Do you feel unable to get up in the morning? Do you feel lethargic, powerless, and not up to the task? Do you feel like your manhood or potency has somehow diminished? Do you feel defeated and overwhelmed—like the waiting world out there is just too intimidating to even try to face? If so, then you may be suffering from E.D.… End-times Dysfunction.

End-times Dysfunction, also known as Eschatology Dysfunction, or ED’s Syndrome (named for Ed Smith, Captain of the Titanic), affect tens of millions of Christians worldwide. Afflicted by the mental and psychological effects of years of indoctrination by premillennial and dispensational views on Bible prophecy, these victims suffer from a profound worldview impotence, believing that Christians are supposed to live overcome, marginalized, and defeated lives. They then rationalize their apathy and begin arguing things like “the world is evil and Jesus will rapture us out of it in my lifetime,” “the antichrist is coming,” “Christians should not get involved in worldly things like business, finance, politics, or economics.” This compounds their apathy and leaves them averse to making any impact upon a society. Since they believe that this life will be overcome by the devil, they deduce that Christians should remain impotent and have no intercourse with society at all.

They then succumb to paranoia, like the fear surrounding the Mayan calendar and the year (and upcoming movie) 2012. Is this the date it will al really implode? I think I’ll just roll over, hide under the covers, and go to sleep! Their defeatist leaders can lead them no better than to decry this hype as more Satanism. Says Mr. LaHaye, “It’s probably satanic because there is nothing in the Bible about it. In fact, the Bible forbids us to even think about a day and an hour.” One should point out that the Bible says nothing about plastic milk cartons, or the internet, but this does not necessarily make these things satanic. The Bible also says nothing about LaHaye’s fictional antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, but that never stopped him from collecting royalties on the sales of 60 million books. And perhaps nothing has led to more Christian social impotence than the oppressive E.D. popularized by his series of books.

The condition is only worsened by lack of theological nutrition. A high-chartohydrate diet consisting of dramatized end-times fiction and fanciful “prophecy” charts left behind from the sawdust trail and big-tent revival manias leaves Christians vulnerable to theologies built on emotions and fears rather than sound Biblical exposition.

Christians who suffer from this Dysfunction are often unware that there sound, biblical cures and remedies for their malady. If you feel you are suffering from this condition, it may be time to have “the talk”: a basic discussion of the present power and reign of Jesus Christ, from his present throne in heaven, through His people and providence on earth. This talk begins with the importance of Psalm 110 and the Great Commission Christ gave His people just after his declaration that “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18–20).

Once Christians understand that the Christian life is a victorious life, meant to be a life of spreading Christ’s power into the world and not cowering in fear of the world, they immediately feel a new vigor and potency for living. The initial renewal experience can have profound effects, almost as liberating as becoming a Christian for the first time. After reading about Psalm 110, on Christian wrote to say,

Wow Mr. McDurmon – you’ve knocked my socks off!!!

I just read The Importance of Psalm 110 article from American Vision.  I’ve never heard Eschatology explained this way before now.  Your article makes this subject seem easy to understand.  It is so enlightening!  I feel as if a tremendous burden has been lifted off of my shoulders.  I’ve always heard Eschatology presented from the dispensationalist mindset.  Honestly, it only served to make me depressed!  My basic thought was, “The world will just get worse and worse, and as Christians, all that we've got to look forward to on earth is torture in our future because we can do nothing to help make things better, so get ready for pain and suffering when the evil world finds you hiding in the shadows.”  Or to say it more eloquently, I’ll quote from Gary Demar’s very recent article Why Young People are Leaving the Church where it states: 

...“Who wants to be part of a religion that is continually preaching inevitable gloom and doom?  A philosophy calling for an escape from time is not likely to involve itself in the battles of time.”…and…

 “Many in our camp have an all-pervasive negativism regarding the course of society and the impotence of God’s people to do anything about it. They will heartily affirm that Satan is Alive and Well on Planet earth, and that this must indeed by The Terminal Generation; therefore, any attempt to influence society is ultimately hopeless.” 

(Yeah, that really makes you want to witness to someone doesn’t it?)   But here you’ve shown me that Jesus is presently conquering evil and will continue to do so until He’s finished!  Thus, I am motivated to take a stand for righteousness in every arena because the battle is being fought and won right now by our Conquering King!  I can be on the winning team right now, not just when I get to heaven.  Wow!  This truth is so freeing and empowering!  For the first time, I have hope, and I feel like I have a reason for living! 

