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Defending The Pre-trib Rapture
Rapture Ready ^ | 28 Feb 15 | Todd Strandberg

Posted on 02/28/2015 2:38:16 PM PST by SkyPilot

Defending The Pre-trib Rapture

After reading countless messages and articles that attack the pre-trib rapture, I've noticed a certain number of arguments that are repeatedly sent to me.

Instead of trying to answer every individual e-mail I receive, I thought it would be a good idea to create a web page that addresses the most commonly mentioned points of debate. This way, I can avoid repeating myself so many times; thereby, maintain my sanity.

Nowhere in the Bible, can you find the word "rapture"

It amazes me that some folks write to me, questioning the validity of the rapture, simply because the word "rapture" doesn't appear in the Bible.

With 1 Thes 4:16-18 giving us such a clear description of the rapture, you would have to conclude that some people are just playing games with the Word of God. I could change the name of my site to "Catching Up Ready" to satisfy these folks, but I hardly think that would improve things.

Their logic fails because there are a huge number of words that don't appear in the Bible, including the word "Bible." Because God's Word was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, one could truthfully say that no English words are in the Bible. Let's take a look at 1 Thes 4:16-18 in the original Greek:

Note to reader - Greek does not paste into this post, go to link of original article to view the original Greek

4:16 oti autos o kurios en keleusmati en fwnh arcaggelou kai en salpiggi qeou katabhsetai ap ouranou kai oi nekroi en cristw anasthsontai prwton 4:17 epeita hmeis oi zwntes oi perileipomenoi ama sun autois arpaghsomeqa en nefelais eis apanthsin tou kuriou eis aera kai outws pantote sun kuriw esomeqa 4:18 wste parakaleite allhlous en tois logois toutois

I don't see the dead in Christ rising, Jesus descending from heaven, and us meeting Him in the air. So the cynics are right: the word "rapture" is nowhere to be found. All I see is gobbledygook.

For the record, the word "rapture" comes from the Latin word "rapturo," which in turn was a translation of the Greek verb "caught up" found in 1 Thes 4:17. You can call it the pre-trib rapture, the pre-trib rapturo, or the pre-trib caught up--it's all the same thing.

Nowhere in the Bible does it directly say that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation.

Pre-trib opponents should have thought this one through because any pre-tribulationist has the same right to say, "Nowhere in the Bible does it directly say the Church will go through the tribulation."

Jesus did say, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 24:44). The only time frame I can think of when we believers would not be expecting Jesus to return would have to be before the tribulation.

The Margaret MacDonald Origin

One of the most widely circulated attacks against the pre-trib rapture is the notion that a girl named Margaret MacDonald started this theological view back in 1830. The claim is typically made that MacDonald received a demonic vision, passed it on to John Darby, who in turn popularized it. Disproving this assertion proves rather easy. Pre-trib scholars have discovered a host of rapture writings that predate Margaret MacDonald.

Epharaem the Syrian said, in 373 AD, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."

One post-trib author offered a reward to anyone who could find a quote that predated MacDonald. He had to quickly cough up the money when someone identified a scholar who wrote about the pre-trib rapture several years before MacDonald. As of late, dozens of examples have been found, and the literary surface has hardly been scratched.

With the revealing of all these pre-MacDonald writings, you would think that this argument has been debunked. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We seem to be involved in a tug-of-war with the truth. Apparently, due to their lack of research, pre-trib opponents continue to pump out publications that cite MacDonald as the originator of the pre-trib rapture.

The Last Trumpet Argument

Because Paul, in 1 Cor. 15:52 and 1 Thes 4:16, said believers would be raptured at the sounding of a trump, many folks have tried to make it appear that the rapture trumps are the same trumpets found in Revelation 11:15-18, Joel 2:1, and Mat 24:31--which all occur during the tribulation.

When you have trumpets commonly used throughout the Bible, I think it's foolish to just assume any two of the 62 trumps or trumpets are prophetically related. To be able to make the claim that the tribulation trumpet soundings are the same as the rapture trumps, you would need a direct statement saying this is the case.

In the movies Ben-Hur and The Wizard of Oz, I recall hearing the sounding of trumpets. Are both these trumpets somehow prophetically related?

If your friend John said he went to his favorite restaurant last night, and another friend Larry said he also went to his favorite restaurant last night, is it logical for you to assume they both went to the same restaurant? Obviously not, because even though John and Larry went to their favorite restaurants, they may have had two different eating establishments in mind. The same logic should apply with the word trumpet.

