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To: PieterCasparzen

The rapture question is a bit different than what the article is dealing with, but I would argue that Paul clearly said in 1st Thessalonians that God will deliver the saints (1:10; 5:9) from the wrath to come (5:1-8) and the great day of the Lord. How will this be done? Well, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 specifically and contextually explains exactly how - through the rapture of the church. This is then followed up by 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8, “ For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you (in church age Thessalonians are being persecuted), and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well (how relieved? - 1 Thess 4:13-18) when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire (Revelation 6-19), dealing out retribution to those who do not know God (unbelievers) and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (tribulation is not for the church).” Paul has already made the rapture clear before he talks about the Antichrist and the Satanic activities during the Great Tribulation in 2 Thessalonians 2. Some have even taught that the “apostasy” of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is the rapture, because the word simply means in its most basic sense “departure,” which would fit in very well with the context of 1-2 Thessalonians since these two letters were written very close to each other.


13 posted on 01/15/2014 8:19:56 AM PST by Olympiad Fisherman
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To: Olympiad Fisherman

This is way, way, way, off.

1 Thess 1:10

“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

Does not say that Christians will be raptured away. It does agree with the doctrine of Judgement Day, since the elect will have the benefit of Christ’s atonement and thus be saved from eternal wrath.

1 Thess 4:13-18 is not about rapturing anyone away.

Such blatantly wrong exegesis is wishful thinking nonsense, stubbornly not giving up on something the interpretor wants to be true.

The “rapture” teaching and dispensationalism was in no way accepted by the majority of Reformed theologians.

Arguably the best summarization of Reformed doctrine is in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and is the text to go to for an overview of Reformed Biblical doctrine.


16 posted on 01/15/2014 9:18:30 AM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
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