Is Left Behind Theology Being Left Behind?

Is Left Behind Theology Being Left Behind?

 Jan Markell

Since I was old enough to understand it, I’ve believed, taught, and written about Dispensational Theology. I just call it “Left Behind Theology.” Critics say it is a modern invention that came along in the 1800s. Please, read the Bible. The prophetic angle of Dispensationalism represents one-third of the Bible.

Simple Definitions

Dispensationalism teaches a literal Antichrist, a literal “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” or Tribulation, a literal Rapture, a literal Second Coming, a literal thousand-year Millennium, and distinct roles for Israel and the church. Israel has a glorious future. God has made promises to her and will fulfill them, and the church has not replaced her.

A dispensation is the divine administration of a period of time–seven dispensations in God’s plan for humanity. God works in different ways with different people during different periods of time. Things were different pre-flood and post-flood. One could say there were different rules for different periods of time.

Since the 1970s, Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind book and film series by Tim LaHaye have been the face of Dispensationalism. Millions of people read and viewed these products and finally put a name to what they already believed just by reading the Bible.

The other option — Covenant Theology — does not see the promises to Israel as literal, but fulfilled in the church. It teaches Amillenialism, or we are in the Millennium now and have been since the cross.

But now this theology — since it represents the truth — is under brutal attack. And wouldn’t you know, Tucker Carlson has provided the platform to trash it. His guest, J.D. Hall, should be careful throwing stones.

According to “Ministry Watch”, Hall embezzled thousands of dollars from his church in Montana, was convicted of DUI, domestic abuse, and more. But he is Carlson’s spokesman to trash the truth for nearly two hours.

You can watch the painful ordeal here but buckle up. Sadly, it has almost one million views on YouTube. Only conspiracies and lies can attain those numbers.

Hall denigrates Christian Zionism, as does Tucker Carlson, who insists “a lot of people have died because of Christian Zionism.” The program is titled, “Origins of Christian Zionism, How it Corrupted American Christianity and Why It Is Finally Collapsing.”

But think about the accusation: Christian Zionism has corrupted Christianity. That suggests standing by Israel has a cancerous effect.

Ray Fava, an under 30 online host and writer who loves to attack Dispensationalism, states, “J.D. Hall’s appearance on Tucker Carlson has shifted the conversation on Christian Zionism and Dispensationalism, as Hall has emerged as one of the best at articulating how Scripture disproves the premise of God’s chosen people not being the universal church.” He represents Covenant Theology as does J.D. Hall. The church is the new Israel.

Fava suggests that J.D. Hall and Carlson, “destroyed Dispensationalism.” It would take much more than these fools to accomplish that. It is wounded as I acknowledge below.

It is no surprise that The Gospel Coalition writes an article titled “The Rise & Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation.”

John Nelson Darby gets all the blame by them, as well as the Scofield Bible. Darby would be shocked to hear what he is being credited for today! But even Al Mohler takes a swing at Darby as he further describes Dispensationalism’s rise and fall.

The early church was Dispensational and premillennial. Sadly, the Reformers held on to the eschatology of Rome and few got these issues right, thus millions of church attendees are being misled in thousands of churches.

But it is true that Dispensationalism is bruised. That should be expected since it provides a theological firewall against the raging antisemitism exploding around the world.

Thankfully, God has raised up some modern spokesmen, theologians, authors, and more, who are pushing back. Some include the above-mentioned Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye, along with Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Dr. Ron Rhodes, Dr. Jeff Kinley, Gary Hamrick, Jack Hibbs, Amir Tsarfati, Terry James, Barry Stagner, Dr. Ed Hindson, Dr. Dave Reagan, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Todd Hampson, Brandon Holthaus, Tom Hughes, and many more. The list is long and I am leaving out many who should be included.

God knew we needed good theologians to share the truth today as we hurdle pell-mell into the very last days.

Sadly, the 45 and under evangelical has pretty much abandoned Israel and Dispensationalism. They more readily embrace Covenant Theology and even Anglicanism. Many embrace the Palestinian cause and have no clue Yasser Arafat invented the people and Palestinianism.