With such a blind devotion to this one similarity, I have to wonder if these last-tumpeters are able to distinguish the difference between Tylenol and Exlax. They're both over-the-counter drugs, they come in pill form, and they can also be found in a medicine cabinet. Of course, one will make your headache disappear and the other will make your toilet paper disappear.

Pre-wrath proponents say that the Seventh Trumpet blown in Rev 11:15-18 is the same last trump Paul spoke of in 1 Cor 15:52. However, they fail to take into account the fact that John wrote Revelation 40 years after Paul wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians. How could Paul refer to something that was not yet revealed?

Post-tribbers use a trumpet sounding in Joel 2:1 as evidence for a post-trib rapture on the Day of the Lord. I have three problems with Joel 2:1:

1. Joel clearly says that the purpose for blowing the trumpet is to "sound an alarm."

2. According to 1 Cor 15:52, the rapture is something that occurs in the twinkling of an eye. Joel 2:1 says the Day of the Lord is nigh at hand. In order for Joel's trumpet to be the same one in 1 Cor. there would have to be a time delay between the sounding of the trumpet and the rapture of the Church.

3. The fact that there is another trumpet being sounded in Joel 2:15 further clouds the possibility that these trumpets could have anything to do with the rapture.

When Paul was writing to the Corinthians, he specifically said "the" last trump. During the Feast of Trumpets, the Jews blow short trumpet blasts. They end the feast with a long blast from what is called the last trump, which is blown the longest. Judaism has traditionally connected this last trump with the resurrection of the dead. Paul also made the connection. For many Christians, the association between the rapture and the Feast of Trumpets is so strong, they look for the rapture to someday occur on this feast.

The Day of the Lord Argument

A number people have attempted to refute the pre-trib rapture by trying to associate the "Day of the Lord" with a catching-up of believers at the end of the tribulation. They base their rapture views solely on the idea that the "Day of the Lord" and the rapture are either synonymous or somehow linked together.

The Achilles heel of their argument has to be the notion that the "Day of the Lord" and various other "days" of an end-time context refers to a 24 hour period that occurs at or near the end of the tribulation. Probably the most commonly cited verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:2 where Paul tells us the "Day of the Lord" will come "as a thief in the night."

I've read countless articles that describe the "Day of the Lord" as Christ's advent at Armageddon. These articles go on to say that, because Paul also tells us the Lord will come "as a thief," we have a direct link to the same description that is applied to noted rapture verses.

It's rather obvious that those trying to rely on the "Day of the Lord" never bothered to validate the meaning of this particular day. I've checked a number of commentaries on the "Day of the Lord" and many of them define this as being an all-encompassing period that begins with the Great Tribulation. Let's examine some verses that clearly indicate that the term "day" is used to represent a broader time period.

II Peter 3:10-13 The "Day of the Lord" Peter spoke of in second Peter, cannot be a one day event because it mentions the destruction of the earth by fire and its renovation. Rev 21:11 tells us the earth will not be renewed until after Christ's 1000 year reign.

Joel 2:11-20 The "Day of the Lord" Joel describes, includes the defeat of the northern army. Ezk. 38 and 39 is parallel passage. Most scholars would time the destruction of the Gog army as occurring before in the first half of the tribulation.

John 12:48 In the book of John, Jesus uses the term "last day" to indicate when the lost would be judged. Rev 20 makes it clear that the unsaved will not be judged until after the millennium--yet another 1000 year gap.

Hebrews 10:25 One of the best indications that most of the various "day" references are citing a general time period can be found in Hebrews 10:25: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

Surely, Paul would not be warning us to watch for a day that would be coming at the end of the tribulation. That type of logic would be like warning children, as they cross the road, to watch out for tail lights.

The First Resurrection

I've heard some folks say, "There cannot be a pre-trib rapture because to have one would require a second resurrection at Christ's return to earth." This conclusion is drawn from Revelation 20:

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev 20:5-6).

One pre-trib writer, explaining this passage, said, "The first did not mean first in time, but rather first in kind." The first resurrection was for God's people the second will be for the unsaved.

A quick way to shoot down the notion that the first resurrection is tied to a specific date, as opposed to a more general time frame, is to take note of the tribulation rapture of the two witnesses and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. At the mid-point of the tribulation, the two witnesses are killed by the Antichrist, resurrected by God, and then caught up into heaven (Rev 11:3-12).

