A) TO THE FACTS.

B) A LITTLE HISTORY.

C) WHAT BROUGHT THE RAPTURE THEORY BACK, OR INTO PROMINENCE?

D) WHICH BIBLE TEXTS SUPPORT THE RAPTURE THEORY?

E) OBJECTIONS AND YOUR TEXTS.

F) THE FOUR RAPTURE VIEWS.

G) FINALLY.

 

 

A) TO THE FACTS

 

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Never take your theory and make the facts meet your theory.  Always let the facts lead your investigation.

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Notice that this was written in 1862:  “No literal Devil, and probation after the Coming of Christ [the “Rapture Theory”], are fast becoming popular fables.  The Scriptures plainly declare every person’s destiny forever fixed at the Coming of the Lord.  Revelation 22:11, 12.”  RH, May 13, 1862.

 

Remember, a “Theory” is just that, “Dictionary:”  “a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation.”

 

Many people know that the word “Rapture” doesn’t even appear in the Bible.  So where did it originate from?  “Rapture” derives from the first-person plural passive of the Latin word, “rapio/rapere,” meaning, “to drag off, snatch, seize, or carry off.”  It appears and comes from “Rapiemur” in the “Latin Vulgate” translation.  In other words, this is a Roman Catholic doctrine!!!  See below under “A LITTLE HISTORY” to see why Roman Catholicism felt the need to “create” the doctrine (theory) of the Rapture.  

 

First of all, the “FACT” that it is labeled, or called the “Rapture Theory,” “Theory” being the operative word here, should give anyone a clue that this is a contrived doctrine, and not necessarily a true or concrete Biblical Doctrine.  So why was it “contrived?”  Or was it?

 

Before I get into that FACT, Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:26, specifically tells you that this false doctrine would come about (He calls them “false prophets” in verse 24).  Let’s look at it together with our spiritual mines on.  Here is verse 26:  “Wherefore if they [Who is “they?” = the “false prophets”] shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; [What are you to do?] go not forth: [or if they say] behold, He is in the secret [rapture] chambers [Poor translation.  It should have been translated, “He has secretly Come]; [Then comes the true admonition of our Lord] believe it not.”  I wish I could make Jesus’ words, “BELIEVE IT NOT” larger in its truth, concept, and all-around common sense.

 

 

B) A LITTLE HISTORY

 

 

The Theory of a “secret,” pre-tribulation rapture is not a new doctrine.  There is evidence that all of the early (so-called) “church fathers” understood the rapture to be a “Pre-Tribulation Rapture.”  Consider these statements made by some of the early (so-called) church fathers:

 

Irenaeus (130 A.D. -- 202 A.D.):  Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp.  Irenaeus later became bishop of the church in Lyons, France, and is famous for his five-volume treatise titled, “Against Heresies,” in which he states:  “And therefore, when in the end the church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, ‘There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.’  For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.”  “Against Heresies,” 5:29.  The use of “caught up” before “There shall be tribulation,” indicates he believed in a pre-trib rapture.

 

Cyprian (200 A.D. -- 258 A.D.):  Cyprian was the bishop of the early church at Carthage and was beheaded for his faith in 258 A.D.  In his work titled “Treatise of Cyprian,” he wrote:  “We who see that terrible things have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible.  Do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an early departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent?  Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from the snares of the world and restores us to paradise and the kingdom.”  Noting “dearly departure” and “snatches us.”

 

Ephraim the Syrian (306 A.D. -- 373 A.D.):  Ephraim was a deacon in the church in Syria.  He later became the bishop of the church at Nisibis.  In his work titled, “The Last Times -- Two,” Ephraim wrote:  “See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares:  ‘Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!’  For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.  And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord.”  The phrase “prior to the tribulation” is quite clear what he believed.

 

Keep in mind that these writings do not prove a “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” being taught in the Bible, nor can they be regarded in any way, that it is as authoritative as Scripture.  They do, however, clearly demonstrate that the teaching of a “Pre-Tribulation Rapture” has been existent for a while, and is not a modern invention.  What these writings do prove, is that this “false doctrine” was taught very early on, but for some reason (maybe God’s handiwork) were lost, or their prominence denounced as un-Scriptural.

