What About The Rapture?

“In Case of Rapture This Car Will No Longer Have a Driver.” So reads the bumper sticker. The owner of the car obviously believed in a “secret rapture”, the doctrine so popular with dispensationalists today. This doctrine holds that Christ will return and secretly take the Christians away with Him for seven years while the sinners left on earth suffer “great tribulation.” Then Christ will return, they believe, and live on earth for 1,000 years before the unbelieving dead are raised to judgment.

Christ’s coming is one of the clearest and most emphatic doctrines in the New Testament. It is the “blessed hope” of the redeemed, and that which gives incentive to faithfulness, patience and labor. But the “secret rapture” doctrine which puzzles many is largely based on human speculation rather than Scripture.

NO SECRET. While the term “rapture” is not found in Scripture, it refers to the coming of Christ when all the saved, both living and the resurrected, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:16–17). Certainly there is nothing secret indicated here. There will be the Divine shout, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. Whatever these are supposed to indicate, whether natural or spiritual, they certainly indicate a noisy event, supernaturally announced.

Men will actually see Him come. “Behold He comes with clouds and every eye shall see Him” (Rev. 1:7, Acts 1:11). Eyes of love, eyes of hate, eyes of anticipation and eyes of fear, eyes of sorrow and eyes of joy — every eye will see him come. “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:27).

Many churches are showing movies and film strips which depict people awaking one day to find that members of the family and other citizens have mysteriously disappeared. But no such picture is depicted in Scripture.

A THIRD COMING? Those who hold to the secret rapture refer to either a third coming or a second stage of His coming. Can there be 2 stages to His coming?

Jesus taught that Christians and un-believers, described as the “wheat and tares” would not be separated until the end of the age. It is His design that “both grow together until the harvest” (Matt 13:30). He explained: “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels”, carefully pointing out that the unsaved will be burned with fire, and “then” the saved “shine forth in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43). According to the two-stage theory both would NOT grow together until the end of the world, and the wicked would not be burned until one thousand and seven years after the harvest!

Peter taught in Acts 3:19–23 that the heavens must receive Christ “until the time of restoration of all things.” This restoration, according to Peter’s letter (II Peter 3:7–13) includes a “new heavens and new earth wherein dwells righteousness”, the first earth having been destroyed by a fire which melts even the elements (II Peter 3:10). This speaks of only one coming, at which time history is consummated.

The “rapture” of I Thess. 4 and the resurrection mentioned in other places is one and the same thing. Jesus said, “For the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28–29). In the next chapter Jesus taught that those who believe on him will have everlasting life “and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40, 44 etc.). Evidently the “rapture” is at the end of the world, with no time periods to follow.

ALL come forth at his voice, ALL come forth at the second coming (I Thess. 4:16–17, I Cor. 15:52, 11:15–18).

LIKE A THIEF. Several passages of Scripture mention Christ coming “as a thief in the night”, but the context shows that this refers to his coming unannounced when the world is not expecting him. “If the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched…therefore be you also ready; for in an hour that you think not the Son of Man comes” (Matt. 24:43–44). Plainly Jesus refers to the time of his coming as being unknown, but certainly it will be known at the time it happens.

Peter says “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Pet. 3:10). All this, great noise and destruction of the earth, comes “as a thief”; but certainly not secretly.

ONE TAKEN, ONE LEFT. “Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left:” (Matt. 24:40–41, Luke 17:34–35). This says nothing of secrecy, but simply says that of the people living and working together one may be received by Christ for immortality and glory and the other left for destruction (II Pet. 3:7).

THE DEAD RISING FIRST. Writing of Christ coming in I Thess. 4:16–17, Paul says that “the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds…” Here Paul explains that the saints living when Christ comes will not precede those who have died in being caught up (“raptured”), because the dead shall first be resurrected, then all the saints, both those who had died, and those alive, shall be caught up with the Lord. After all the saints of all ages are caught up, then will come the destruction of all the ungodly (See II Pet. 3:4–13).