They suggest writers like me represent “doom and gloom” and have misplaced loyalties that actually put Israel before Jesus! They say I am putting a damper on their future by suggesting the Rapture is imminent.

All of this is leading to the ultimate Israel abandonment spoken of in Zechariah 12:3, when Israel simply becomes the world’s “burdensome stone” and not the end-time marker and signal that time is running out and Jesus is coming soon.

Israel is the clock; Jerusalem is the minute hand; the Temple Mount is the second hand.

Learn the truth in my short interview with David Tal below. We offer far more hope, truth, and real facts than Tucker Carlson/JD Hall baloney.

More....

Support For Rebuilding The Temple In Israel Surges As Thousands Prepare To Serve

Support For Rebuilding The Temple In Israel Surges As Thousands Prepare To Serve

 PNW STAFF

For generations, the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was viewed as little more than a dream held by a small number of deeply religious Jews. It was discussed in prophecy conferences, debated by theologians, and dismissed by many as politically impossible.

Not anymore.

Something remarkable is happening inside Israel.

A new poll commissioned by Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and conducted by the Direct Polls Institute, shows that 55 percent of Israeli Jews now support rebuilding the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. That statistic alone represents a dramatic cultural shift. But perhaps even more astonishing is another development: reports indicate that 150,000 men have already enrolled in training for Temple service, with plans eventually calling for as many as 200,000 participants.

Stop and think about that for a moment.

People do not spend years preparing to serve in a Temple they never expect to exist.

Whether one approaches these developments from a political, historical, or biblical perspective, something significant is clearly changing. The conversation surrounding the Temple is no longer confined to a small religious movement. It is steadily moving into Israel's mainstream consciousness.

For nearly forty years, organizations dedicated to preparing for a future Temple have quietly gone about their work.

They have painstakingly recreated the sacred vessels described in Scripture. The golden menorah has been fashioned. Priestly garments have been woven. Silver trumpets, incense altars, priestly crowns, and dozens of other instruments required for Temple worship have already been completed according to biblical specifications.

To many observers, these projects once seemed more symbolic than practical.

Today they look increasingly like preparation.

The shift is subtle but important.

Instead of simply talking about rebuilding the Temple someday, increasing numbers of Israelis are preparing for the possibility that "someday" could actually arrive.

One of the most overlooked developments is the growing emphasis on training.

Temple worship is not something that can simply begin overnight.

According to biblical law, priests must understand detailed purification procedures, sacrificial regulations, ceremonial worship, and countless practical responsibilities. These traditions require years of education and preparation.

Even if only a fraction eventually serve, the numbers reveal something much larger than simple religious curiosity.

They reveal expectation.

Preparation on this scale suggests that many Israelis are beginning to view the restoration of Temple worship as a realistic possibility rather than an unreachable ideal.

More....

Russia Has Red Lines & Nuclear Weapons

Russia Has Red Lines & Nuclear Weapons

John Mearsheimer

On 25 June 2026, I was on the”Deep Dive” with Lt. Col. (ret.) Danny Davis. We talked at some length about events in Iran, where the US and Iran are once again engaged in tit-for-tat attacks. One might think the US has decided to get tough with Iran and settle this conflict once and for all. Think again. The US has no military option for winning this war, which is why the US signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which is effectively a surrender document, on 17 June 2026. Engaging in a new round of tit-for-tat attacks only makes a bad situation worse.

Danny and I also talked about Russia’s toughening attitude toward Ukraine and its Western backers, who seem to think that Russia has no red lines and they can launch massive drone attacks into the Russian homeland without fear of Russia striking targets in Europe. Think again. There are clear signs that Russia has red lines, which its leaders believe Ukraine and its allies are close to crossing or maybe have crossed.

Video

Russia Hearing the European Clamour for War, Announces It Is Ready

Russia Hearing the European Clamour for War, Announces It Is Ready

Alastair Crooke

Russia has now made the strategic decision in response to prepare for war in Europe.