 

 

C) WHAT BROUGHT THE RAPTURE THEORY BACK, OR INTO PROMINENCE

 

 

With that history covered, a “Jesuit Priest,” by the name of Ribera of Salamanca, in Spain, first conceived, or rediscovered, the “The Rapture Theory,” in 1585 A.D.  It was designed to take the eyes off the Roman Catholic church and away from the reformation.  It entered more prominently into Protestant circles in the 1830’s, when John Nelson Darby introduced his theory of two divisions of the people of God (pre-trib and post-trib).  He was a member of the “Found of the Plymouth Brethren Movement,” and infused what became known as the “New Theology” agenda.  At this time, it was not accepted in America.  Mainly because Charles Spurgeon (prominent English Baptist preacher 1834-1892; who still remains influential among various Christian denominations) rejected Darby’s “New Theology,” convincing American’s that it was “heresy.”

 

What this means, is that for over 18 centuries and more, if you count the Old Testament as being silent upon it, the Second Coming of Christ was taught, as the only “rapture.”  By Contrast, never was a “secret” type of “rapture” ever taught prominently, until Jesuit Roman Catholics made sure it was by infiltrating Protestant churches.  Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), a Kansas lawyer, who was greatly influenced by the writing of Darby, published the first edition of his now famous “Scofield Reference Bible.”  Contained in this Bible, in the study guides and footnotes, were various references to this “Secret Rapture.”

 

But it became standard doctrine through influences from the “Dallas Theological Seminary,” made popular through teachings of Hal Linsey’s work, “The Late Great Planet Earth.”  Next came the very successful movie series, “Left Behind,” produced by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins.  Now the Evangelical world was completely under the deception of the Jesuits, whose original design was to take the focus away from the Roman Catholic church; the original meaning of Protestantism (Protest Catholicism).

 

By contrast, the Bible is so clear on this subject that none need to believe a “theory” any longer.

 

 

D) WHICH BIBLE TEXTS SUPPORT THE RAPTURE THEORY

 

 

See how many of the following texts -- in reference to Christ’s Comings to this earth -- can be used to support the “Rapture Theory.”

 

Leviticus 25:9; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 32:35; Deuteronomy 33:2*; Judges 1:14*; Job 20:28; Job 21:30#; Psalm 50:3-6#; Psalm 96:13; Psalm 110:1-6#; Proverbs 6:34; Proverbs 11:4; Proverbs 16:4; Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 5:30; Isaiah 10:3; Isaiah 11:4#; Isaiah 13:6-13#; Isaiah 24:21-23; Isaiah 26:19-21#; Isaiah 28:21-22#; Isaiah 30:25-26; Isaiah 34:1-8#; Isaiah 61:2; Isaiah 63:3-6#; Isaiah 66:15-16#; Jeremiah 12:3; Jeremiah 25:31-33#; Jeremiah 46:10; Lamentations 2:1; Ezekiel 7:7 & 19; Ezekiel 13:5; Ezekiel 30:3; Ezekiel 31:7-8; Daniel 7:18 & 22; Daniel 12:1-2; Hosea 5:15; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1-11#; Joel 2:31-32; Joel 3:13-16; Amos 5:18, 20; Amos 8:9; Obadiah 1:15; Micah 1:2-4; Micah 7:4; Habakkuk 3:13#; Habakkuk 3:16; Zephaniah 1:7-2:3#; Zephaniah 3:8#; Zechariah 14:1-5*; Malachi 3:2#; Malachi 4:1#; Matthew 3:12#; Matthew 13:30#; Matthew 13:38-42#; Matthew 13:47-50#; Matthew 16:27#; Matthew 24:27-28#; Matthew 24:29-31#; Matthew 24:36-51#; Matthew 25:10 & 19 & 31; Matthew 26:64; Mark 8:38; Mark 13:24-27; Mark 14:62; Luke 17:24; Luke 17:26-30#; Luke 21:25-28; Luke 21:34-36#; John 5:25 & 28-29;  John 6:39-40; John 6:44, 54; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Acts 7:52; First Corinthians 15:51-52; Galatians 3:19; First Thessalonians 3:13*; First Thessalonians 4:16-17; Second Thessalonians 1:7-10#; Second Thessalonians 2:8#; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; Second Peter 3:10-12#; First John 2:28; First John 3:2; Jude 14-15*; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 2:16#; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 6:12-17; Revelation 10:7#; Revelation 11:15-19 (18#); Revelation 14:14-20# (may refer to the [*] Third Coming also, i.e., Dual Prophecy); Revelation 16:17-21; Revelation 19:11-20*; Revelation 19:21#; Revelation 20:1-6; Revelation 20:7-15*; Revelation 20:14#.

