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Of course, Christ can do things any way He pleases, and if He chooses to remove His church from the world in a separate event prior to His return, He will. I do not, however, subscribe to the 'rapture' doctrine. There are three reasons for my position on this subject.
1) Although there is ample mention of Christ's return in glory in the Scriptures, the passages on which to build a 'rapture' doctrine are few, and open to debate.
2) The doctrine of the 'rapture' has arisen only in the last 150 years. No one in the New Testament church, none of the early church fathers, in fact no one in the church until the mid-nineteenth century had this belief, nor found it necessitated by the words of the text.
3) The idea of a 'rapture' (especially the pre-trib version of it) is, on a psychological level, pleasant and convenient. To be whisked away from the world just prior to the horrible hardships and devastation mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere would be a blessing, without doubt. But when in the past has God spared His church from hardship and persecution on a large scale? Rather, it seems to be an aspect of His economy to allow us to experience these things in order to refine us and to bring glory to His name. In short, I suspect that belief in the 'rapture' is often a result of wishful thinking and not of careful Bible study or a knowledge of church history.
*Daddycat braces himself for an inundation of disagreement
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1) Although there is ample mention of Christ's return in glory in the Scriptures, the passages on which to build a 'rapture' doctrine are few, and open to debate.
2) The doctrine of the 'rapture' has arisen only in the last 150 years. No one in the New Testament church, none of the early church fathers, in fact no one in the church until the mid-nineteenth century had this belief, nor found it necessitated by the words of the text.
3) The idea of a 'rapture' (especially the pre-trib version of it) is, on a psychological level, pleasant and convenient. To be whisked away from the world just prior to the horrible hardships and devastation mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere would be a blessing, without doubt. But when in the past has God spared His church from hardship and persecution on a large scale? Rather, it seems to be an aspect of His economy to allow us to experience these things in order to refine us and to bring glory to His name. In short, I suspect that belief in the 'rapture' is often a result of wishful thinking and not of careful Bible study or a knowledge of church history.
*Daddycat braces himself for an inundation of disagreement
*Attachments
O
Of course, Christ can do things any way He pleases, and if He chooses to remove His church from the world in a separate event prior to His return, He will. I do not, however, subscribe to the 'rapture' doctrine. There are three reasons for my position on this subject.
1) Although there is ample mention of Christ's return in glory in the Scriptures, the passages on which to build a 'rapture' doctrine are few, and open to debate.
2) The doctrine of the 'rapture' has arisen only in the last 150 years. No one in the New Testament church, none of the early church fathers, in fact no one in the church until the mid-nineteenth century had this belief, nor found it necessitated by the words of the text.
3) The idea of a 'rapture' (especially the pre-trib version of it) is, on a psychological level, pleasant and convenient. To be whisked away from the world just prior to the horrible hardships and devastation mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere would be a blessing, without doubt. But when in the past has God spared His church from hardship and persecution on a large scale? Rather, it seems to be an aspect of His economy to allow us to experience these things in order to refine us and to bring glory to His name. In short, I suspect that belief in the 'rapture' is often a result of wishful thinking and not of careful Bible study or a knowledge of church history.
*Daddycat braces himself for an inundation of disagreement*
1) Although there is ample mention of Christ's return in glory in the Scriptures, the passages on which to build a 'rapture' doctrine are few, and open to debate.
2) The doctrine of the 'rapture' has arisen only in the last 150 years. No one in the New Testament church, none of the early church fathers, in fact no one in the church until the mid-nineteenth century had this belief, nor found it necessitated by the words of the text.
3) The idea of a 'rapture' (especially the pre-trib version of it) is, on a psychological level, pleasant and convenient. To be whisked away from the world just prior to the horrible hardships and devastation mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere would be a blessing, without doubt. But when in the past has God spared His church from hardship and persecution on a large scale? Rather, it seems to be an aspect of His economy to allow us to experience these things in order to refine us and to bring glory to His name. In short, I suspect that belief in the 'rapture' is often a result of wishful thinking and not of careful Bible study or a knowledge of church history.
*Daddycat braces himself for an inundation of disagreement
*
O
Well so far we have 6 pre or before the tribulation, 1 mid or in the middle of the tribulation, 2 post or after the tribulation, and 2 other. The Bible teaches that Jesus returns to gather us together to Himself after the Tribulation,so the posttrib view comes from scripture. Where the pretrib or midtrib views come from I do not know, some person must have made it up.
O
The Bible.
Matthew 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
O
Mark 13:24-27
24 But in those days, after this tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then he shall send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
24 But in those days, after this tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
26 And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then he shall send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
I guess I'm an agnostic when it comes to that distinction. I don't know what I think. I do think far too much mental energy is burned up over this when it's much more important to be 'ready' and do the things He left for us to do. I'd like to see the Biblical support for a 'posttrib rapture' which incontrovertibly posits it as a separate and distinct event from Christ's return. I'm willing to be shown.
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