Jesus is able to come with the alive and remaining saints are 'caught up together with them' (the resurrected former dead in Christ) 'to meet the Lord in the air. You act as if Jesus coming with the saints is some kind of problem with the default, straightforward interpretations of either post-trib or historical premil viewpoints.... viewpoints that do not interject an extra coming of Jesus with no evidence at all into scripture interpretations. It isn't a problem. Back up and think of whatever perspective you are arguing about instead of eisegeting pretrib into passages where there is no problem with it.
Also, in Matthew 24, after the tribulation, the angels gather the elect from one end of heaven (horizon) to the other.
QUOTE
"Now compare to
II Thessalonians 2:8
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming"
Fits pretrib like a glove.
The second coming event has that action going on
Answer the issue I put to you. Why would the parousia, the coming, in II Thessaonians 2:1 passage... the same passage... clearly the same topic he's discussing in the later verses if you read the flow of argument.... why would that parousia be different from the one in verse 8?
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
See the topic here clearly laid out. Verse 8 is still in this section... concerning that coming... the coming in which we are gathered to Him.
Do you disagree that this is the rapture.....
At that coming in verse 8, the wicked one is destroyed. Revelation sets that in chapter 19, the chapter of the wedding supper of the Lamb anouncment... then boom, the second coming passage (as we both interpret it to be).... the beast and false prophet thrown into the lack of fire in this passage, going on into chapter 20, it explains about the FIRST resurrection.
And FIRST resurrection means there is no mass resurrection of the dead in Christ seven years before at the parousia, because the parousia is happening right there in Revelation 20. That IS a contradiction to your pre-trib view. The Lord returning with His saints/holy ones is not, because we go up to meet Him in the air when He comes. Pretrib just has Christ start to come back and return for 7 years.... where is the Bible to back that up. Where's it at? That doesn't deserve to be the 'default' view if there is no Bible to back it up.
So are you playing the role of a sneaky dealer at a poker table who has a card up his sleeve. I don't 'see that' about the wife being in heaven. That's not there. There is the anouncement that now it's time for the wedding... and He comes down. I Thessalonians shows that the saints meet the Lord in the air. I know a lot of pretribbers say there will be a seven year wedding feast in heaven, but here the feast is announced right before the second coming passage.
Pretribbers can have all kinds of stuff--- Jewish traditions that they might actually read about from other pretribbers, if there is every any historical source for it... making stuff up like pretending the passage says the wedding happens 'in heaven.' The issue is... where does the scripture back it up? And what about the contradictions with scripture.
e.g.
1. II Thessalonians 1 putting Jesus coming to execute wrath on them that believe not at the same time He comes back giving the church rest.
2. II Thessalonians 1 showing us the 'gathering' is at the parousia, and the destruction of the wicked one is at the parousia, in the very same passage.
3. The 'first resurrection' is write there in the Second Coming passage in Revelation 19-20 not seven years before.
4. Lots of verses pretribbers like to use about the coming of Jesus being set _after_ the tribulation in Matthew 24.
And on top of that, there is no scripture that actually lays out a pretrib rapture. It's tenuous arguments about not being appointed unto wrath, allegories about Jewish wedding feasts and other eisegesis.
Do you really believe you made any kind of point at all? What are you accusing me of 'omitting'. I didn't quote the entire Bible, and I didn't quote that verse that time. But there isn't anything in the passage that contradicts what I am saying. Up until the flood, people married and gave in marriage. Up until the coming of the Son of man, people marry and give in marriage. BEFORE the flood and BEFORE the coming of the Son of man. That's fine. Whose eschatology does that contradict?
The contradiction is with the passage setting the coming of the Son of man after the tribulation, and pre-tribbers trying to read their two parousia theory in without any evidence, and just assuming different verses refer to different time periods off of their end times chart, when there isn't any evidence for two time periods in the passage.
Then why bring it up? How many raptures do you believe in?
Then prove it. Where have you shown any evidence at all for it in all of our conversation? Show evidence and explain it. Don't just quote a verse that doesn't offer any proof of pretrib and assume we read in the same ideas you do... without even explaining your reasoning.
If that is wrong, show me where the Bible teaches two parousia events. If it does, you should have some actual scripture to back it up. Like, show me where the sequence is laid out. Show me where the rapture shows up in Revelation. Show me in Thessalonians. Show me that it is separate from the second coming.
Why does Paul treat the coming of Jesus at the 'gathering' as the same event as the coming where the man of sin is destroyed in II Thessalonians 2. Why don't you (or can't you?) even try to deal with that issue in one of your posts?
[/QUOTE]
QUOTE
"So are you playing the role of a sneaky dealer at a poker table who has a card up his sleeve. I don't 'see that' about the wife being in heaven. That's not there. There is the anouncement that now it's time for the wedding... and He comes down. I Thessalonians shows that the saints meet the Lord in the air. I know a lot of pretribbers say there will be a seven year wedding feast in heaven, but here the feast is announced right before the second coming passage."
Re read it
Rev 19
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
(SAINTS IN HEAVEN DURING THE TRIB)
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
Huh?...ALL his servants, both small and great? In heaven ?
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
( the pretrib raptured church in heaven..check)
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
( bride is now called the wife in heaven)
Authenticated by mat 25...10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut"
Even you admitted the bride went to the grooms house.
Authenticated also here;
Mat 26
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
Jesus also said " In my father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. That where I am you may be also
Now remember the postrib invented uturn?
Ahem...they never see heaven, supposedly.
Remember, they redo mat 25 to infer the bride does the uturn , not the groom, back to her house (earth). (Inverted for doctrine sake)
Once you see the 3 comings.(2 of them only to the clouds)
..and what rev 14 actually says.
...and that the rapture is the gathering of the bride.
...and the PURPOSE of the gt.
...and the 144,000 firstfruits are who the bible says.
...and romans vivid depiction of the covenant Jews, ASIDE FROM the church, GRAFTED BACK IN.
Once you see that....you will be glad...and run from postrib rapture misalignment.
Postrib rapture doctrine has NOTHING of what I just posted.