Pre Tribulation Rapture

Issues Addressed

Hi all, glad you could join me in this, and I hope you read the Rapture study I did.  While on one hand I believe that these issues are highly over emphasized and too much time is spent on them, I think it is of utmost importance for me to spend time to prepare people for the worst case scenario and it is of utmost importance that people get out their own Bibles and read them.  Many people don't read for a whole host of excuses, I don't get anything out of it, I don't understand it, I don't know how to interpret it, etc.  These are excuses, and nothing more.  READ your Bible!  You will begin to understand it, if you read and nothing soaks in, well... as Erwin Lutzer said, water through a siv will cleanse it.  Pray for understanding before you read. Read a few chapters, if the book you are reading isn't doing anything for you or isn't speaking to you, find another book.  You will find something that will seem to be speaking right at you. You may go through a dry spell, don't give up, continue reading anyway, the gate will open up again and the waters will flow.

That being said, I want to address some of the issues that are directly from the pre trib camp.  I was born and raised a Baptist, and came from a long line of Baptist ministers.  This does not give me a lock on understanding, nor does it give me a lock on salvation, I am a sinner like everyone else, and I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior just as many others have, and I like to spend my time seeking Him like a lost treasure just as everyone else should.  Being Baptist, I was taught the Pre-tribulation point of view, and it was our accepted belief, HOWEVER... As I began to look at scripture I began to realize that much of what makes up the pre-tribulation interpretation is wishful thinking, a lack of understanding God's plan, and a lot of presumption, but it is not written in the book.  If you have read my pre-tribulation topic study you will see repeatedly that even the verses that are used to express Pre-tribulation rapture state the time as being at the sound of the last trump, or at the end of the tribulation.  Proper Theology is very important, but when we begin to add new data because we don't know what was meant, or make our own interpretations to fit a scenario because we don't know God's plan, becomes a scary issue.

2000 years ago when Jesus came to the earth, the Jewish leaders had already done this very same thing.  They had Mens interpretation of what the Messiah was going to be like, even at the ignoring of a small verse that clearly stood against their desires.  They too wanted to hear and believe a seductive spirit that said Messiah would come and rescue them from harm and rule the world as their King, but they were wrong, and we should pay close attention to those little verses and sentences that literally tell us when, as opposed to saying to ourselves, well he can't come back at the end because if He did, who would be left to repopulate the earth?  That is not our question to ask or decision to make, God will place whom He desires in His own way and in His own time, and when He tells us a sign of His return we should listen to that word, and not make suppositions of our own.

Pretrib is Antithetical

(in my honest opinion)

The pretribulation stands in direct opposition of what were have been taught through Jesus, the prophets, and the main theme of the Bible, and that is FAITH..  Jesus Himself seemed to get a bit frustrated at times, telling people, "Unless you see miracles you will not believe". The entire basis of our salvation through Christ is that we accept Gods plan of salvation through His Son Jesus on faith.  If millions of people disappeared out of the blue, with no apparent explanation, who would be left that wouldn't believe?  A few die hards maybe, but the Majority of the U.S. would certainly turn their heads, and such an event would certainly get peoples attention.  The question of faith would be diminished, Gods purpose for election would become adulterated as people who would not otherwise have believed would suddenly change camps because now they believe.

We have been separated from the spiritual world to be tested and refined.  To learn of repentance and to pray for it, to learn of Gods will, and to pray for it.  The sudden zapping of millions around the world would reduce that separation because suddenly everyone in the whole world would be affected by the supernatural event.

I honestly believe that Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins with intent specifically focused on the end times, and His second coming, after all HE IS the Bridegroom. His desire is for all the saints to be prepared for a delay, perhaps He even used this parable knowing in advance that a theory would develop of a pretrib rapture, after all God does know the end of all things and just as He knew the people of Israel would be looking for a King who would protect them from harm, He knew the new adopted branch would also be looking for protection from harm, but I believe He is telling us, fill your lamps, bring extra oil, and be prepared to wait into the darkness for the coming of the Bridegroom.  Don't find yourself searching for answers when He arrives because the door will be shut once, and it will not open again for those searching for oil.

Dan Dunkin