 

*Actually Christ’s Third Coming.

# Wicked Destroyed At Christ’s Second Coming.  Actually, the wicked are destroyed anytime Christ Returns.

 

Didn’t find any did you?  That is because there are none.  Search the rest of the Bible and see if you can find one; because the “*” stared verses are actually Christ’s Third Coming; while the “#” numbered verses are describing the Wicked Being Destroyed at Christ’s Second (or Third) Coming.  BY THE WAY, it only took “one angel” to “smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand:” Isaiah 37:36.  Let alone the contingent of Roman soldiers guarding the tomb of Christ, when “one angel” had them fall as though “dead,” Matthew 28:4, from his glory alone.  What then do you suppose will happen to the wicked when Christ Comes the Second Time?  See Second Thessalonians 2:8.

 

Also keep in mind that the “#” numbered verses which are in actuality Second Coming Texts, and that do not specifically mention the destruction of the wicked, understand that any time Christ Comes, means they are destroyed in those unspecific texts also.

 

Therefore, the “#” numbered verses above overwhelmingly prove that all the wicked DIE ANY TIME Christ Comesagain to this earth.  Also, many people confuse Christ’s Third Coming, which is after the thousand-year millennium (see my Bible Study, “Millennium, The”), with His Second Coming, and as such, makes it harder for them to distinguish the false doctrine of a “Secret Rapture.”

 

The most famous “proof texts” used to support the “Rapture Theory” are Luke 17:34-36 and Matthew 24:40:  “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”  The PREVIOUS VERSES to these verses clearly teach the destruction of the wicked in Noah and Lot’s Day, which if Biblically understood as it should be, would eliminate these verses and possibly the entire doctrine.

 

Contextual evidence clearly shows that Christ is explaining that, “so shall also the Coming of the Son of man be.”  For Jesus to then change the entire context and say that the wicked will not die because “the one shall be taken, and the other left,” is Biblically unsound and an inapplicable rendition of proper English or the original Greek.  The Bible does record that the one left, is the sinner destroyed “with the brightness of His Coming,” Second Thessalonians 2:8 (and the array of many other verses noted above), while the one taken does go with Christ to Heaven at His Second Coming.  To miss the fact that in Noah’s day no one lived except Noah and his family is to miss what our Lord was teaching about the end times.

 

 

E) OBJECTIONS AND YOUR TEXTS

 

 

According to the parable of the “Sower” (Mat. 13:24-40) the harvest ALSO takes place for BOTH the righteous and the wicked together, AT THE SAME TIME (Mat. 13:30), and “the harvest is the end of the world,” Matthew 13:39.  Notice also Christ’s answer to the disciple’s question in Luke 17:37 (see also Mat. 24:28):  “And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord?  And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”   Here we can see clearly that the ones “left” are dead bodies for the feeding of the eagles.  Job 39:27-30makes it clear that the feeding of the eagles is “where the slain are, there is she [the eagle].”  Again, the ones “left” are dead, not alive to try again another time.

