All good. The real point I was making is the different Rapture types are just speculations, because there is nothing that specifically states it.
Here (in the bold ^ ) is where I disagree... and this is what many of my posts are covering... where Scripture itself shows this.
Paul speaks of the event (we call "Rapture") something like 8-10 times in his two epistles to the Thessalonians...
...and in 2Th2 is where he is stating the
SEQUENCE (
how the one event [our
episynagoges UNTO HIM]
"fits" IN RELATION [time/sequence-wise] TO the other thing [the time-period of JUDGMENTS which will unfold
upon the earth over the course of some time, and which
earthly time-period will involve "the man of sin" and ALL he
will DO over the course of same (time-period)]...
...and this agrees with the
SAME SEQUENCE Paul had spoken of
in the first epistle, when he also points out that they "know perfectly" that the DOTL ARRIVES...
like the INITIAL "birth PANG [
SINGULAR]," one that Jesus had also ALREADY spoken of (namely in Matt24:
4/Mk13:
5 "
G5100 - tis - 'A CERTAIN ONE' ['a certain one'
bringing deception]"--and note that "the beginning of birth PANG
S [PLURAL]," Jesus spoke of,
are equivalent to the SEALS in Rev6 at the
START of the future, specific,
limited time period: what we call the 7-yr trib], when Jesus will "
STAND to JUDGE" [Isa3:13, Rev5:6 (Lam2:3-4
=2Th2:7b-8
a;9
a "whose COMING"[parallel Dan9:27a[26b "prince THAT SHALL COME" / "FOR ONE WEEK [7 yrs]"), etc])
Therefore arguing over the different kinds and name calling each other (calling people false teachers for having a different theory unless it is explicitly stated in the Bible)
I believe it is... but the problem enters with poor interpretation via ignoring grammar, biblical-definitions, sequence-words/timing-words, incorrectly equating distinct items, etc... all of which are very commonly done with this 2Th2 passage, thus missing what Paul is actually conveying here (which has to do with the SEQUENCE of when the ONE ITEM [a specific noun-event] "fits" IN RELATION TO the OTHER ITEM [a time-period which will unfold upon the earth FOLLOWING that specific noun-event
])
is an exercise in division, because our Unity is in Christ.
How many times, when your pastor covers a topic from the pulpit that not everyone is
in agreement about (because, say, some ppl are new Christians and/or have perhaps
previously been mis-informed regarding said Subject), do we pipe up from our pews to say, "SILENCE, PASTOR! You are causing DIVISION! Can't you see that
not everyone [yet] sees it AS YOU DO?! PLZ
change your SUBJECT till ALL are IN AGREEMENT on that Subject!! [
!!!]" No. I would hope we would "examine/search the scriptures, to see whether these things are so," would we not?? And then if we find it to be the case that he is correct, to adjust our thinking to be in alignment to what we
now can see Scripture itself indeed reveals/shows, but which we hadn't seen before he pointed out and "explained".
It's kind of like trying to predict what play is going to happen to win the Super Bowl and fighting over the different theories built on clues.
I would say, no... it's more like reading a script from a play that is yet to be performed (played out), and seeking to "understand it" (via prayer and diligent study) and simply "believing" that "what IS WRITTEN" will come to pass exactly "AS WRITTEN". (Not that we have to "understand" all of prophecy in order to be a part in the Rapture, mind you. No.)
Kind of pointless, because no matter what we predict it's going to happen as God has decided it will, not us.
It will happen as He has willed... and He has disclosed in His Word a great deal of info on that Subject (much more than we commonly acknowledge). In fact, it is ABUNDANT.
I think that's the point I was trying to get across.
Thanks for your thoughts. I think I understand what you meant. = )
1
