THINK TODAY — NOT FUTURE
There is a tendency to interpret the Bible (especially the Old Testament) in terms of history. Indeed it is history, but it is much more than that. It is the story of real people with real spiritual issues that are recorded for our benefit. The historical benefit is useful only if we can make some sense of it so that we can apply it to our life today. If we do not apply it to our life today, study of history is only an intellectual exercise that is useful only for proving to ourselves and others how religious we are. Such study is an empty religious work.
The same is true of prophecy. Most everyone knows that the Bible contains a lot of prophecy. Many think that they are very spiritual if they can figure out what the prophecies mean and when they will be fulfilled. Thus they are future oriented instead of now oriented. In other words, they fail to recognize that the fulfillment of the prophecies is occurring today and is not for the unknown, distant future. Prophecy is only useful if we can apply it to our life today. If we do not read so that we can apply what we learn in some big or small way today, the study of prophecy is only an intellectual exercise and/or an empty religious work.
The tendency to look to the future is a feature of dispensational theology which basically says that God deals with people in different ways, in different eras (i.e. dispensations) of time, and in different places. The way we see it, this is totally false teaching that deceives people into thinking that parts of the Bible do not apply to them now.
Dispensationalism is false teaching because it totally contradicts what God has said about himself regarding his impartiality. Dispensationalism that rewards people who live in certain eras, or places, or who do certain religious activities also disagrees with God’s concept of time.
If God is not impartial and does not show favorites, he has always been that way because God does not change nor does he change his mind. That being the case, we should not expect or even entertain the idea that God would treat people from different times differently. Nor should we expect that some parts of the Bible apply to some people at one time and other parts apply to other people at other times. The rule is that all scripture is useful for training in righteousness for everyone. That means it has application for everyone today.
Part of the problem for Bible readers is the fact that God uses time symbolically. Thus, when the bible refers to hours, days, months, years and ages, we tend to interpret scriptures according to our cultural understandings of these time-related terms. When we study what God has said about these terms, however, we find that his use of these terms is fluid and even confusing when we try to reconcile them to our cultural understanding. This effectively prevents us from applying scripture to our lives today which is what God otherwise instructs us to do.
We overcome the confusion about dispensationalism when we always think in terms of today. When we take this understanding, we do not think in terms of historical or futuristic events that involve others. Rather, we will think in terms of parables and prophecies that can affect us as individuals today.
If we approach Bible reading as a solemn, spiritual exercise in hearing God’s voice — as contrasted with an intellectual, religious activity that demands to be reconciled with our cultural understanding of time, we will listen/read much more slowly and carefully. And as we get excited (i.e. raptured) when he reveals secrets and mysteries to us, we will be enticed to come read/listen again soon and often.
God makes the point about listening to his voice “today” very strongly when discussing entering into his rest. Ultimately, God is calling us to come to rest with him in the Promised Land in an eternal Sabbath. Each time we read/listen to and apply what he has to say we can move a little, or a lot, closer to the day when we rest from our religious activities and worship him only in spirit and truth.