant was superseded by the New.

So let’s look briefly at what the bible says about this ‘replacement theology’:

Eph 2:11-22
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

According to this passage, there are NOT two separate bodies – one for Jews [Israel] and one for Gentiles [the church], although that is how those of the circumcision had been treating the Gentiles. Rather, Jews and Gentiles are made into ONE BODY which is spiritual Israel AND the church.

Under the new covenant in Jesus’ blood Gentiles are made fellowcitizens in the household of God with the Jews. To divide the two is kind of racist.

Yet now because dispensationalism divides Jews from the church, they assume that the Old Covenant can still apply to Jews, and that the promise of land under that covenant is still valid.

By the way, land was promised to Abraham so that the Messiah would have some place to be born that was prepared for Him.

It is thus dispensationalism which also leads Christians to be neo-political Zionists: believing that the covenant of Land is still in play for Jews.

But what does this all have to do with the great deception and the apostacy of the church? The answer is in Galatians 5:

Gal 5:1-4
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

If the Jews live under the Old Covenant, they are denying that Christ has come and shed His blood for their salvation, and they are lost in their sins.

Any Christian who supports Jews in this deception and decides to support the Old Covenant and the law loses their salvation. Is that too drastic a statement? Read the passage, again:

Gal 5:1-4
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Reading thoroughly and understanding the book of Galatians (which was written to Gentiles who were being persuaded that the Old Covenant (or aspects of it) was still in play) and the book of Hebrews (which was written to Jews to instruct them that the Old Covenant is NOT still in play) will salvage us from this deception.

Dispensationalism is deception.

2 Thess 2:11-12
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.