Revelation chapter 7 describes the sealing of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists just before the Beast issues his mark. Sometime during the latter half of the tribulation, Revelation chapter 14 indicates they will be "redeemed from the earth," standing before the throne of God.

Confusion over Confusion: 2 Thes 2:1-6

Because Paul, in 2 Thessalonians, said the Antichrist would be revealed before the Day of the Christ, post and pre-wrath adherents frequently try to cite this passage as one that refutes the pre-trib rapture.

To quell the Thessalonian's misunderstanding that they had somehow entered the tribulation, Paul told them the Antichrist must first be revealed. By telling them they had no reason to panic, Paul is clearly disputing the idea that the Thessalonians could someday find themselves facing the tribulation hour.

I'm constantly being irked by Post-trib and pre-wrath folks' consistent, or better yet deliberate, failure to accept the simple fact that the pre-trib doctrine calls for a rapture and a second coming. Because they only glean the prophetic word for one event--the second coming--they're unable to recognize pre-trib rapture passages.

Of course, when you fuse the two advents together, you end up with verses that appear to contradict each other: 1 Thessalonians 5:9, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ," and Revelation 13:7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

Reverse Logic Stuck In Reverse

Many people are against the pre-trib rapture simply because they see it as being the dominant view on the timing of Christ's return for the Church. The anti-pretribulationists often think they are the last remaining true believers. I'm simply dumbfounded over why some people choose rebellion against the majority view as their guide for finding truth.

The measurement of popularity alone is a terrible way to determine something's validity. It is particularly strange when people solely rely on the contrarian view to judge truth from fiction. I utilize contrarian views all the time to help determine what is truthful; however, it would be a terrible mistake on my part if I made Contrarianism the core foundation of any of my beliefs.

If you're using reverse logic, you need to support your conclusions. The vast majority of the population would agree that apples grow on apple trees and cherries grow on cheery trees. The pure novelty of the opposite being true does not in any way help make it so. Unless you see farmers gluing apples onto cherry trees or picking cherries from apple trees, you have no basis to think that these two fruits do not grow on anything but the trees that share the same name.

Some people are clearly more in love with the idea of a conspiracy than they are the truth. Every time an airplane crashes to the earth there's someone who will proclaim it was caused by anything from an act of terrorism to a bizarre government plot. It's just not exciting enough to say it was a mechanical problem that led to the crash.

The idea that the pre-trib rapture is the dominant view is not correct in the first place. Most evangelicals would say they look for a pre-trib rapture, but if you include all Christians, pretribulationists would rank third behind post-trib and preterist adherents.

Persecute Me Please

You would think the desire to go through the tribulation would be as popular as the desire to jump into a pit filled with vipers and broken glass. As illogical as it may seem, there appears to be a large number of Christians that fully expect to get roughed up before Christ returns.

Many Christians argue strongly for the right to suffer persecution at the hands of the Antichrist and the one world government. These tribulation saint wannabees constantly harp, "Because Jesus and His disciples suffered persecution, we should expect no better." It's been my experience that people with the weakest faith are generally the ones that talk the boldest. When the slightest difficulty comes their way, they cry to high heaven.

I hate to be the bearer of good news, but the word of God clearly states that believers will escape the tribulation bloodbath. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 5:9). "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev 3:10).

In one regard, people who think the Church will go through the tribulation are somewhat correct. I believe a huge number people--who are Christians in name only--will find themselves left behind. By having the rapture before the tribulation, all those who find themselves facing the wrath of God will be without an excuse.

No Secret Rapture

"There is no secret rapture" is the beginning declaration of a large percentage of messages that attack the rapture. Rarely is this statement backed by supporting scriptural evidence. A few people will cite Rev 1:17, "every eye shall see him," as proof that the rapture will not be a secret event. Of course, I would immediately note that "every eye shall see him" is the second coming.

I have a hard time understanding how these folks could think pretribulationists preach a secret rapture. We seem to be doing our very best to popularize the rapture before it takes place. I doubt that, afterwards, with all the car wrecks, plane crashes, and missing persons reports, the rapture will remain a secret occurrence.

The only people I know who are attempting to keep the pre-trib rapture a secret are its critics. Pre-wrath and post-trib folks have the national media and the liberal churches as their allies in their ongoing effort to silence all knowledge of the "blessed hope."

