[Buggman]

Whoops. Missed your post. Sorry. I disagree with Sproul's preterism, of course--sorry, but those who were in Christ in 70 AD simply weren't "caught up" anywhere, let alone with the Lord.

But where I think we would find common ground is that we both see the potential danger of escapism in pretrib, particularly as it's popularly conceived. ("Oh, we would never have to suffer for the faith; the good Lord will take us up before anything really bad happens.")

[blue-duncan]

"we both see the potential danger of escapism in pretrib"

Why are you guys always picking on me. I think there's a song there. I think the greater danger is in the post trib, post mill and amill positions in that you get the "it just doesn't matter" syndrome since the times are not bad enough or good enough for His return.

[Frumanchu]

Sproul is not a full preterist. He's partial-preterist, amill. He believes the "rapture" is a future event. IIRC, he also does believe that there may well be increased persecution and tribulation prior to Christ's return, in which case I would have to say that his view could be categorized as post-trib with respect to the rapture.

I do agree that there is potential danger of an escapist mentality in the pretrib view, though I certainly know some pre-tribbers who have a more "proper" mentality about it. I do know from personal experience though that when I held the pretrib view I tended towards a more escapist/alarmist view.

Ultimately, while I do recognize the importance of eschatology I tend to spend more of my time on other subjects. I don't think it's a trivial matter...it's obvious that one's eschatological views can have a huge impact on the rest of their behavior and mindset.