 

Simple deduction then, since the one “left” is destroyed and the other was “taken” to Heaven, these verses clearly support Christ’s “Second Coming” and put an end to the “Rapture Theory.”  Christ stated in Matthew 28:20:  “and, lo, I Am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.  Amen.”  Why would Jesus promise to be with the Church until the end of the world if He intended to Come seven years before (or whatever time frame you have been falsely taught) to take them out of the world?  The promise would have no meaning and make Christ a liar.

 

Let’s be a little clearer.  “Rapture Theory Theologians” use the Second Coming Chapter of Matthew 24, as a claim to have Rapture Theory aspects; specifically, verses 38-39.  But let’s be specific:  “[38] until the day that Noe entered into the ark, [39] And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the Coming of the Son of man be.”  Everyone should NOT argue that the ones taken away were NOT destroyed by the flood.  So shall it be at our Lord’s Second Coming (see 2Th. 2:8), but with fire.  PLEASE UNDERSTAND, that ANY TIME our Lord COMES (future), the Wicked are destroyed.

 

By the way, “Rapture Theory Theologians” claim to know something that even our Lord and Savior supposedly does not know, and that is:  “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only.”  Matthew 24:36.  The reason is, supposedly, after the Rapture, exactly 7 years from that time, or 3 1/2 depending upon your understanding of this false doctrine, our Lord will Come on “that day and [that very] hour [that] knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but [Rapture Theory theologians DO KNOW, BUT they fail to continue reading] My Father only.”  How do they know?  Because after the supposed “Rapture,” seven or three-and-a half years later, will be the Second Coming.

 

First Thessalonians 5:2-3 is used to support the “Rapture Theory,” in that Christ Comes as “(2) a thief in the night.”  I agree that He does, but certainly NOT for the saints.  The context of this passage supports a surprise to the wicked:  “(3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety;” NOTICE, “then sudden destruction cometh upon them.”  Upon Whom? Are we to believe that the “sudden destruction” is the Rapture?  Rather, let’s finish the text with a correct understanding of God’s Word:  “and they [the wicked] shall not escape,” the “sudden destruction.”

 

Certainly, the righteous are not meant here in First Thessalonians 5:2-3, as if they wanted to “escape” the Rapture.  To further prove that the wicked, and not the righteous, are portrayed here, let us look at verses 4 and 5:  “(4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness [NOT SURPRISED BY THE THIEF, Who is Christ], that that day should overtake you as a thief.  (5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day:  we are not of the night [THOSE WHO ARE SURPRISED BY THE THIEF, i.e., Christ’s Coming], nor of darkness.”  We can see clearly that the ones who are in darkness (the wicked) are overtaken “as a thief,” Raptured to “sudden destruction” (verse 3), but not the “children of light,” who have followed Jesus.  The term “not in darkness” really comprises that you are in obedience to our Lord’s Will.

 

According to First Thessalonians 4:16-17, the texts MOST USED by “Rapture Theorists” to prove an unsupported Doctrine, “(16) and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”  Notice that it does not say, “the alive in Heaven shall come back to the earth in order to rise first,” because they are dead, in their respective graves, awaiting our Lord’s Second Coming.  The “Rapture Theorists” would see this false Doctrine if they understood correctly the state of a person when they die.  The Biblical Truth is that they neither go to Heaven or to Hell at death is clearly pointed out Biblically in many verses (see Ecc. 9:5-6 as an example).  They (you) need to see my Bible Study, “DEATH, THE BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT.”

 

Paul is quite clear about the Second Coming of our Lord (no “Secret Rapture” beforehand), when he discusses, “the resurrection of the dead,” Acts 17:32; 23:6; 24:15 & 21; Romans 14:9; First Corinthians 15:12 & 13 & 21 & 42; Philippians 3:11; Hebrews 6:2.  If you read Acts 23:6 and Philippians 3:11 carefully, you will understand that Paul realizes that he will die before the Second Coming of our Lord and he “hopes” to “attain” to be resurrected at that day (Paul, realizing the Biblical Truth that when you die you DO NOT go directly to Heaven; i.e., he will not be in Heaven when Christ Comes).