No Imminency

Because an imminent or any moment rapture is one of the major teachings of pre-tribulationists, opponents of this view attempt to dismantle the imminency of the rapture.

Although Jesus said, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Mat 24:42), advocates for knowing the "day" will claim this only applies to the unsaved. I hear arguments like, "Surely a loving father would tell his own children when he's coming for them."

To try to get around "no man know the hour," a popular scripture often cited is: "But yea brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief" (1 Thes 5:4).

Despite all their monkeying with scripture, pre-trib detractors just cannot escape Jesus' restriction against knowing the timing of the rapture. In fact, our Lord was so restrictive about the rapture, He said its occurrence would come as a total surprise. "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 24:44).

Now as far as the second coming goes, the Bible couldn't be plainer. It clearly states that Jesus will return 1260 days from the moment the Antichrist sits in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God. Because there exists both a known and an unknown date, many scholars have logically concluded that there must be two different events occurring--the rapture and the second coming.

The Restrainer

In 2 Thessalonians the Apostle Paul speaks of a "he" that will restrain the advent of the Antichrist. The restrainer's removal is required before the Antichrist can be revealed.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."

A debate has erupted over the identity of the Restrainer because if this "he" is the Holy Ghost, the only real explanation for his removal would be the rapture of the Church, which is indwelled by him. The strongest argument offered against the Holy Spirit being the Restrainer is the belief that if God's Spirit was ever removed from the earth, no one could then be saved. The removal of the Holy Ghost does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. I believe his being "taken out of the way" will only be a degree of removal.

Before the Church Age, people were able to find salvation, which obviously meant the Holy Spirit was at work on earth. When the outpouring of the Holy Ghost occurred at Pentecost, we didn't have a second Holy Spirit come to earth. His removal at the rapture will only be a reversal or ending of the Pentecostal outpouring.

Replacementism

Because Revelation places a strong emphasis on Israel during the tribulation, and not on the church, most post-tribulationists have adopted a replacement theology view in order to maintain the focus on them.

Replacementism is the view that Israel, having failed God, has been replaced by the Church. The Church is now seen as spiritual Israel and spiritual Jerusalem. This teaching claims that all the promises and blessings, in fact Israel's entire inheritance, now belongs to the Church. However, all is not lost for Israel; it gets to keep all the curses.

Dispensational theology, taught by nearly all pre-tribulationists, teaches that God has separate strategies for dealing with the Church and the Jews. When you consider the change in focus, during the tribulation, from the Church to Israel, the pre-trib rapture provides a good explanation for this transfer of attention.

To say that Israel is no longer God's chosen people is really playing with fire because the Antichrist will likely be saying the same thing when he tries to destroy the Jews during the tribulation. I look for people that hold to replacementism to be in the cheering section when the Beast goes on his Jew-killing campaign. "The Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance" (Psalm 94:14).

"This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord Almighty is his name: 'Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,' declares the Lord, 'will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me'" (Jeremiah 31:35-36).


TOPICS: Evangelical Christian; Other Christian; Religion & Culture; Theology
KEYWORDS: christ; endtimes; pretribulation; prophecy; rapture; tribulation
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To: editor-surveyor; CynicalBear

I can’t find any version that is different in meaning, so exactly what version are you using?

Interlinear-Greek to English word for word

7. one moreover to each of us has been given - grace according to the measure of the gift - of Christ 8. Therefore he says Having ascended on high he led captive captivity and gave gifts - to men 9. this moreover he ascended what is it if not that also he descended into the lower regions of the earth

Ephesians 4:7-9 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

7 Each one of us, however, has been given grace to be measured by the Messiah’s bounty. 8 This is why it says,

“After he went up into the heights,
he led captivity captive
and he gave gifts to mankind.”

9 Now this phrase, “he went up,” what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth?

Ephesians 4:7-9 King James Version (KJV)

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?


161 posted on 03/01/2015 6:37:39 PM PST by mrobisr
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To: mrobisr

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You’re simply reading something into it that is not there.

Captive cannot mean “Heaven” and nobody goes there before the first resurrection anyway.

Captive is still captive.


162 posted on 03/01/2015 6:46:59 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ScottfromNJ
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>> “Clearly a different event then Christ’s return to Mount Olives” <<

.
None of this discussion has anything to do with Yeshua’s return to Earth. Coming in the cloud is not a return to Earth, that comes 15 days later, after the wedding feast.