Thank you so much for opening my eyes to this crucial and liberating understanding of God's Word!

God Bless You!

Another successfully-cured client expressed their new-found vitality as well:

I wanted to write in and tell you all at American Vision that you guys are making an impact for the Kingdom of God!  My whole life I’ve been raised up believing in an end time rapture of the church as we are being overcome by the forces of Satan and the Antichrist and all this one world Government business. I always had questions about what I was supposed to do with my life. Am I just  going to be raptured out in 5, 10, or 15 years?  Should I get married? Start a family? 

I’ve since been exposed to a different interpretation of “End Times.”  Postmillenialism gives me so much hope!  I’ve loved learning about theonomy and how to apply God’s Law-Word to every area of life.  I’m actually excited about government now.  I have such a more optimistic view of the church’s role in History.  It’s exciting for me now to think about how I can make an impact for the Kingdom that will even affect the lives of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  My vision for the future has totally exploded.  The possibilities for how we can affect change in our nation and society are endless.  We have so much work before us and I am so ready for the Challenge!

Keep doing what you are doing!  I am beginning to understand the “battle” now, and there are so many Christians who need to be awakened!  I’ve begun to share these new teachings with my family and friends (calvinism, postmil, theonomy, presuppositional apologetics)  They are being challenged!  I love it!  I’m so excited for the Future!  We are in what looks like a hopeless situation in America right now, but I believe God will awaken America and will restore America to an even greater place than she was in her former Glory, where individuals, families, churches, and even state governments will bow the knee to King Jesus in every sphere of life in accordance to His Law-Word!!  God Save America!!! 

One particularly talented young lady experienced the conversion and wrote an article for American Vision telling her story. She told how she shared the talk, and then her husband also overcame Eschatology Dysfunction:

My very patient husband witnessed this transformation in my life and it inspired him to seek truth in these matters as well. He didn’t have the dramatic spiritual past that I did, but seeing the results of my transformation prompted him to gain a proper understanding too. Wow—as a wife, I can say that made a real man out of him. A victorious eschatology has changed this family forever.

Success stories like these roll into American Vision all the time: defeated Christians turned into real men, and happy, excited wives living reinvigorated, satisfied lives, left with wth nothing but that most satisfying of all reactions, “Wow.”

While some would tell you that Christians should learn to live with their E.D., this is merely compounded defeatism itself bred by the dysfunction is seeks to downplay. Consult a doctor today: I highly recommend Dr. Kenneth Gentry, and his books He Shall Have Dominion, The Greatness of the Great Commission, and The Book of Revelation Made Easy. Also consult Dr. Gary DeMar (he’ll tell you just plays a doctor on TV, but the truth is he’s really a doctor), and his books Last Days Madness (one of the most popular first-time remedies for E.D. available), and Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction. You can also see Dr. Gary North’s book, Rapture Fever.

I also highly recommend consulting with Rev. David Chilton. Although not a doctor, Chilton was very gifted in spiritual counseling, and delvered some of the most frequently and powerfully effective prescriptions for E.D. in with his books Paradise Restored, and Days of Vengeance, a 700-page commentary on the book of Revelation.

There are many other remedies. You have probably heard of SeeAllis (no, not Cialis, a drug for a different E.D.), but see-Allis, as in go see the book by the former Westminster Seminary Professor O. T. Allis, Prophecy and the Church. This 1945 critique of end-times defeatism and depression has helped deliver many Christians for over 50 years and has never been answered by the defeatists.

As with all potent treatments, these may have some side-effects. You may have headaches after cramming so much new information into your head. You may experience dizziness as your eschatological world begins to spin upside-down. You may feel light-headed as tremendous burdens are lifted from your back in a single instant, and slight upset stomach may occur as you properly digest prophecy for the first time (See Rev. 10:8–11). As you learn that most of the prophecies you have been watching the sky over were actually fulfilled during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, you may begin to contemplate that history excessively. If you experience thoughts of the destruction for more than four hours, you should consult your doctor immediately. He will direct you to move on to further implications of the victorious life.

So, if you think you may be suffering from E.D., call or write us today. Browse our pharmacy to find your remedy today. Say goodbye to depression and apathy in your Christian life. A new and satisfied Christian life awaits.

Post Reply | View Replies