 

Comparing the thief in the night, Peter states, in Second Peter 3:10:  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”  No “silent Rapture” here (“great noise”).  And the events indicate the Second Coming of Christ, where everything wicked “therein shall be burned up.”  Maybe now you can better understand the warning in Revelation 16:15:  “Behold, I Come as a thief.  Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments [the “white robes” of “righteousness”], lest he walk naked [becomes “wicked” and now is surprised at His Coming], and they see his shame.”  Notice that this is while the seven plagues are falling, before the battle of Armageddon (verse 16) and before Christ Comes as “a thief.”

 

The fact that Deuteronomy 33:2, Zechariah 14:5, First Thessalonians 3:13 and Jude 1:14, are used to support the “Rapture Theory,” is quite strange.  For remember, any Second Coming of Christ brings destruction “with the brightness of His Coming,” Second Thessalonians 2:8.  These four (4) verses used by Dispensationalists are sensational to say the least, because all of them basically state that Christ is Coming “with all His saints.”  The problem is, Christ cannot come “with all His saints” if there are still some “saints” on the earth when He comes!  Nor can I see there being a “Secret Rapture” taking place “with all His saints” being silent around the glory of Christ for:  “And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”  Luke 19:40.

 

Using First Thessalonians 5:9, “Rapture Theorists” state, “God hath not appointed us to wrath.”  What the context is stating is, since or because of what Messiah did for us, we are appointed for “salvation.”  Thus, the righteous are not appointed to God’s wrath of non-salvation; but the wicked are.

 

In an interesting twist on a Scripture, the Dispensationalists use Revelation 3:10 as a Rapture text, in that God says:  “Because thou hast kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”  In other words, you will be raptured before “The Seven Year Tribulation.”

 

Let’s look at what “Rapture Theorists” are ignoring, imbedded in the text.  “Because thou hast kept.”  This implies a “CONDITION,” and thus a partial Rapture, which “Rapture Theorists” do not teach.  Also ignoring that this was told specifically to the Philadelphian Church, and since no one was Raptured then, what is the application to a future, dual application Rapture later?  Revelation 2:10, talks about suffering tribulation.  Therefore, the “keep thee from the hour of temptation” must apply to, you will have the power of Christ in you (Col. 1:27), in order to endure whatever the “temptation.”  John 17:15 states, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  The Greek for “keep” is “tereo,”  Which is the same “keep” as in Revelation 3:10, meaning, to “preserve,” not to take them out of the world.

 

This brings up another major flaw in all the Rapture theories.  Let’s look at them below.

 

 

F) THE FOUR RAPTURE VIEWS

 

 

There are FOUR views, three of which I understand:

 

(1) Pre-Tribulation;

(2) Post-Tribulation;

(3) Mid-Tribulation.

 

It is critically important that you understand that all Dispensationalists theories are founded upon Daniel 9:25-27.  Here is where the “one week” of prophecy is extracted and in Bible prophecy, wherein a day equals a year when studying Biblical prophecy (Gen. 29:27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6).  Thus, we establish what the Dispensationalists call, “The Seven Year Tribulation.”  However, NO ONE, no matter what he may believe about this passage, should ever miss the context of these Scriptures and that these verses are clearly teaching the future crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They establish beyond all doubt the exact year of His being “cut off,” which takes place “in the midst of the week.”

 

In fact, our Lord was upset with the Jews because they did not study the Scriptures well enough to know when the “time of His visitation,” His First Coming, would be.  Here is the second part of Luke 19:44:  “and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

 

By contrast, this prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27, does not then take upon itself a dual application and apply to a “Mid-Tribulation” departure from the earth.  Else the “Dispensationalists” better have Christ Come down and be crucified again “in the midst of the week,” 3 1/2 years into their 7-year tribulation, in order for them to have been “raptured.”  It would be better for us to understand that Christ has already Come as prophesied by Daniel 9:24-27, and that there is no substantial reasoning for a seven-year time span that has anything to do with an UN-Biblical Rapture.  Plus, it is a mystery to me how “Rapture Theorists” are able to separate the 70th year form the 69th year, which ended in 27 A.D., Christ being crucified 3 1/2 years later in 31 A.D., ending the 7 years in 34 A.D.  Please check my math and tell me how 70 does not come after 69.  If 70 is moved to our time, then 69 needs to be moved up also.