Revelation 20 speaks of “the first resurrection.” Every Christians is raised twice. In his baptism he is buried with Christ and raised with Him, too, to walk in a new life (Rom. 6:4), so that he is “raised with Him (Christ)” and “made alive together with Him” (Col. 2:12–13, cf., Eph. 2:5–6).

According to I Thess 4 Paul taught what will happen to saints when Christ comes, that they all, both dead and living, will be caught up to meet the Lord. Then on the next page, in II Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “When (at the time) he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints” the wicked will suffer His vengeance of flaming fire (II Thess. 1:4–10). Certainly Paul left no place nor time for the seven years tribulation nor one thousand years of Utopia.

CHRIST REIGNS. Christ is already reigning, having sat down on His Father’s throne, of which David’s throne was an earthly type (rev. 3:21, Heb. 12:22). He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18) and reigns “far above all rule, and authority, and power” (Eph. 1:20–23). The apostles preached that Christians are already translated into Christ’s Kingdom (Col. 1:13, Rom. 14:17) and look forward to a new body and a new creation (Rom. 8:23, II Peter 3:13). Christ Himself said that His kingdom was not of this world, and because He would not support the rulers of the Jews and their ambition for an earthly kingdom they became incensed and had him killed.

The ambition for a world kingdom, which began when they demanded of Samuel that he give them a king like the other nations, caused them to misinterpret the prophets concerning the Messiah. “The Jewish Encyclopedia” gives almost two columns to the “Millennium” and states that the idea “is older than the Christian Church; for the belief in a period of one thousand years at the end of time as a preliminary to the resurrection of the dead was held in Parsiism. This concept is expressed in Jewish literature…”(outside the Bible. Ed). It states that the idea went out of vogue in the 2nd century but was revived by the Montanists. It has been revived again in our day to support political Zionism.

Since all Christians recognize the fact that Christ is coming again, some will say, “What difference do the details make?” The answer is that one error leads to another, and the secret rapture idea is part of a host of errors.

For example, the two-stage theory of Christ’s return also leads to the “two-gospel” theory, that we are now to preach the “gospel of grace” but after the rapture Jewish evangelist will preach the “gospel of the Kingdom”. But the Bible teaches that there is ONE Gospel (Gal. 1:6–9) and that the gospel of grace IS the gospel of the kingdom (Acts 20:24–25).

The two-coming teaching also supports the idea that there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. Scripture teaches that they are one and the same kingdom (Matt. 19:23–24, etc.).

Worst of all, the teaching of two second comings of Christ divides the people of God into two classes or groups, with two gospels, two kingdoms and two plans of salvation. The Bible plainly teaches that Christ has broken down “the middle wall of partition” between Jew and Gentile, so that when either of them are in Christ, they are ONE in Christ regardless of race (Eph. 2:11–19).

To summarize, when Christ comes at the end of the world the righteous and the unrighteous shall be raised at the same time (John 5:28–29, Acts 24:15). Judgment shall ensue (II Thess. 1:4–10). This earth shall be burned up and dissolved (II Pet. 3). Christ will deliver the kingdom up to God (I Cor.15:23–3:10).

Now, TODAY, is the gospel age, the time for sinners to be saved (Matt. 28:20, John 8:21, Heb. 3:15, Rev. 22:12). When Christ comes there will be no further preparation. Therefore, watch and be ready!

I'm sure you can. Bottom line is its tragic and I think a testimony to spiritual immaturity when divisions and splits come of interpreting future events.

Jim 0216, I wasn't the one who split the Church up saying that the Jews are handled differently by God than this re-definition of "the Church". It is the Darby crowd that rejects millennia of orthodoxy and declares by fiat that "the church" doesn't have as its members Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah and the pre-Pentacost saints of God.

The body of Christ has been chugging along just fine having our long-time academic contests over the sacraments, soteriology, church government, ecclesiology, and numbers of angels dancing in confined spaces.

