WHATers can dazzle their audience with a lot of WHAT WHAT WHAT between Gen. 1:1 and Rev. 22:21 and, while you're not noticing, quickly sneak in their own WHEN of the rapture and ignore the Bible's WHEN!
WHATers read all of the WHAT details in I Thess. 4:13-18, emphasize the "comfort one another" at the end, and say something like "What a comforting thought that the rapture can happen at any moment BEFORE the tribulation!"
They often add: "It wouldn't be comforting if we had to face the Antichrist." (Maybe they believe a lighthouse wouldn't be comforting to sailors on a dark, stormy night but only when the sun is shining!)
WHATers avoid the next chapter (I Thess. 5) which says that the rapture's "times and seasons" happen WHEN "sudden destruction" (the "destruction" part of the "day of the Lord") happens.
(How can the wicked be destroyed before, or during, the time of their tribulational "reign"? Even their leader, the Antichrist, isn't destroyed until the trib's end!)
Now look at I Cor. 15:51-54. WHATers have a blast with the first half. They dwell on "mystery," read "in a moment" as if it really means "AT ANY MOMENT," spend an inordinate amount of time explaining how fast the "twinkling of an eye" is, and try to prove that "last" (in "the last trump") doesn't really mean "last"!
Seldom do WHATers dare to reveal WHEN we are changed into immortal bodies - but verse 54 dares to when it says our rapturous change occurs WHEN WHEN WHEN "Death is swallowed up" (same as "ended").
Obviously the trib's time of death can't be ended before, or even during, the trib!
And WHATers don't want you to realize that the "Death" quote is a paraphrase of Isa. 25:8 which even Scofield etc. agree is in a posttrib setting!
II Thess. 1:6-10 is further proof that our rapture ("rest" in vs. 7) happens WHEN the wicked are destroyed - and not several years ahead of time!
And Acts 2:34-35 and Acts 3:21 declare that Christ must stay in heaven UNTIL He comes down to earth to destroy the wicked (make them His "footstool") and restore "all things" - so how can He leave heaven ahead of time for a pretrib rapture?
II Tim. 3:14 says we should "vet" our teachers ("knowing of whom thou hast learned them"). You can do this if you Google or Yahoo "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty."
What I'm wondering is this: WHEN will everyone wake up and realize that a lot of WHAT will never take the place of WHEN?
About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English
descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His
calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as
a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and
dignitaries.
This is really great share,
ReplyDelete"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMg8jgnbS6g"
Good share,
ReplyDelete"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMg8jgnbS6g"
Thanks to Dave and you for presenting such a succinct and to-the-point article which brings out the real WHEN of the rapture! More power to you!
ReplyDeleteI am of the pre-trib persuasion. You may wonder how I could say that in light of the above arguments. I have no disagreement with the above arguments. I believe in the pre-trib rapture for other reasons, for stronger reasons. The above arguments, therefore, do not dissuade me from the pre-trib view, because they relate to weaker arguments that some pre-trib teachers may have used, but the stronger reasons still stand. (As for the above arguments,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rapturesolution.com addresses them all.)
Here is my approach. Rather than proving that the rapture happens before the tribulation, I find abundant proof that the rapture does not happen after the tribulation. For example, look at the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11. Do you see the rapture there? No. Then look at the second coming in Revelation 19. Do you see the rapture there? No. Then look at the first resurrection in Revelation 20. Does this happen a moment before the rapture? No. In other words, does Revelation 20 happen after Revelation 11 and after Revelation 19? Yes. The chronology that post-tribs expect in Revelation does not fit. The event that post-tribs expect to see in Revelation is simply not where they expect to see it. A rapture after the tribulation is missing in Revelation, missing at the seventh trumpet in chapter 11, missing at the return of Christ in chapter 19, and certainly missing after the resurrection in chapter 20. Therefore, it must happen at some other time.
Thanks Joe. I am in the process of completely another work on rapture and WHAT the rapture is. Your post is a great confirmation and I'm glad you noticed my page and books on the subject. God bless
ReplyDeletePS. Once Modern American Protestants begin to suffer the persecution that has been typical since the time of Christ, the pre-tribulation rapture theory will die of natural causes.