Category Archives: Eschatology

Reviewing Five Rapture Positions, Part 1

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The rapture of the church is not an incidental but a fundamental doctrine of the New Testament. It is the greatest hope that Christ gave to the church. The biblical writers speak of it as a blessed hope (Tit 2:13), a purifying hope (1 Thess 4:18), a comforting hope (1 Thess 4:18) and a sure hope (2 Pet. 1:19). Since there is much confusion among Christians concerning the rapture, the following study should be helpful in clarifying the subject. This article will briefly examine five views regarding the rapture, including each position, its proponents, supposed proofs, and any problems associated with each view.

The Relationship of Resurrection to Judgment

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It is not my intention to discuss all of the judgments that I believe Scripture describes. Nor is it my purpose to defend premillennialism, which is the belief that Christ will return to resurrect and glorify His saints and then set up a one thousand-year reign upon the earth. This article assumes that the premillennial view is correct. Premillennialism necessarily teaches two future resurrections—the resurrection of believers before the one thousand-year kingdom, and the resurrection of unbelievers following that kingdom. In this article I will demonstrate the inconsistency of affirming premillennialism, with its two distinct resurrections, while also affirming that there will be only one general judgment during which all humanity will stand and be judged.

Prewrath Rapturism and the Day of Lord in the New Testament

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The previous Faith Pulpit surveyed and analyzed three key Old Testament passages that the Prewrath Rapture View uses to support its understanding for the starting time (terminus a quo) for the Day of the Lord. This article will survey the key New Testament passages that are used by the Prewrath advocates, primarily Marvin J. Rosenthal and Robert D. Van Kampen.1 Matthew 24:36-39 The Prewrath argument from this passage is that the event described is the rapture, which follows the shortened tribulation period mentioned in verses 22 and 29.

Prewrath Rapturism and the Day of Lord in the Old Testament

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Two previous Faith Pulpit articles have discussed the Prewrath Rapture View.1 According to this position, the seventieth week of Daniel (Dan 9:24) is divided into three sections: man’s wrath, which transpires from the beginning of the week until the middle of the week; Satan’s wrath (the Great Tribulation), which transpires from the midpoint of the week until some unknown time in the second half; and the Day of the Lord, which transpires from the close of the Great Tribulation until the thirty days after the seventieth week.

The Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–10

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The Context In verses one and two, Paul states: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” (All Bible quotations are from the King James Version.) Several things may be said about these verses. (1) Paul is writing to the Thessalonian believers about the rapture.

The Inhabitants of the Millennium and the Timing of the Rapture, Part 1

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Introduction Pretribulational theologians contend that the rapture of the church is the next event on the eschatological calendar and that it will occur before the tribulation (also known as Daniel’s seventieth week). Pretribulational theologians also assert that the rapture is imminent, since no prophetic event need take place before the rapture can occur. Additionally, they affirm that Christ’s return for the church at the rapture will be separated from His second coming to the earth by the tribulation period. The doctrinal statement of Faith Baptist Theological Seminary is pretribulational.1 Posttribulational theologians contend that the rapture will take place at the end of the tribulation in conjunction with Christ’s return to the earth.

The Inhabitants of the Millennium and the Timing of the Rapture, Part 2

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Summation of the previous article The previous issue of the Faith Pulpit established six points regarding the inhabitants of the millennium and the timing of the rapture. First, at the rapture every dead believer “in Christ” will be resurrected and every living believer will be “caught up” to the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Second, every participant in the rapture will receive a glorified, resurrection body. Third, those with glorified bodies cannot die, nor can they procreate. Fourth, people with unglorified bodies, bodies capable of death and procreation, will inhabit the millennium.

The Coming Kingdom of Christ Our Lord

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When the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:19), they understood basically what kind of a Kingdom he was referring to. It was not the Church, for that body of believers, composed of Jews and Gentiles together without distinction, was explained for the first time through Paul and the other apostles after the Day of Pentecost (e.g., Ephesians 3:1–10). Instead, it was the Kingdom prophesied throughout the centuries of Old Testament history.

Pre-wrath Rapture: A Pretrib Evaluation

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(An evaluation of Dr. Robert D. Van Kampen’s book, The Rapture Question Answered. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House, 1997) I. An Explanation of the Pre-wrath Rapture View “Plainly stated, the core truth is this: the persecution by Antichrist during the great tribulation will be the wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12), not the wrath of God. When the sign of the sun, moon, and stars is given in the heavens, the wrath of Satan against the elect of God will be terminated, the faithful to God will be raptured, and then the wrath of God will begin against the wicked who remain, ending with the battle of Armageddon.

Millennial Madness and the Year 2000 Parts 1 & 2

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The new millennium is bearing down at us at the rate of 3,600 seconds per hour – that magic moment when the cosmic odometer comes up with three zeroes. The year 2,000 has been called “Father Time’s big day, Christianity’s horological cul-de-sac, a chronological, coinstantaneous, quadruple mind-blower: new year, new decade, new century, new millennium!” (William Ecenbarger, “Comes the Millennium,” Chicago Tribune Magazine, Feb. 18, 1996, p. 15). Ecenbarger points out that “this epochal event will occur in the middle of the year 5760 according to Judaic reckoning, and in the year 1420 for the world’s Muslims.