Bible Question:
1 COR.15:52 It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. Rev. 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: "The whole world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever." Recently I have started a study on the rapture with an open mind. I have aproched this subject as if I have never heard a study on it before. The scripture listed above is the foundation that I started with. The question I want to answer is: at what point will the rapture take place?, with the tribulation pariod being the referance point. So far the only thing I can prove from scripture is, that the Christians will go through the tribulation. I'm not through researching so this is not my final conclusion. I started the research by searching the scripture on when the last trumpet would be blown. Can anyone tell me where the pre-rapture theory came from? I need this info. to complete my study. THANK YOU REX |
Bible Answer: REX, your first question: “at what point will the rapture take place? with the tribulation period being the reference point”, is easy. The full tribulation period precedes Christ coming again for His people. Your claim: “I have approached this subject as if I have never heard a study on it before,” will help you grasp the truth. Too many have read the footnotes in their Bibles, which often drastically contradict Scripture. For instance, Scofield Reference Bible’s footnote concerning Matt 13:40, states: “At the end of the age (v. 40) the tares are set apart for the burning, but FIRST the wheat is gathered into the barn.” (Emphasis mine.) HOWEVER, Scripture states just the opposite. Matt 13:30 “Gather together FIRST the tares for destruction…” Note WHEN this happens – “At the end of the age”. Not seven years or 3 and a half years before the end, but AT the end of the age. Your last question, “Can anyone tell me where the pre-rapture theory came from?” is also easy. For 1800 years, no believers ever taught, thought, or wrote about any such thing such as those who claim “rapture” assume. Justin Martyr (100-165), Irenaeus (130-202), Tertullian (160-240), Hippolytus (170-236), Cypian (200-258), Lactantius (260-330), Luther, Wycliff, Tyndale, Huss, Knox, the Newtons, Wesley, Lataimer, Calvin, etc. etc. ALL WROTE that the church would suffer at the hands of the antichrist. From the days of the apostles until 1830, the message that Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul taught was what the church believed. Margaret McDonald gave a “prophecy” early in 1830 in Richard Irving’s church. In 1840, the book, “The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets In the Catholic Church" included her “revelation”. It was authored by Robert Newton. It wasn’t long before this "new revelation of a secret rapture” from Hell's pit spread. Some members of The Plymouth Brethren accepted it and some rejected it. It wasn’t long before the “two parts of Jesus' second coming” was instituted into Bible footnotes. John Nelson Darby (1800-1882, sometimes called, “the founder of modern dispensationalism” got Satan’s ball rolling. Even though Godly men, such as George Muller, William Booth, Charles Spurgeon, etc. challenged the unscriptural doctrine, Cylus Scofield (1843-1921) picked up the ball and now, those who deny what Scripture teaches in easy to understand language, discount truth in favor of some “secret rapture.” I find it interesting that believers of "that lie" refer to it as “the Pre-trib THEORY”. It is believed in spite of all the evidence that disproves the "THEORY". Oswald J. Smith USED to believe the rapture lie, because he was taught it at conferences and in Bible School. In “Tribulation or Rapture-Which?” , Smith wrote “…….when I began to search the scriptures for myself I discovered that there is not a single verse in the Bible that upholds the pre-tribulation theory." There is so much more good, solid information out there, if you desire, ask. May He guide you into ALL truth, Tom |