Posted on 07/26/2019 3:04:17 AM PDT by Cronos
"This doctrine is not really found in the book of Revelation. If you read the book of Revelation, you won't find any mention of the rapture there," said William Craig, ResearchProfessor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Houston Baptist University. .. Instead, Craig says, the idea of the rapture comes from a "misinterpretation of 1 and 2 Thessalonians where Paul is describing the coming of the Lord and resurrection of the dead, which will occur at His coming."
"If you compare what Paul says there to what Jesus says about the End Times, Paul uses the same vocabulary, the same phraseology. I think it's very plausible that Paul is talking about the same event that Jesus predicted, namely the visible coming of the Son of Man at the end of human history to usher in his kingdom,but proponents of the rapture view, say that Paul is not at all talking about the second coming of the Christ there. What he's really talking about is this invisible preliminary secret return of Christ to snatch believers out of the world before the great tribulation occurs. I think there's no textual warrant for that at all."
According to Craig, the rapture became a popular theory about the End Times due to the influence of the Scofield Reference Bible, which was published in the early 20th century and promulgated John Darby's mid-18th century's views on the rapture.
"A good many Bible-believing Christians absorbed this view as their mother's milk as it were and have never thought to question its Biblical credentials,"
"It is astonishing, American evangelism is very widely misled, that it has departed from the historic Christian position about the second coming of Christ. That's really rather sobering, because if we're wrong about this, what other things might we have misinterpreted?"
(Excerpt) Read more at christianpost.com ...
What Effect Did the Council of Nicea Have on Determining What Books Belonged in the Bible?
There have been accusations that the council of Nicea had a tremendous effect on both choosing what books should be in the Bible and changing some of the doctrines that the church held before that time.
The council of Nicea met in A.D. 323 to discuss how Jesus Christ was related to God. There were some in the church, led by Arius of Alexandria, who denied that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity. In order to answer these issues, the church had to make a pronouncement about which books authoritative doctrine could be based on.
The council of Nicea did not meet to discuss which books belonged in the New Testament canon. It only recognized the books that the church had from the beginning considered to be the Word of God.
THE ABOVE BEING SAID: I believe certain books were rejected at Nicea because they were not considered canonical (enough). The Gospel of Thomas is one that I seem to recall. And as I recall Revelation was a close call.
So I guess the Apostle John writing about the revelations he received directly from Jesus Christ and was COMMANDED by Jesus to write down wouldn't qualify as Divinely revealed Holy Scripture according to you? JFTR...the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was recognized and accepted as Divinely-inspired sacred Scripture long before the council of Nicea even mentioned the canon. Scripture is received and believed by Christians as God-given because of its intrinsic authority AS Divinely revealed rather than based upon any man's personal thoughts or interpretations. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved/carried along by the Holy Spirit. That is why it has authority.
Did he forget about verse 19, Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter."? The reason I ask is that there are a bunch of things prophesied in Revelation that have NOT happened yet. So, yeah, it has been thousands of years since Jesus spoke through the Apostle John telling him of those things that would come to pass. Things are yet to happen.
well said
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.Thomas chimes in: Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?
Jesus answers Thomas with: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.
So it is Jesus Who began the notion of the Rapture, the removal of His Believers to The Father's House with JESUS. He continued to reveal the DOCTRINE with His servant, Paul.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
I don't know about the false teacher of this thread, but I don't find it comforting to be told Jesus will come raise me from the dead, or transform my alive self into a glorifed being only to drop me into the middle of the bloodiest time in human History at the end of the Tribulation period. And as Jesus Promised, He will return from gathering us up to the Father's House in the Third Heaven. That gathering happens into the clouds, the first heaven, not upon the planet surface.
The only thing "secret" about the Rapture is:
satan is getting antsy, apparently. Because the not so secret Rapture is looming just ahead? There are dead souls even in the hierarchy of the Baptists, not just in Catholicism or Lutheranism or Presbyterianism or ... well, you get the gist.
That is a lie ... and you better realize it quickly.
And THAT is an even greater LIE! Who is it that stands at The Door, IS The Door, and Who is the Good Shepard, and the Gate to the sheepfold? Satan is busy tonight!
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
5Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Paul gave us a glimpse into that ‘mystery of the gospel’ in I Corinthians 15: 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
*******51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,******
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Paul made not one hint of what some make of a rapture doctrine.
LOL, you can’t even pluck out of context passages to undergird your false assertion! The Rapture removal of ALL BELIEVERS who are In Christ is a purposed rescue mission, silly. Read 1 Thess 1:10.
Amen! Well stated.
Is anyone else noticing that RCs are mocking a doctrinal point that “developed” over time? Christians who believe in the Rapture didn’t just come up with the idea out of whole cloth (unlike several Roman Catholic ones I can think of) but through a careful study of ALL of God’s word, observing how God has dealt with man through the ages and recognizing the times and seasons in the world. We believe this because we see that it was taught by Jesus and the Apostles to the early Christians. It is based upon ACTUAL Scripture passages and fits with the eschatological teachings of the Old Testament prophets. We can certainly look around us and see that many of the events foretold have yet to happen. Now, either people can write them all off as allegories - and wrestle with the explanation of WHAT they were allegorical about - or they can accept events as literal - some that HAVE already happened and some that are still to come. It’s been stated repeatedly that this is NOT a salvific issue but could be seen as what Paul termed a “disputable matter”. We have liberty to agree to disagree about minor things but we shouldn’t forget that in ALL things we are told to show one another respect and love. I’m trying.
Forgot to ping you to above post.
From the "church" that brought the world the concept of *development of doctrine*.
Beyond ironic.
You asserted,”One must need ignore 99.9% of the volume of the book to take on a doctrine of flying away to save souls.” IF you ever actually study the Word of God, you will PERHAPS come to realize what a foolish sentence you have asserted.
And without an alive spirit you will continue to miss apply the teaching of Jesus. You could start to fix that blindness though, by simply applying sound study, starting with to whom Jesus spoke the words in passages, and the relevance to them and if so also to us. Many things Jesus taught were given in parables, because Jesus was not revealing openly to a people who wanted signs and wonders rather than the spiritual truth. When His disciples asked why He began speaking in parables, do you know what Jesus said in reply? Can to think of scenes where He spoke frankly, not in parables and to whom and why? Give it a try, study to show thyself approved a workman not just a random verse generator.
Any difference is only in degree not kind. The point still holds. Besides, John, in Revelation, says the tribulation had already started at the time he was writing.
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