Again, there is no church anywhere! Church is a gross mistranslation. It is all about his assembly, which is everyone that will be saved from Adam to the 7th trump.
We all return with him when he comes at the East gate.

You are making fruit salad out of God's word.

The “dark ages” is the rule of the “catholic church” prior to the reformation.

>> “Where in the passage does is suggest that can’t happen on the same day of the Lord?” <<

It would slay the rest of the scriptures! It all has to fit together. Yeshua had already revealed to his disciples that His elect would go through the tribulation.

The mystery of Iniquity is the false teaching that Torah was fulfilled.

Now here is the most deceptive and miserable strawman:

And the bigger question, why would God forsake and turn his back on his children,(He Won't) withdraw the gift of Holy Spirit (nothing says anything about the Holy Spirit, he remasins with us) protection and basically leave them unprotected in the face of the worst persecution in history, leaving them for certain death with no chance of protection or survival? (He promised to protect us in the desert if we obey his commandments) The body of Christ “Church” Assembly being abandoned ( what an imagination!) and subject to the great tribulation clearly goes against the promises God made to his children repeatedly in the Church epistles.

All of that is the creation of confusion and deception.

He doesn't forsake anyone just cuz he isn't following Satan's big lie of the pre-trib rapture!

His promise is that he will take us to the place in the desert that he has prepared for our protection. That isn't forsaking us. Its the pre-trib lie that goes against all of the word.

163 posted on 03/01/2015 7:19:17 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: SkyPilot

“After the Rapture, the world will be in literal chaos.”

Your hit the nail on the head. I don’t think we can realize just how bad it will be once the Church is removed. Think about the speed of it, just 42 months is all mankind can take or else everyone would have died.

Matthew 5:13-16New American Standard Bible (NASB)

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 24:22 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.


164 posted on 03/01/2015 7:24:26 PM PST by mrobisr
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To: editor-surveyor; ScottfromNJ

Sorry, but you’re wrong again. The OT or Torah has not been cancelled it is being fulfilled (not complete yet).

Matthew 5:18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Romans 13:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”


165 posted on 03/01/2015 7:41:49 PM PST by mrobisr
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To: editor-surveyor; CynicalBear

You didn’t answer which version are you reading from?


166 posted on 03/01/2015 8:07:26 PM PST by mrobisr
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To: mrobisr; SkyPilot
"After the Rapture, the world will be in literal chaos"

Will it ever...

Matthew 5:14 "Ye are the light of the world"

The light will be gone.The salt will be gone.

"You are the salt of the earth..."

and salt is used to restrain the decay of 'meat'

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 14:5)

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." (Malachi 3:16-18)

Psalm 27:5 "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."

167 posted on 03/01/2015 10:23:17 PM PST by mitch5501 ("make your calling and election sure:for if ye do these things ye shall never fall")
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To: editor-surveyor

“None of this discussion has anything to do with Yeshua’s return to Earth. Coming in the cloud is not a return to Earth, that comes 15 days later, after the wedding feast.”

Christ will be seen by all in the return to Mount Olives as discussed in Revelation, unlike the gathering in the air in Thessalonians where Christ will only be seen by the Saints while the world is left in chaos and confusion. Clearly a different event.

“nothing says anything about the Holy Spirit, he remasins with us”

The Holy Spirit restraining force will be removed as discussed in Thessalonians.

“The body of Christ “Church” Assembly”

OK, I’ll play into your symantics game. Can I say Saints?

“He promised to protect us in the desert if we obey his commandments”

If you presume to be part of the 144,000. The rest who turn to Christ at the time will be persecuted and murdered.


168 posted on 03/02/2015 7:40:21 AM PST by ScottfromNJ
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To: editor-surveyor

Yes he did say that those alive at the Resurrection would not die but be changed to uncorruptible spiritual bodies,


He said we will not all sleep, as in death.
If he would have meant we shall not die he could have said that easier.


169 posted on 03/02/2015 4:06:45 PM PST by ravenwolf (s letters scripture.)
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To: ScottfromNJ

If you take the trouble to read all the accounts of the “gathering in the air” you will find that it is the one that the whole world sees, with great dread.

His later return to the ground at the mount of olives will only be witnessed by the military forces that he defeats.

Nothing in Thessalonians has anything to do with the Holy Spirit, and he will certainly not be removed before all the elect are removed at the last trump, the end of the trib.

The gathering in the air is what ends the trib!

