Tag Archives: Tribulation

Parchment on Table

The Fulfillment of Daniel’s “70 Weeks” Prophecy

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One unique and interesting facet of biblical literature is the existence of predictive prophecy. I am always encouraged by the cohesiveness of God’s word when I read in Scripture of a prophecy coming to fruition. One such prophecy is the “coming and cutting off of the Messiah” predicted in Dan 9, referring to the arrival of the Messiah to his people and his subsequent crucifixion. The goal of this article is to briefly survey this prophecy from Dan 9, as well as observe its fulfillment in Luke 19.
Ancient Synagogue in Israel

The Synagogue and the Word

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A former graduate professor of mine made a passing statement once that grabbed my attention. He referred to two types of worship: the temple model and the synagogue model. The temple emphasized ritual and the synagogue emphasized the Word. In this companion article I want to focus on three physical aspects of the synagogue that relate to the Word of God— the ark, the platform, and Moses’ Seat. The pictures below help illustrate these three physical features. The picture on the left shows two arks, or special containers for the scrolls of Scripture, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem today.

Reviewing Five Rapture Positions, Part 2

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IV. The Post-Tribulational View The fourth view to be considered is the Post-Tribulational view, which teaches that the rapture and the second coming are aspects of a single event occurring at the end of the Tribulation period. Christ returns to the clouds, the church meets him in the air, and together they return to the earth. Perhaps the best known contemporary post-tribulational writer is Robert Gundry. His main argument is that, “Direct, unquestioned statements of Scripture that Jesus Christ will return after the tribulation and that the first resurrection will occur after the tribulation, coupled with the absence of statements placing similar events before the tribulation, make it natural to place the rapture of the Church after the tribulation” (The Church and the Tribulation, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Corporation.

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.

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.

Come Home Spot, Come Home—Deuteronomy 4:25–31

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My brother used to have a dog named Spot. Neighbors would come over to watch Spot use his front paws alone to hop down the back stairs. Spot would also pace around the backyard hoping to find an escape through the fence. He looked and looked every day to find his escape, wearing a dirt path in the yard along the fence. He probably thought that an escape would make him the happiest dog in the world. He finally did find the strength to dig a hole under the fence and accomplished his life’s goal—he escaped to freedom!

Is Rosenthal Right About the Rapture?

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A long time ago, Solomon opined that “of the making of many books there is no end” (Ecc. 12:12). If this was true in the 10th century before Christ, it is even more true in the 20 th century after Christ. Prompted by the volatile world situation, there is especially a proliferation of prophetic publications. Most books have little impact. Not so one recent book, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990). This all-out attack on the pretribulational rapture position is making a splash on the theological scene.

Prophetic Guidelines for the Persian Gulf

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Like a desert sandstorm, the self-proclaimed master of Mesopotamia swept into Kuwait and came dangerously close to usurping by brute force one half of the world’s oil supply. This swirling storm has meanwhile engulfed the Middle East and may well sweep the rest of the world into its maelstrom. Saddam Hussein’s conquest of Kuwait and threats against Saudi Arabia and Israel graphically demonstrate the volatile nature of the Persian Gulf region. In less than two weeks a multinational army under American command, larger than anything seen since World War II, has been deployed to contain the madman.

Prophetic Portents in Eastern Europe?

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The world has watched with utter amazement the unexpected political changes in Eastern Europe during the final weeks of 1989. Believers are especially interested in what is transpiring. Many of them are enquiring about the prophetic and practical implications of the dramatic developments. In response to numerous questions about the changes and challenges in the Communist camp, the following observations are offered: I. The Profound Revolution in Communist Countries. A. Changes in Government: In a matter of weeks Soviet vassal states have crumbled: Poland fell August 18–19; Hungary, October 7; East Germany, November 9; Bulgaria, November 10; Czechoslovakia, November 29; and Romania, December 22.