What is downright embarassing is having the Evangelicals looking at every earthquake, troop movement and political leader whose name can be creatively enumerated into 666 going on-line and claiming that this regurgitated pagan rite of beseeching the Oracle is somehow Christian, and is absolutely "prophesized in Scripture". So a generation ago, Gog was the Soviet Union, recently it is Iran, once it was considered the UK, now it is alternatively Turkey or Russia, depends on which Oracle you consult.

I truly appreciate and respect Star Traveler identifying this brand of teaching as within the domain of Evangelicalism. As long as Evangelicals recognize and admit that their teaching is way off the ranch in terms of millennia of orthodoxy, then y'all can do what you want.

I was sanctified out of Dispensationalism; the LORD, as promised to His Elect will surely do the same for others within His flock.

However, Jesus tells John that His revelation to John is about a timeline (Rev. 1:19). With care and the Holy Spirit's help, one can add the various "times” throughout the book to two divisions of 3 1/2 years each.

Hmmm...maybe, maybe not. Jesus told John that what is prophecied in the book was to happen shortly, however, our vision of time certainly isn't God time sense. Thousands of years is as a day, and a day is as thousands of years to God. A question: where in the book would each 3 1/2 years be separated?

then count forward from the "command to restore Jerusalem unto Messiah the prince" (when Jesus first came as Savoir) (Dan 9:25).

Hmmm....where is Messiah called the "prince"? I read it that the after Messiah is "cut off", i.e., crucified, not for himself, but for those whose sins are to be forgiven is one thing; but it is "the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary...". That prince is not Jesus, for he was already "cut of" in the first half of the week. The prince came 40 years later to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.

What about the seventieth week? Dan 9:27 reveals this last week and the broken covenant and abomination of the world ruler in the midst (halfway through) of the "week" (3 1/2 years). This maps exactly to 2 Thess 2:4 and more precisely to the events after Rev 11: 14 and in Matt 24:15-31 (the second 3 1/2 years - what Jesus called "the end").

Sorry, everything points to Jesus being "cut off" in the middle of the 70th week. Jesus confirmed the covenant for the full 70th week. 3 1/2 years during which he had his ministry, and 3 1/2 years under the ministry of the apostles to the Jews alone. Then Cornelius was converted and the New Covenant was fully in place - ALL who believed and obeyed the Gospel were added to the Kingdom proclaimed in the Gospel. That Kingdom is today being added to as people are converted to Christ from all the nations of the world.

What you say about Dan. 9:27 is chock full of esegesis, not exegesis. It's reading many things into it that are not said nor indicated. That's my take on what you said; sorry about that. Maybe you could expound on that paragraph to make it clearer?

Well, start with And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: Daniel 9:26a. As you said, this is Jesus crucified that comes at the end of sixty-nine weeks. Up to this point, only sixty-nine weeks are accounted for and the commensurate 493 years is historically accurate. (Again, this is how we know Daniel’s prophetic time: one week prophetic time equals seven actual years.)

What about the seventieth week (the last seven years)?

Start with the last part of Dan9:26(b), and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. As you point out this prince is not Jesus but the one who creates “desolations”, as Jesus referred to in Matt 24:15 (the “abomination of desolation”).

Now it starts to get precise: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: Dan 9:27a. I believe (and other scripture points to this) that this “prince” will make a “covenant” (non-aggression treaty) with Israel not unlike what Hitler did with England and Russia while he amassed the power he needed to eventually double cross and attack them.

Now the 3 ½ year split: and in the midst of the week (3 ½ years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Dan 9:27b. This “prince” (the same world ruler as that in Daniel 11:21-45) will after 3 ½ years set up “the abomination of desolation” (Matt 24:15 & Dan 11:31). Also referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:4: Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. This is “the beast” in Revelation.

Now I’ll ask you to do something:

1st 3 ½ years: read and see if you can’t map Matt 24:4-14 with Rev 6:1-14:16. Both begin with man’s deception (Jesus’ warning in Matt. and the false Messiah on the white horse in Rev. (interestingly many think this is Jesus but Jesus carries a sword not a bow)) and end with the gospel preached to all nations (Rev 14:6).

