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Author
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Topic: RETHINKING THE RAPTURE
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KnowHim
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Member # 1
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posted
I just wanted to share the below as it make a good point. It is from a book called "Waiting for the Second Coming" which can be read free online at:
http://www.raystedman.org/thessalonians/thessalonians.html
The part I bolded is what I am talkin about.
RETHINKING THE RAPTURE
Notice that Paul does not say to the distressed Thessalonian believers: "Now don't worry. If the Day of the Lord had come, you would not be here; you would have been raptured." The fact that Paul does not say this is cited by the post-tribulationalists, who argue that Paul taught a posttribulational coming.
We must ask ourselves why he did not say that. The answer is likely that Paul was not sure that all of the Thessalonians who claimed to be believers were truly Christians. Consequently he was very careful not to risk giving them a false sense of assurance by saying glibly: "If you believe in Christ, then you are safe."
Many lost people believe themselves to be Christians. They have gone along with the outward appearances of Christianity, but they have never surrendered their inner wills to the Lord. If Paul had told such nominal Christians in Thessalonica that they would certainly be raptured, he would have sealed them into a false view of their security.
As a matter of fact, he does tell them that Christians will be raptured before the Tribulation, but he does so in a guarded and subtle way.
I must also point out that there is considerable evidence that the word translated "rebellion" or "apostasy" should more properly be translated "the departure." Read that way, the apostle is clearly saying that the Day of the Lord cannot come until the departure (of the church) has first taken place. (For further information, see Rethinking the Rapture by Dr. E. Schuyler English.)
For the sake of argument, however, let's accept the translation as "apostasy" or "rebellion." What Paul is saying, then, is that the unmistakable sign that the Day of the Lord has begun is that the Man of Lawlessness will have been revealed.
Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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