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18 results for “Rapture”
Clear searchWhat the historical evidence proves—and what it does not
Did Darby Invent the Pretribulation Rapture? What the historical evidence proves—and what it does not The historical objection is often stated in absolute terms: no Christian taught the rapture before John Nelson Darby devised…
Read article →Why a loaded label does not settle the question
Secret Rapture—or Biblical Distinction? Why a loaded label does not settle the question “The secret rapture is unbiblical.” The phrase is repeated so often that it can sound like an argument. It is…
Read article →The positive argument of the whole series, brought together
Why the Cumulative Case Points to a Pretribulation Rapture The positive argument of the whole series, brought together The case for a pretribulation rapture should not rest upon one disputed word, one prophetic chart, or one passage made to…
Read article →The event is explicit; the real dispute is its timing
Every Christian Should Believe in the Rapture The event is explicit; the real dispute is its timing The rapture is often treated as though it were an eccentric event invented by dispensationalists. That framing confuses two diff…
Read article →The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery
Does Matthew 24 Place the Rapture after the Tribulation? The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery Matthew 24 contains the most direct Gospel objection to a pretribulation raptur…
Read article →A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation
Is the Pretribulation Rapture Without Biblical Basis? A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation In an article published by the Christian Research Institute, Hank Hane…
Read article →Why apantēsis does not settle the timing of the rapture
…e Air" Mean an Immediate Return to Earth? Why apantēsis does not settle the timing of the rapture One of the most sophisticated objections to pretribulationism centres on a single Greek noun. Paul says that living believers will be caught up with the resurrected dead "to meet the…
Read article →The man of sin, the last trumpet, the first resurrection, and the last day
…o deny that the Day has arrived, not to give an explicit posttribulation sequence for the rapture. Is the "last trump" Revelation's seventh trumpet? Paul says that the dead will be raised and living believers changed "at the last trump" (1 Corinthians 15:52). Revelation later pre…
Read article →Signs, expectancy, and the event the Church is told to await
…ee the midpoint abomination before Christ can gather it. Until those events occurred, the rapture could not happen. The Church's immediate expectation would properly be the sign, not Christ. That would affect apostolic exhortations. John warns believers to abide in Christ so that…
Read article →Michael Brown, 2 Thessalonians 1, and the public vindication of the saints
…d the public vindication of the saints In his presentation Why I Reject a Pre-tribulation Rapture, Michael Brown identifies 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10 as a decisive passage. Paul is writing to Christians enduring persecution. He promises them rest when the Lord Jesus is revealed from…
Read article →Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem
…r covenantal address and judicial purpose. This does not by itself prove a pretribulation rapture. It does remove the assumption that the Church must be present merely because believers are saved during the period. God had saints before Pentecost and will have saints during Danie…
Read article →Divine judgement, the character of God, and the promise of escape
…iquity." —Isaiah 26:20-21 The passage does not name the Church or independently prove the rapture. It establishes the moral and prophetic pattern: God's people hidden in a prepared place while worldwide indignation passes. A recurring pattern, not a mechanical rule Scripture cont…
Read article →Earth-dwellers, heaven-dwellers, and the literary structure of the Apocalypse
…ord church disappears after Revelation 3 is often stated as though silence alone proves a rapture between chapters 3 and 4. It does not. A word count cannot establish a doctrine which the narrative never supports. The silence is nevertheless significant when placed within Revelat…
Read article →A forensic reading of Christ's Olivet Discourse
…the Church. If they are gathered after the Tribulation, the passage appears to place the rapture there as well. The first premise is possible. It is not yet proven. "Elect" can describe the Church, but it is not an exclusive technical title for the Church. The meaning intended h…
Read article →Abraham, Lot, divine wrath, and a pattern that must be used carefully
…udgement did not fall until he had been brought out. Does this establish a pretribulation rapture by itself? No. It supplies a meaningful biblical pattern, but patterns must support clear teaching rather than replace it. Abraham's question concerns God's justice Genesis 18 does n…
Read article →Governmental restraint, the final ten kings, and the preparation of the temple
…Working Theory While researching The Kingdom Still to Come, my premillennial sequel to my rapture book, I have been revisiting Paul’s account of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2. Something holds back the revelation of the final lawless ruler. The Thessalonians knew what Paul m…
Read article →Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require
…not create every component from nothing. Our article Did Darby Invent the Pretribulation Rapture? examines the narrower historical claim in detail. History can correct an inaccurate origin story, but Scripture must decide the doctrine. The proper question is not “Who first arran…
Read article →History, heresy, and the temptation of private Christianity
…stians as hopelessly asleep. Complexity is not the problem; neither is a pretribulational rapture. The problem is the conversion of biblical hope into secret-key psychology, sensational novelty, and superiority. Escape language also requires correction. The blessed hope is delive…
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