The de-escalation framework that unfolded in the U.S.-Iran Lucerne talks largely stayed true to the original Iranian 10-point plan. Meanwhile, President Trump and Vice-President Vance deliberately muddy the waters, claiming that Iran has already agreed to IAEA inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities (a claim repeatedly denied by Iran): Vance announced that the IAEA could have begun inspections this week. No – – the ‘Framework’ only refers to the possible IAEA supervision of the dilution to the 60% enriched stockpile subject to a final agreement with the U.S. having been reached.

Trump, writing on social media, later falsely asserted: “Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future”. In fact, the IAEA are only inspecting the joint Iran-Russia power station in Bushier at Russia’s request, because Russia wants to ensure compliance on its involvement. In other words, it is a Russian request to satisfy its own IAEA compliance commitment.

Trump then warned Iran that he may have to “finish the job [militarily]” — (if he doesn’t get a very good deal) — which, he says, would take “ about a week”, and adds that Iran will be required to use any unfrozen Iranian funds to be held in ESCROW accounts (accounts controlled by the U.S.) to buy “corn and soybeans for their people, because right now their people are very hungry — and they’re buying exclusively from us”.

So, it’s pretty clear what’s ahead — Trump is reverting to his New York real-estate mode of negotiations. In the Art of the Deal, his 1987 book, ghost written by Tony Schwartz, the text advises the use of “extreme and unpredictable demands to create anxiety and force concessions from rivals”.

Thus, we are back to the General Kellogg playbook – – Kellogg advised Trump that the only thing that works with Putin or the Iranians is pressure — and then still more pressure.

Familiar Trumpian tactics. Show a little initial flexibility to tease out adversaries in order to pull them into negotiations; subsequent false claims of Iranian concessions and extreme demands are then used to increase pressure on Iran (whilst Trump appears tough to the angry neocon constituency and to his ‘base’ back home).

This style of pressure may work for New York real-estate deals, but will be ineffective with both Iran and Russia.

Such threats will be counterproductive with Iran, and place the U.S. on a collision course. “The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the Iranian nation”, Mr Qalibaf, the chief Iranian negotiator, retorted.

In practical terms, as Will Schryver, a shrewd observer of the U.S. military, notes, Iran has pressure points “more numerous and capable than the U.S. can bring to bear on the battlefield” —

“In my view, [Schryver says], a powerful U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf region has become utterly untenable. They’re just trying to save face now. I do not believe, [he concludes] the U.S. military can mount even a 72-hour high-intensity operation at this point in time”.

“But I think they’ll try. Probably just Trump bluff, but it would not surprise me if they try to play one last card to gain the upper hand”. (Maybe after the midterms, and with the U.S. having rebuilt somewhat its munitions shortfall).

To which Iran likely will respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz again, and attacking, pari passu, regional (Gulf) infrastructure. Trump will be gaming the economy who first plays ‘Chicken’. A further military venture likely will only further erode American military standing.

Quite possibly, however, Trump may be prepared to cut his losses in Iran — the war anyway is a liability to his Midterm electoral calculus — by circling back to Ukraine and Russia. The Kiev Independent released a report yesterday, quoting a “senior Ukrainian official saying that Trump had privately given Zelensky the greenlight to act “more boldly” against Russia”.

Simplicius speculates:

“Trump has clearly been frustrated by his inability to settle any of the conflicts he had promised easily. And recently, on the heels of the Iranian memorandum saga, he even admitted that he would now be “turning his attention” back to Ukraine.

“As such, it’s plausible that Trump would have given secret encouragement to the Europeans to ‘shape the battlefield’ in order to “soften” Russia up ahead of whatever next Trump might have planned”.

If this is true (and it probably is), the Europeans are playing with matches and risk lighting a conflagration.

The E3 leaders, Starmer, Merz and Macron, met on 7 June with Zelensky to promise both unwavering support and — in the context of pledging further pressure on Russia —

“underlining the urgent need to scale up the production of interceptors; deep strike capabilities and anti-ballistic missile co-development — and further to support the future sustainability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.