2nd 3 ½ years: read and see if you can’t map Matt 24:15-31 with Rev 11:14-19:21. Both begin with the world ruler tearing off his mask revealing himself to be the abomination of desolation in Matt. and Satan’s “beast” in Revelation (third woe and seventh trump) and end with the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory in Matt. and the heavens opening and the appearing of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-21).

There is overlap in the verses referenced in Revelation because the masterpiece of the tapestry the Holy Spirit paints here contains parenthetical imagery to give a perspective and background to what’s going on. May the Lord give us understanding to the Word He wrote.

God Bless.

Well, start with And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: Daniel 9:26a. As you said, this is Jesus crucified that comes at the end of sixty-nine weeks. Up to this point, only sixty-nine weeks are accounted for and the commensurate 493 years is historically accurate. (Again, this is how we know Daniel’s prophetic time: one week prophetic time equals seven actual years.)

Sorry, but right off that start you are mimicking the dispensational teachings of the Scofield Study Bible and the writings of all the "saints" of the dispensational viewpoint. Jesus is crucified in the midst of the week: that week is the 70th week of the prophecy. There is no "gap" between the 69th and 70th week, regardless of how many and who says so. Their exegesis is terrible, to say the least. BTW, I never said that Jesus was crucified at the end of the 69th week.

What about the seventieth week (the last seven years)? Start with the last part of Dan9:26(b), and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. As you point out this prince is not Jesus but the one who creates “desolations”, as Jesus referred to in Matt 24:15 (the “abomination of desolation”).

Absolutely. Messiah is not the Prince, and besides, if that was so, it would be the "people of the Prince" who would be the destroyers of Jerusalem and the temple; and that would be 40 years after the 70th week! The "abomination of desolation" is Jerusalem surrounded by the armies of Rome under Titus. See Luke 21:20-24, which is Luke's recording of Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24:15-25.

Now it starts to get precise: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: Dan 9:27a. I believe (and other scripture points to this) that this “prince” will make a “covenant” (non-aggression treaty) with Israel not unlike what Hitler did with England and Russia while he amassed the power he needed to eventually double cross and attack them.
Now the 3 ½ year split: and in the midst of the week (3 ½ years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Dan 9:27b. This “prince” (the same world ruler as that in Daniel 11:21-45) will after 3 ½ years set up “the abomination of desolation” (Matt 24:15 & Dan 11:31). Also referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:4: Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. This is “the beast” in Revelation.

Interesting, but IMHO, completely wrong. You are taking what the Messiah accomplished and crediting it to the Prince's people that would come. I will write another post to you with a much better explanation and exegesis of Daniel's 70th week. Give me until tomorrow to do so.

Now I’ll ask you to do something:
1st 3 ½ years: read and see if you can’t map Matt 24:4-14 with Rev 6:1-14:16. Both begin with man’s deception (Jesus’ warning in Matt. and the false Messiah on the white horse in Rev. (interestingly many think this is Jesus but Jesus carries a sword not a bow)) and end with the gospel preached to all nations (Rev 14:6).
2nd 3 ½ years: read and see if you can’t map Matt 24:15-31 with Rev 11:14-19:21. Both begin with the world ruler tearing off his mask revealing himself to be the abomination of desolation in Matt. and Satan’s “beast” in Revelation (third woe and seventh trump) and end with the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory in Matt. and the heavens opening and the appearing of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-21).

Sorry, I'll not be able to do what you ask, for it is impossible to do. Look for my post to you tomorrow.

Yes, there sure is overlap in all of the book of Revelation. And yes, "May the Lord give us understanding to the words He gave to John to write!" May the spirit of truth prevail for both of us. I really enjoyed your explanation, for it gave me a good insight into your thoughts on this issue. Watch for my post to you tomorrow, sometime during the day. It will take a little bit of time to write it, and I hope you will at the minimum consider what I'm going to say. God bless you in your study of His word in the Scriptures.

Nice strawman here, the most illustrative yet. Replacement theologians call it the "secret rapture" (none of us pre-trib rapturists call it that) and then use scripture to show there is nothing secret about it ... well duh; vapid analysis at best, dishonesty at worst.