Satan’s removal from the presence of the Father where he accuses the bretheren is what is spoken of in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

Do you think the Philadelphian church was the 144 thousand?

He told them that he would protect them.

You are buying into much contrived nonsense! Especially Satan’s pre-trib rapture.

If you read the account of the gathering in the air in Revelation, you will see that it is what shocks the entire world, all of whom will be forced to witness it.

The dispys play games with clips of scripture that they think they can twist enough to create a pre-trib rapture, but taking the word of God as a whole undivided communication destroys all of their mischief nicely.

.


170 posted on 03/02/2015 4:17:11 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: SkyPilot

I see nothing wrong with that, and I don’t think your criticism is valid.


I don`t think I criticized any one but you can supposedly prove anything to me if I just follow your guide to the scriptures I read and do not question them.


171 posted on 03/02/2015 4:18:36 PM PST by ravenwolf (s letters scripture.)
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To: ravenwolf

.
If we do not “sleep” and continue to live, we do not die.

.


172 posted on 03/02/2015 4:34:52 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: mitch5501; mrobisr; SkyPilot

.
>> “After the Rapture, the world will be in literal chaos” <<
.

Immediately after the “rapture” the world will be subject to the seven bowl judgements; then Yeshua returns to Earth with his angels and the elect to do battle at Jerusalem, and defeat the governments of men.

Chaos is a severe understatement; people will be gnashing their teeth and chewing their own tongues in fear.

.


173 posted on 03/02/2015 4:42:02 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: mrobisr

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I try to stick with the KJV when possible, due to the wealth of helps, concordances, etc that have been published over the three centuries that it has been available.

It is the best translation in English, although the 1965-1966 edition of the “Amplified Bible” is also useful for understanding the words more completely.

Later versions of the Amplified are of course absolutely worthless due to the deliberate corruption of the basic Bible version they use in the later editions.


174 posted on 03/02/2015 4:52:47 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: mrobisr

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>> “Sorry, but you’re wrong again. The OT or Torah has not been cancelled it is being fulfilled (not complete yet).” <<

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You seem to be easily confused! I have never said that Torah has been ‘cancelled.’ (almost anyone here can attest to that)

I said that the “Mystery of Iniquity” is Paul’s name for the false teaching that Torah was fulfilled and thus cancelled.

The quotes that you offer are excellent in that regard, except for the poor wording of Galatians 5:14, whjich should read ‘contained,’ rather than fulfilled. There are five significant Torah events among Yehova’s appointed times that are definitely not fulfilled.
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175 posted on 03/02/2015 5:01:55 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: editor-surveyor; SkyPilot

“If you take the trouble to read all the accounts of the “gathering in the air” you will find that it is the one that the whole world sees, with great dread.”

Mount Olives meeting in the air in the twinkling of an eye?

Matthew 25:32:

“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”


176 posted on 03/02/2015 5:28:35 PM PST by ScottfromNJ
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To: editor-surveyor

If we do not “sleep” and continue to live, we do not die.


Yep, I won`t argue that point. but if we die and are resurrected instantly we will not sleep.


177 posted on 03/02/2015 6:02:29 PM PST by ravenwolf (s letters scripture.)
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To: ravenwolf

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If you die, you sleep, until the last trump!
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178 posted on 03/02/2015 6:34:39 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ScottfromNJ

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Your theology is an absolute mess.

Nobody but the armies that Yeshua defeats see his entry at the mount. 15 days before that, when we meet Yeshua and his angels in the cloud, we are changed in the twinkling of an eye, the whole world is forced to witness it. The first resurrection.

Try to confuse it, it only affects the goats that do not wish to see anything but a never to happen “pre-trib rapture! Their turn will be the Great White Throne, 1000 years later.
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179 posted on 03/02/2015 6:43:50 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: editor-surveyor; SkyPilot

“Your theology is an absolute mess. Nobody but the armies that Yeshua defeats see his entry at the mount. 15 days before that, when we meet Yeshua and his angels in the cloud,”

So says the one who twists scripture trying and make square pegs fit round holes to support yours. The Sheep still being on earth, gathered from the four corners and separated from the goats are not gathered in the air in this event, as stated in scripture they’re separated on earth. If they were raptured 15 days before only goats would remain.

So I say good luck sweating out the end times and your pending persecution if you so believe.

You’re not by any chance one of those guys in the business of selling tribulation survival kits?


180 posted on 03/02/2015 7:23:15 PM PST by ScottfromNJ
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