Millennialists Claim Armageddon Begins:
Reply With Our Own Prophesies
By Rev. Jack Cascione

 

Our Lord tells us wars must come, however, I was writing about my hopes that this country could get through 2001 without being embroiled in a Middle Eastern war. If the bombing could have just taken place after January 2, 2002, the American millennial Baptist/Pentecostal movement would be out of the driver's seat of American Christianity.

They have been waiting for God's sign of a War in the Middle East before the end of 2001 as proof that Israel is the place were Christ will return to rule for a 1000 years. Their movie, "Left Behind," which came out in February, explains the whole scenario.

Millennialism will now drive American Religion for at least the next few years as it has since 1948. After the bombing in New York, Rev. Jerry Falwell was immediately on the news explaining how important Israel is in God's plan and that we have to defend it and "take out" those opposed to Israel.

In an interview with Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, Franklin was so tough in his remarks promoting war in defense of Israel that the reporter said he was surprised to hear a preacher talk that way.

John Hagee, Pat Robertson, and Jack Van Impe are just a few of those who are claiming that we are now at the beginning of World War III, which will result in the building of the third Temple and the return of Jesus Christ. On Saturday, I witnessed a Baptist televangelist have his trumpeter blow the shofar, a ceremonial Jewish rams horn. He then encouraged his listeners to prepare for war and said that God was with listeners and they should rejoice at the opportunity for battle.

Afghanistan has now declared a Holy War against America. Therefore, all Moslems who die in battle will have automatic entrance to heaven.

As in the Crusades, the American Baptist/Pentecostal millennialists are convinced that those who fight in this war will be fighting for Jesus Christ.

This is going to place the Missouri Synod Church Growth fanatics in an awkward position. They love to copy millennial worship forms they call "contemporary worship" but will they go along with the second return of Jesus Christ to Israel in order to keep their crowds coming in the door?

The Baptists are usually effective in preaching the law. The bombing of New York City must be understood, as the wrath of God, but our response must be repentance not fighting for Jesus Christ. As a nation, our retaliation is in order, but we never claimed bombing the Japanese and Hitler was by God's direction.

Millennialist, John Hagee proved to be too much competition for Bill Thompson in San Antonio, so the largest LCMS Church is heading toward bankruptcy, while Bill Thompson heads for Brazil. Prestonwood Baptist Church in Carrolton, Texas is taking away Pastor Wagner's future in Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. These two LCMS mega churches each have the two largest loans from LCEF of any LCMS congregation.

Many are now claiming Bible prophecy after the tragedy in New York. We now reply with some of our own prophecies written before the bombing in New York. The following is a series of statements that were published on www.LutherQuest.org by those in dialogue with this writer:

Cascione writes Thursday, July 06, 2001 - 07:55 pm: "We are now less than six months away from January 1, 2002. If a major war doesn't break out in the Middle East before that time, the collapse of millennial style worship in the LCMS, called contemporary worship, indeed, the collapse of the entire movement is imminent. Many 'contemporary' clergy will follow Thompson's lead. He was always a visionary."

"I'm afraid that by 2005, many will have been drawn to the Catholic Church or simply give up Christianity as the fad it was portrayed to be by the contemporary Church Growth/Leadership Training Movement."

Rev. Gregory Hinners writes Friday, July 06, 2001 - 07:39 pm: "Just out of curiosity Jack, what leads you to believe this? I have read this before from you in CN. I believe that you are right, the collapse of the Church Growth (CG) nonsense will happen at some point, especially if Christianity continues its popularity slide . . . downward."

Cascione Writes on Saturday, July 07, 2001 - 04:46 pm: Dear Pastor Hinners: "First, 'conservative' and 'Church Growth' are a contradiction in terms. I don't believe the 'Church Growthers' but the hyper-euro's will be drawn to Rome. Many of the 'Church Growthers' in the LCMS will become Baptists, Assembly of God, or non-denominationalists, all on their way to some form of Unitarianism or drop out of religion completely."

"My theory is based on what happened after 1666, the last great millennial date that motivated the Pilgrim migration to America, the burning of London, and the execution of Charles the First. By 1670, the entire movement was dead. However, there was no immediate return to 'orthodox Christianity.' By 1720 less than one in ten Americans were connected with any practice of Christianity. At that time, Franklin thought that America was not going to be a Christian nation. By 2005, the American millennial movement and all this millennial worship will be equally dead."

We now expect some LCMS Lutherans to publicly support millennialism.


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

September 15, 2001