 

Christ established the length of the tribulation, if you must have a duration, when He said:  “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:  but for the elect’s sake [SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE GOING THROUGH IT INSTEAD OF BEING RAPTURED BEFORE IT] those days shall be shortened.”  Matthew 24:22 (see also Mark 13:20).  I hope you see my point by now, that “Messiah” being “cut off,” “in the midst of the week,” has nothing to do with the tribulation, and is senseless to use in any form of “Rapture Theory” that has anything to do with seven (7) years.

 

Just a closing thought on Revelation 3:10:  “I will keep thee from the hour of {WHAT} temptation {NOT ESCAPE; RAPTURE; SECOND COMING; or whatever else you may assign to it}.  Jesus completely clarified the meaning of this passage when He stated a similar expression in John 17:15:  “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world {HOW CLEAR IS THAT?}, but that Thou shouldest keep [PRESERVE] them from the evil {HERE IS THE POINT, “temptation” is the point}.”

 

The same is true in Luke 21:34-36:  “[34] And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. [35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth {“all them” THAT ARE “unawares,” the “snare” being the entrapment of sin}. [36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass [NOT “escape” the tribulation period, but “escape” the “snares” of sin and go through it.  BE HONEST, because of the wickedness that shall be at that time; and you did not take part in it; see John 17:15 above again], and to stand before the Son of Man.”  HERE IS THE REASON; IT IS A TEST TO SEE IF YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE ALLOWED INTO HEAVEN AT ALL.

 

 

G) FINALLY

 

 

Finally, “Dispensationalists” teach that there are two separate stages of Christ’s Coming which are indicated in the Greek.  They argue that there will first be the Rapture (“Parousia”), His “Secret Coming;” then seven years later will be the Revelation (“apokalupsis”), His Coming in power and glory.  By Contrast, the Bible actually uses these terms interchangeably.  For example, in Matthew 24:37 we read:  “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the Coming (“Parousia”) of the Son of man be.”  Luke’s account of the same event states:  “[26] And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. [30] Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed (“apokalupsis”),” Luke 17:26 & 30.  Thus, these verses clearly show that the Coming, “parousia” of Christ, and the revelation, “apokalpsis” of Christ, are one and the same event.  There is therefore no basis for placing seven years in between these two words.  Did you also NOTICE that in the “day of Noe” everyone got onto the ark, wicked and all, and were “Raptured” and not one person died?

 

Pre-tribulationists claim that the Greek word “parousia” is used by Paul in First Thessalonians 4:15 to describe the “Secret Rapture.”  But in First Thessalonians 3:13, Paul uses the same word to describe “the Coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints” -- a description, according to pre-tribulationists, of the second phase of Christ’s Return.  That’s RIDICULOUS reasoning.  Don’t worry, I’m lost in their reasoning here too.

 

Again, in Second Thessalonians 2:8, Paul employs the term “parousia” to refer to the Second Coming of Christ which will cause the destruction of the antichrist, an event which, according to pre-tribulationists, is supposed to happen at the second phase of Christ’s Coming.  Similarly, the words “apokalypsis” and “epiphaneia” are used to describe both what pre-tribulationists call the “rapture,” (1Co. 1:7; 1Ti. 6:14), or first phase, and what they call the Return, or second phase of Christ’s Coming (2Th. 1:7-8 & 2:8).  Thus, the vocabulary of the “Rapture Theory Theologians” provides no basis whatever for a two-phase distinction of Christ’s Return, since its terms are used interchangeably to describe the same SINGLE event.  More important still, is the fact that each of the three terms are clearly used to describe the post-tribulation return of Christ, which is viewed as the object of the believer’s hope.  And I HOPE I haven’t confused you as they do.

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