In short, the Europeans intend to ratchet up deep strikes into Moscow and St Petersburg, which will likely kill and unsettle their inhabitants.

The E3 states are explicitly gearing up with new missiles to strike deeper, and more destructively, into Russia. The British government, for example, has announced that —

“the UK project to develop low-cost advanced long-range strike weapons for Ukraine has reached a significant milestone, with three British-designed systems successfully flight tested. The ground-launched strike weapons reportedly are capable of hitting targets more than 500km distant, at a speed of 600 km/h – whilst carrying a 225 kg warhead”.

These developments have brought two major developments out of Russia:

Firstly, senior Kremlin aides, notably Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s spokesman, have been saying over the past three days the ‘spirt’ of the Anchorage summit, and its concomitant understandings, “have effectively collapsed” — “The U.S. abandoned them”. Moscow no longer expects those commitments to be honoured and is focused solely on securing its own “victory” through military means.

Foreign Minister Lavrov went further, describing the Alaska meeting as an American “ploy” designed to buy time for Ukraine to rebuild and rearm its military — essentially likening them to the Minsk Accords that similarly were mounted as a deceit.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said:

“We also see Washington’s line moving closer to the most rabid anti-Russian policies pursued by the U.S.’s closest European allies – namely, the UK and France”.

This represents a huge strategic shift. Russia no longer seeks a relationship with Washington, though contact with DC will continue.

The second development stems from President Putin’s address at the St George’s Hall to military cadets on 23 June. Putin, in summary, told the young officers that the West manufactures a Russia threat, then accuses Russia of creating that very threat. This, said Putin, is a historically repeated pattern going back to 1941.

Putin implied that a threshold had now been crossed: He stated that whilst, until recently, NATO countries had limited themselves to supporting the Kiev regime to wage war on Russia, the West today is openly talking about preparing for a war against Russia, and is building up their military offensive budgets. German Chancellor Mertz has been quite vocal in this regard, Putin said.

Russia’s response, he said, is focused on modernising its nuclear triad and its Army, and strengthening the combat capability of the Aerospace Forces and the Navy. The explicit mention of the nuclear triad in direct proximity to the discussion of Western preparation for war against Russia was certainly a pointed message to Trump and the Europeans.

Russia has heard the European clamour for war. It has now made the strategic decision in response to prepare for war in Europe.

Katz Says Israel Could Be Back At War With Iran 'Tomorrow'

Katz Says Israel Could Be Back At War With Iran 'Tomorrow'

Dave DeCamp

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the Israeli military was ready to restart the war against Iran and that it could happen as soon as "tomorrow".

Katz vowed that Israel would bomb Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah rockets were fired into northern Israel and that the IDF was prepared to respond if that prompted Iranian attacks on northern Israel.

"There is no reality in which Israel will not respond to an Iranian attack," Katz said, according to Israel Hayom. "The equation stands – rocket fire on Israeli communities means an immediate assault on the Dahiyeh. The possibility exists that Iran will attack Israel not only in response to strikes in the Dahieh. We could find ourselves at war with Iran tomorrow."

The Israeli minister said that a second potential scenario that would lead to a renewed war with Iran would be if President Trump decides to restart the bombing campaign.

"There are two scenarios that would resume full-scale fighting – a decision by President Donald Trump or Iranian missile fire. This could happen in two days," he said.

Katz also insisted that Israel was ready to fight Iran on its own, which he called a "blue and white operation," despite the fact that Israel is extremely reliant on US air defenses.

"The IDF is just waiting for it. We have selected targets to strike in Iran, and the IDF is prepared and alert, but we will not interfere with the US President’s current moves vis-a-vis the Iranians," he said.

Katz also boasted about the destruction of Shia Muslim villages in southern Lebanon. "It was clear during Operation Silver Plow that the Shia villages along the contact line had to disappear," he said, using the codename for Israel’s recent operations in southern Lebanon.

More...