"ism" Experts

Here is a letter written by Ellis Skolfield about end time "-ism" experts who have saturated today's evangelical church. I can confidently say that I have run into the same "-ism" experts in most Christian circles I have visited (most recently at the Joel Rosenberg blog), as well. They are great at defending their own library of end time books, but not so great at squeezing the Bible into their "-isms". At some point, you gotta shake the sand off your sandals and move on.

Here's the letter:

Hello Brethren;

With the Jews back in Israel and Jerusalem again under Jewish control, we can now see Bible Prophecy in a totally new way! If the Church would teach what we can now prove from Revelation, we could stop Islam in its tracks and lead a lot more people to the Lord. But we have a serious problem. Over the years, I’ve visited hundreds of churches and even taught in a few. Many have leaders who claim to be Bible prophecy experts. It isn’t so. Most are just "ism" experts: Preter-ism, Dispensational-ism or Historic-ism and those "isms" have shut the door to any new studies in Bible prophecy.

I remember one church leader who typifies the problem. When I met this ism-ite, he was just bubbling over with the usual gossip about who the Antichrist might be, when the tribulation was going to start and whether there was going to be a pre, post or mid trib rapture. I asked if we could go to a church schoolroom where we could use a blackboard. Then we open our Bibles and read . . .

"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed," 1Cor 15:51-52

On his blackboard I scratch in all caps, LAST TRUMPET, and ask, "Do you agree that the Church is taken to be with the Lord at the last trumpet?"

"Of course, that’s common knowledge," he replies, smiling.

"Great, then you’ll also agree that there can’t be any trumpets after the last trumpet?"

"Ummm -- sure," he says a little hesitantly, he knows where I’m going.

"Well then," I say, "If the Church is going to be on earth until the last trumpet, we’re going to be right here through six of the seven trumpets in Revelation."

"O no," he replies pontifically, "the seven trumpets of Revelation are trumpets of judgment and they are excluded from the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52."

"Oh, then you are saying that some trumpets will be blown after the last trumpet.

"Yes, because the trumpet in Corinthians isn’t about those in Revelation."

"Well then, the last trumpet isn’t really the last trumpet, is it?" I’m trying not to smile.

We continue along that line of reasoning, or lack of it, until he gets a lot less friendly and his jaws start to tighten up. "The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 refers to the Levitical trumpets only," he says in his most authoritative pastoral voice, "Revelation’s trumpets and seals take place during the Seven-Year Great Tribulation. Everyone knows that."

"Really? So you are telling me that a trumpet in the New Testament, stating it’s the last trumpet, doesn’t refer to any other trumpet in the New Testament and isn’t really the last trumpet, after all? By what kind of exegetical slight-of-hand did you come to that conclusion?"

You see the problem don’t you? I believe the Bible and take it at face value. This church leader could only see the Bible through his doctrinal filter. I try for a few more minutes to get him to take Scripture seriously, asking for biblical support for his position, but get nowhere. He is also getting pretty annoyed so I suggest, "OK, let’s change the subject and go on to something else."

Using the blackboard, I start graphing out the prophetic days. I show him how the days in Daniel 12 predict the coming of Islam 1200 years before Muhammad was born. I show him how Revelation predicts the first Islamic Jihad, the Crusades, the birth of new Israel in 1948 and Jerusalem again under Jewish control in 1967. I graph those events so clearly that they are virtually impossible to dispute.

And he accepts this hard evidence with great joy, right? Not a chance, he acts like I’d just shot his favorite bird dog. Then he starts screaming at me . . . and I do mean screaming: "YOU’RE DOING AWAY WITH THE TRIBULATION !!!"

Pointing to the graphs, I said, "Please calm down, my friend, I’m not trying to do away with anything, I’m just showing you another way to look at those verses; a way that we can now prove both scripturally and historically."

Same response: "YOU’RE DOING AWAY WITH THE TRIBULATION !!!" He was so deafening, my ears were beginning to ring. Reasoning with him was out of the question; I’d just threatened his end-time traditions and he was beyond reason. That had to be a unique experience, right? Though the above may have been the loudest example, unique it wasn’t. Defending questionable end-time "isms" is the norm in most of the churches I visited. Thankfully there are a few pastors out there with open hearts or I would not have been able to go on.

Another example: A few days ago, I chatted with a Christian author who had just written a major book on Bible prophecy. Thinking he might be interested, I showed him how most of the prophetic days had been fulfilled in new Israel. It seems that prophetic days didn’t fit in with his book so he disagreed. Even after showing irrefutable scriptural and historic support for prophetic days (Ezekiel 4:5-6), he kept on saying, "There’s no such thing as prophetic days." How can you relate to someone who willing to hold his doctrines above the Bible itself?

Not being one to give up easily, I try a different tactic: "OK, Sam, I can hear your total aversion to a prophetic days concept, so lets call them something else. How does ‘widgets’ sound to you?’" I show him how the 1290 "widgets" in Daniel 12:11 predict the coming of Islam 1200 years before Muhammad was born. I show how the 1260 "widgets" in Revelation 12:6 predict the birth of new Israel in 1948, and how the 42 months of "widgets" in Revelation 11:2 predict Jerusalem again under Jewish control in 1967 . . . all three events, right to the year!

Then I say, "But you now have me convinced. I won't believe in prophetic days anymore. From now on, I'll believe in ‘widgets’, because those ‘widgets’ fit Scripture and recorded history right to the year."

He was not amused. No matter how well presented, Sam could not hear prophetic truths that could be proved beyond any reasonable doubt.

The above accounts are hilarious, huh? Not really, there is no blindness as profoundly dark as the one you inflict upon yourself. Jesus had the same problem with the Pharisees of His day. He addressed it by saying, "By your traditions you make the word of God to no effect." Our prophecy traditions of today are also making the word of God to no effect.

I’ve pretty much given up on the established churches. There are a few open-hearted pastors out there, but not many. Over the past 20 years, I’ve written five books on Bible prophecy, none of which has been scripturally refuted by anyone. They are either of the Holy Spirit or they’re not. That’s for you to decide. If they are of God, they will change your life just like they changed my life and the lives of many who have read them.

Ellis Skolfield

The Ellis Skolfield site has free downloadable books on it. That site is on line for you folks, so that you can decide for yourself whether Skolfield is a servant of God, or just another heretic trying to lead the church astray.

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