The first article (The Promise to Abraham) is the perfect illustration of reading the NT back into the Old. Curtis cant go 1 paragraph without bringing some NT thought into a very straightforward promise to Abraham.

Lets explore the first few sentences from that article ...

God made a promise to Abraham: “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen.12:3). Later he repeated the promise, “because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:18). What of this promise? Was it fulfilled? Or is it yet to be realized in some material sense? Gross confusion prevails. The tragic result is that Christians look for a fulfillment which will not come, because they look for the wrong kind of promise. People keep getting this original promise to Abraham mixed up with the Law given to Moses and with the land of Canaan in which the Israelites established a nation.

The covenant to Abraham is separate from the Mosaic covenant, no one is getting the two mixed up, except perhaps Curtis.

But the promise to Abraham had nothing to do with the law nor with national Israel. Paul explained, “For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of Faith” (Rom. 4:13). Three things are revealed here: 1) That the promise has nothing to do with the law, 2) That it does have to do with inheriting the world, and not a mere fraction of it, and 3) The it is through faith, and not through racial descent. Jesus said that Abraham “rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56, cf. 8:44). Obviously Abraham understood that the promise that he was to be the father of many nations and that all families should be blessed through him was a promise concerning Christ and the salvation he would purchase for believers.

Again, notice how to the non-dispensationist, the interpretation of the OT text must be injected with the New Testament understanding of that text. Not only that, but Curtis has also missed the entire point of what Paul was saying in Romans, i.e., justification by faith alone. He just keys on the word "law," finds a NT passage that contains the word "law," and tries to harmonize the two passages.

The second highlighted section of Curtis' argument highlights what happens when you read the NT back into the Old ... you begin to insert ideas that are foreign to the text. There is nothing in the text of Genesis 12 or 17 that suggests that Abraham understood the covenant that God made with him as anything but a promise that he would be the father of a great nation and that nation would possess certain boundaries. Where in the text of Genesis 12 or 17 does it even remotely suggest that Abraham forsaw and understood that the covenant he made with God was really the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31?

My patience has run out reading this stuff. Perhaps we should just rejoice that our names are written in heaven.

I'm amazed that you put forth like you understand the Gospels and the rest of the writings of the NT. You are far from understanding the OT and the NT's explanation of the prophecies of the OT.
You are saying that Jesus and the writers of the NT were building strawman arguments by referencing the OT and applying it to what they said! Amazing, that's all I can say. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying that our analysis is vapid at best and dishonest at the worst!

The covenant to Abraham is separate from the Mosaic covenant, no one is getting the two mixed up, except perhaps Curtis.

More strawman argument from you. How do you face yourself in the morning? Curtis (which I agree with here) is not mixed up at all - it is you that is saying he is even though his words are plain enough in showing that he does not mix up the two promises as you say he does! Ridiculous! Don't you understand what you read, or are you just itching for an argument?

Curtis says: But the promise to Abraham had nothing to do with the law nor with national Israel. Paul explained, “For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of Faith” (Rom. 4:13). Three things are revealed here: 1) That the promise has nothing to do with the law, 2) That it does have to do with inheriting the world, and not a mere fraction of it, and 3) The it is through faith, and not through racial descent. Jesus said that Abraham “rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56, cf. 8:44). Obviously Abraham understood that the promise that he was to be the father of many nations and that all families should be blessed through him was a promise concerning Christ and the salvation he would purchase for believers.

Again, notice how to the non-dispensationist, the interpretation of the OT text must be injected with the New Testament understanding of that text.

You in effect are calling Jesus Himself a non-dispensationalist, which I agree with. After all, it was Jesus Himself that brought up Abraham, saying that "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56, and also read verses 57-58!). Apparently you don't believe Jesus Himself! He injected His take on Abraham - so, he is a strawman builder? Ridiculous!

Not only that, but Curtis has also missed the entire point of what Paul was saying in Romans, i.e., justification by faith alone. He just keys on the word "law," finds a NT passage that contains the word "law," and tries to harmonize the two passages.

