How the Pre-Trib Rapture Became Popular in the Modern Church

prophetic is not it is forth-telling and foretelling Jesus in John 14:1-4 was not symbolic it was descriptive of an event to really happen.

literal, and symbolism and prophetic can all work together contextually. Though Jesus spoke using what all Jewish would have known in john 14: 1-4 as a wedding to reinforce the truth of HIS death and resurrection by saying I go and will return to RECIEVE you to myself IF it were not the truth I would not have told you this. Context.

The mentioned passage does not say or indicate anything regarding a pre-trib rapture or special trip to heaven - that "connection" is only made in the minds of those who want so badly to believe it.

No one taught a pre-trib rapture until John Darby, and Anglican preacher, in the mid 1800s. So the teaching is relatively new. Now, being new does not necessarily mean a teaching is defunct: while God never changes, He reveals knowledge and understanding in a progressive manner. Things that we have not contemplated before, suddenly come alive to us in the scriptures. So, while the ideas are new to us, they were always established in the mind of God.

But the manner is which things are "revealed" should be examined. So let's look at the manner in which the doctrine of the pre-trib rapture came to be a Baptist staple.

Dwight Young, professor emeritus at Brandeis University of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, personally corresponded with a friend of mine several years ago. My friend was a young lawyer ( as an aside, had George Bush Senior been elected for a second term, there is a good possibility that my friend would have been chosen as a state supreme court judge.) Dwight was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary at the same time Hal Lindsey studied there, so this is more than 50 years ago or so. They were graduate students.

Dwight said the professors were discussing Darbyism, and whether or not it was a valid theology. This graduate student, Hal Lindsey, wrote a master’s thesis on the subject of this form of dispensationalism and the rapture. He later turned that thesis into a book called The Late Great Planet Earth. Now some of you may not know about this book, but it was a runaway bestseller. It made a lot of money. According to Dwight, that is where the Baptists made the switch. They saw that there was a market for this doctrine, and they ran with it. Dwight later moved up to and was a professor of biblical studies, biblical languages at Brandeis University, from which he retired, and he was in a state of retirement when my friend met him. So, 50 years from the writing of a master's thesis, the teaching is so entrenched in the Baptist circles you would think it was the gospel.

Historically, nobody ever thought of this doctrine before Darby. But once he popularized it in the context of dispensationalism, meaning things wrap up within blocks of time, people began to embrace it because they did not have to trust the Holy Spirit. If you are going to have any measure of understanding of prophetic Scripture, the end from the beginning and where we are at this point in time, you are going to have to walk in the Spirit. He is the One who wrote the Book; He is the One who is perfectly capable of interpreting it. And the folly of logic and reason and man-made constructs, such as dispensationalism, will lead you to increasing folly, such as the rapture.

God knows the end from the beginning, and the greatest moment of the Body of Christ is in the midst of the darkness in Revelation. That darkness has no potential to blunt our display of the glory of God, the radiance of God’s glory, or to represent Him exactly. It has no ability to influence that at all. This is the time for the glory of what God has been doing, when He established the heavens and the earth for the purpose of establishing a corporate man in creation so that He might be seen in creation as who He is. He is on a path wherein not only will He show who He is in all of His glory through the corporate body, but He will bring the enemy to judgment as well.

Grace and Peace,

Aaron56

My question to you is: who is it that you say (Scripture tells us) "ENTERS" the promised and prophesied earthly Millennial Kingdom upon His "RETURN"??


