| No Pre-tribulation of the Church | | Posted by William on Monday, March 1, 2010 at 12:55am | An article entitled "The Footsteps of the Messiah" was published giving 11 reasons why there is a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. This blog will answer them one-by-one.
1. Using John 14:1-4, the writer of Footsteps claims that when Jesus said to His disciples that He would "come again" to "receive you to Myself" He meant to take them to heaven. However, Jesus is speaking to HIs disciples while on earth and from that vantage point He says, "I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." As He came to the earth at His first coming, so too will He return to the earth when He "comes again" (see Acts 1:9-11).
2. Using 1 Thess. 4:13-18, the writer of Footsteps says that this scriptural reference is limited to the New Testament saints because it says "....the dead in Christ shall rise...." and that "....the Old Testament saints will not be resurrected at this time." This is false exegesis. It is based on the false assumption that Israel and the Church are - and will always remain - two separate people of God. It also wrongly assumes that the O.T. saints were saved apart from Christ, which is pure heresy. See Luke 9:30,31,33; Mark 12:26,27; John 8:56; Heb. 11:24-27; 1 Cor. 10:1-4; Eph. 2;11-22; 1 Pet. 1:10,11; Gen. 15:6; Gal. 4:28,29; Num. 11:16,17,25; Num. 27:18.
3. Again using 1 Thess. 4:16,17, the writer of Footsteps quoting, "....to meet the Lord in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord" claims it means that we will then return with Christ to heaven. But, why does the Lord need to "....descend from heaven" in order to call His saints to heaven (especially when it is considered a "secret" rapture) if that is where they are going? Why not just call them from heaven.....unless His voice is not strong enough? He descends from heaven because His destination is earth (see Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27.
We will continue responding to "The Footsteps of the Messiah" in a future blog. (Got other things that need doing) | | | | | More Dispensational Errors | | Posted by William on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 1:05pm | | Regarding the rapture, Dispensationalism believes that there will be effectively two second comings of Christ. First, Christ will come FOR His church, and then, after the great tribulation, He will come WITH His people (Jews and Gentiles already in heaven and simultaneously rapturing the believers on earth). Unfortunately, the Bible teaches only ONE second coming of Christ and that AFTER the great tribulation (1 Thess. 4:16,17; 2 Thess. 2:8; Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; 1 Cor. 15:51-53). So, dear church members, look not for a so-called "secret rapture" to take you to heaven before the great tribulation. It's not going to happen. If the great tribulation occurs while you are still alive, plan on going through it. | | | | | Israel's Future | | Posted by William on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 8:13pm | As a THEOCRATIC nation, Israel ended in AD 70 under the Roman general Titus who destroyed the nation and killed a million Jews in the process. Jesus spoke of this occurrence in Matt. 23:37 - 24:2. Moreover, Zech. 13:7-9 speaks sequentially of Calvary, AD 70, the current church age, and the second coming of Christ. What we currently have in the land of Palestine is secular Israel, better identified as Zionism.
At the second coming of Christ the generation of Jews then alive will recognize Christ as their Messiah (Rom. 11:25-28; Zech. 12:10). In the meantime, the Jew and the Gentile stand equally before God, each requiring a personal faith in Christ as their Savior for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. | | | | | Additional Reasons Delaying the Second Coming of Christ | | Posted by William on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 6:32pm | Dispensationalists (the "Left Behind" book series) want us to believe that Christ could come again at any time now. I (and the Bible) disagree. Here are some additional reasons (events) delaying the second coming of Christ:
1) "The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themserlves to sound them" (Rev. 8:6 - 9:21). None of the trumpets have sounded.
2) "And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve-hundred-and-sixty days clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11:3). Not only have they not prophesied, they have not yet even appeared.
3) "I saw a beast (Antichrist) coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads.....and the dragon (Satan) gave him his power and his throne and great authority" (Rev. 13:1,2). In Revelation, the "sea" represents the great mass of people. Moreover, Antichrist is elsewhere presented as an actual person. He has not yet appeared.
4) "I saw another beast (false prophet) coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon" (Rev. 13:11). The primary duty of the false prophet is to get the world to worship Antichrist. He has not yet appeared.
There are yet other reasons, but these four will help you see why Christ will not be coming "at any time now." Remember, Jesus did not say that we Christians would have no idea of when He was going to return. Rather, He said that we would not know "that day and hour" (Matt. 24:36). Remember also that Jesus gave us lots of events to look for preceding and leading up to His second coming (Matt. 24, Luke 21, and, of course, Revelation).
| | | | | Synagogue of Satan | | Posted by William on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 7:46pm | | In Rev. 2:9 while exhorting the church in Smyrna, Jesus made mention of a synagogue of Satan. What did He mean? In 586 B.C., the Jews were taken into captivity to Babylon, and the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. During the 70 year Babylonian captivity, synagogues were developed as the new, local place of worship. In Rev. 2:9 (and again in Rev. 3:9, exhorting the church in Philadelphia), Jesus speaks of the synagogue of Satan. He is referring to the Jews who had rejected Him as their Messiah and been hostile to the Christian church. As such they are Jews ethnically but not religiously (see Rom. 2:28,29). Not being of the Lord and being hostile towards Him, they are thus a synagogue of Satan. | | | |
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