FYI, Paul does not say by "faith alone". Read Rom. 4:9-5:1 and weep. Curtis is exactly right in what he said in that article! It's just like saying that belief requires obedience to the Gospel - a fact that was first espoused by Jesus Himself in the Gospel: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21). Keeping Christ's commandments is obedience, and if you believe in Him you love Him and the Father.

The second highlighted section of Curtis' argument highlights what happens when you read the NT back into the Old ... you begin to insert ideas that are foreign to the text.

Curtis' statement is right on. It's exactly what Paul was trying to get across to his readers - which you apparently aren't. Curtis is actually putting in different words what the Apostel Paul was saying about Abraham Where in the text of Genesis 12 or 17 does it even remotely suggest that Abraham forsaw and understood that the covenant he made with God was really the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31?

I doubt that Abraham saw and/or understood that Jeremiah was going to write about a New Covenant. Jesus said that Abraham “rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56, cf. 8:44). Is that too hard to understand? Is what Paul said also to hard for you to understand? If not, then Curtis is right and you seem to be looking for an argument based upon a speculative theology of dispensationalism.

My patience has run out reading this stuff. Perhaps we should just rejoice that our names are written in heaven.

My thoughts exactly on what you wrote :-)

“LIKE A THIEF. Several passages of Scripture mention Christ coming “as a thief in the night”

Right! As Jesus said, He would come as a thief comes to break into a house; one wouldn't know at what time that thief would come, so the owner of the house should be ready at all times. The return of Christ will be like a thief in the sense that we don't know when he will strike. We must watch at all times. But there is nothing in any of the thief passages to indicate that the event will be secret. See Mt. 24:43, 44; Luke 12:39, 40).
Instead of teching that Christ would return in a secret coming in the dead of the night, Jesus actually warned against this concept: See Mt. 24:23, 26, 27). In Mt. 24 Jesus stressed that men will not know the day or hour of his coming (v. 36). It will be like the days of Noah when people were eating, drinking and getting married, not expecting destruction to fall. They "knew not UNTIL the flood came and took tham all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (v. 36). The wicked didn't know util the flood came - but, it is very obvious that when it came they knew it! It was no secret event; it was observed by believeres and unbelievers (although it was only Noah's family that were the believers!).

There is no 2-stage coming, merely 2 types of people. Those who are ready.......and those who are not.

Exactly!

I wouldn't know, I've never studied any of that stuff and frankly couldn't care less what any of them say or don't say.

Amazing! You never studied the dispensationalist theory, yet mimick what they teach? Get real, what you said goes right along with what they say.

I said: "Jesus is crucified in the midst of the week: that week is the 70th week of the prophecy."

Come on Ken - an assertion without scriptural evidence and consistency is not really a valid argument.

"And AFTER threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be CUT OFF, but not for himself (FOR US!);" Dan. 9:26a

While Christians generally agree in the belief that the "seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks", that is, 69 weeks (483 years) MEASURED to the time of Christ, they don't all agree concerning the final week of the prophecy - the 70th week!

Dispensationalist insert a huge GAP of time (2000+ years) between the 69th and 70th week. We who believe that the whole 70 weeks are fulfilled also believe that 70 follows 69 in logical sequence.

Dispensationalists, and other futurist groups for the most part, say that the 70th week refers to the ANTICHRIST who will MAKE a covenant with the Jews, and after 3 1/2 years will BREAK that covenant. The fulfilled 70th week is just the opposite: the Messiah CONFIRMS the covenant that the Jews were under for the full 70th week. In the "midst of the (70th) week Messaih will be "cut off" - a word that means to be murdered or killed. Jeus confirmed the covenant during his ministry of 3 1/2 years, and the apostles continued to confirm it for another 3 1/2 years - only to the Jews, for Christ came to save the lost sheep of Israel. Then Cornelius was converted and the Gospel was extended to ALL men.

Enough! I'm going to write a real clear exegesis on Daniel's 70 week later today. I'll ping you to it when I post it. Look for it.

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