The promised and prophesied earthly Millennial Kingdom, variously known as:


--"the age [singular] to come" (immediately follows "the end [singular] of the age [singular]"--Matt13:24,30,39,40,49-50--when the angels will "REAP"; found in Matt12:32 just prior to Jesus speaking to His disciples about "the age [singular] to come");

--"the wedding FEAST / SUPPER" (Matt25:1-13; Matt22:9-14);

--the "meal [G347]" (Luke 12:36-37,38,40,42-44,45-48 "when he will RETURN FROM the wedding" ...THEN the meal [G347]; parallel Matt24:42-51; also as found in Matt8:11 and its parallel);

--"the kingdom OF THE heavenS" (too many to list, but all as found in Matthew);

--the "BLESSED" time (Daniel 12:12 "BLESSED is the one who waiteth, and cometh to the 1335 days"; Found also in about 8 other passages all speaking to the same "setting"/context [their ENTRANCE INTO the earthly MK age]--Rev19:9 [distinct from 19:7]; Matt24:45-47 parallel Lk12:36-37,38,40,42-44); Matt25:31-34; Rev16:15-16 Armageddon time-slot / 2nd Coming to the earth; and MORE...)

--etc... (that's a good start )






____________

According to your viewpoint (if I understand yours aright), you do NOT believe it is the "saints / believers / the righteous / the BLESSED" who ENTER the promised and prophesied EARTHLY Millennial Kingdom (in their mortal bodies, capable of reproducing / bearing children) commencing upon His "RETURN" there, but [...who?? other than this??]






[may the reader compare Matthew 24:37 (2nd Coming to the earth passages) with Daniel 2:35c alongside Gen9:1 "and FILL [/FILLED] the [whole] earth"]

If you are referring to the Lord's Return/the Resurrection/ and the Rapture - you are correct.

If you are referring to pre-trib rapture -- you are incorrect. According to the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

pre-trib rapture never came out of our Lord's mouth nor the Apostles.

The serpent - yes!

Could someone give me a brief and simple summary of the different Tribulation theories and why it's such a hot topic in the U.S ? Just the basics rather than opinions. We don't seem to cover that in the UK denominations that I've been involved with, i've asked them about it but they don't seem to have heard of "pre-trib" ect. I tried reading the posts but it hasn't really clarified it for me, i guess because i'm unclear about the different basic views ?

Where in scripture does it say Two Returns of our Lord?

your mockery is just ignorance. Jesus said If it were not so I would not have told you this. the same Pararelal as 1thess 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Verses like this should settle the matter. We await the second coming only.

Hebrews 9 (NASB)
27 And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Pretrib doctrine is focussed on SELF

Your posting style is unreadable.

Our Loving Savior will not leave a single 'Living Stone of His Bride' to be Left Behind.

Indeed Jesus taught post trib rap for He says
"AFTER the tribulation of those days .... they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory ..."

He doesn't.

And no "pre-tribber" says He leaves behind His "BRIDE".


But He is not "MARRYING" the 10 (or even the FIVE) "VirginS [/BridesmaidS]"... the "5 [PLURAL] wise VirginS" will indeed be "saved" and ENTER the earthly MK age (Matthew 25:10). Not as the "BRIDE / WIFE [/SINGULAR]" though, see.




[ 5 year olds grasp that " FIVE virginS [PLURAL]" is NOT who the ONE "Bridegroom" is coming to "MARRY"]

I would say, not... for a couple of reasons I've stated before (and place again, here, for the readers to consider):


1)--"our Rapture" (of which we are passive recipients of that action) is a primary impetus that will aid in Israel turning to their Messiah, Jesus Christ (and it is THEY who go on to do the "INVITING TO" the promised and prophesied earthly Millennial Kingdom age, which will commence upon His "RETURN" to the earth Rev19 [...Lk12:36-37,38 again, for example]);


2)--the "pre-tribber's" concern is (not centered around "SELF" but) that "what we say NOW" will indeed affect those who will be existing on the earth FOLLOWING "our Rapture"(Paul, in 2Th1&2, is telling of the two contrasting "beliefs" ppl WILL BE coming to, FOLLOWING our departure [i.e. when they are IN / DURING / WITHIN the Trib yrs]--and the things WE SAY NOW don't disappear with us, but impact those people and the "beliefs" THEY will be coming to [two disparate ones Paul tells of] FOLLOWING "OUR episynagoges UNTO HIM" [/FOLLOWING our Rapture... IN THE AIR])