This is an outline of the book of Revelation, not original to me, but it represents a Historicist perspective of allowing the prophecy to speak chronologically and in its own context as to the unfolding history of the church. Online Commentaries: David Guzik • John Walvoord • Chuck Smith • Ray Stedman Online Bible: Blue Letter Bible Revelation Study Helps: Symbols in the Bible • Numbers in the Bible I. Introduction A. The chain … Continue reading →
Here is a 22-point sequence of events for an understanding of the post-tribulation rapture or the second coming of Christ… Jesus returns for His church as promised in John 14:1-3 and detailed in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. The saints who have died in Christ will be resurrected. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. This is the first resurrection mentioned by Jesus in John 5:28-29. Then the saints who are alive will be translated from mortality to … Continue reading →
It is often stated that since the church is not mentioned between Revelation 3:22 and Revelation 22:16, it is proof of a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. When ministers and prophecy teachers make mention of there being no church between Revelation 3:22 and Revelation 22:16, they mean that the Greek word “ekklēsia” is not used. In an earlier post titled “Dispensationalism and Historicism in Eschatology” I had reference my study of examining common arguments in … Continue reading →
The first verse of Revelation sets the approach for the prophecy we sometimes call the Apocalypse. It begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1). Revelation 1:1 points our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ as the focal point of the book and all that John was about to receive in vision to put down in writing. This … Continue reading →
Revelation 3:10 is often cited as evidence for a pre-tribulation rapture the text says, “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.” The text does speak to Lord’s protection for the believer in face of tribulation, but beyond that one has to read into it to conclude it means the pre-tribulation rapture. Here is what we do know … Continue reading →
If you pick up any book on Bible prophecy you will likely find an introduction to the four main schools of interpretation in approaching the book of Revelation. Those four approaches are 1) Preterists, 2) Futurists, 3) Idealists, and 4) Historicists. The Preterists view is an approach that assumes the book of Revelation is speaking to past circumstances, visions, and descriptions that they say were fulfilled in the era of Nero’s Rome when Christians were … Continue reading →
In recent years I have been going through a theological journey and have been deeply studying the questionable issues in Dispensationalism and Historicism views of eschatology. My own ministerial education has been in the Historicism school of eschatology but I have not been one to make an issue of those who hold to a Dispensationalism school of thought. For some reason I haven’t ran into pre-trib people ridiculing post-trib people, it has always been the … Continue reading →
Here is something that makes me pause when considering the return of Jesus in a pre-tribulation rapture. It’s the use of the phrase “at the last day” as found in the Gospel of John. The reason it gives me pause, is because the Bible specifically mentions that there is only two resurrections, one for the saved and one for the unsaved. We have three different places in Scripture that teach two resurrections: John 5:28-29; Daniel … Continue reading →
There is a belief that during the 1000 years people will be born and people will die. Where does this idea of death being part of the saints experience of eternal life, post-rapture, and post-tribulation come from? The answer is Isaiah 65:20 which says “No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall … Continue reading →
In recent months voices have been raised in American Christendom criticizing the pre-trib position regarding our Lord’s return. (Perhaps church leaders are finally getting tired of arguing about Calvinism.) If you ask me if I am pre-trib or post-trib, I will answer “pre-trib” because I am looking for my Lord to return soon so I can meet Him in the air. If you think differently, this article is not about arguing my position or trying … Continue reading →
Here is a 15-point sequence of events for the pre-tribulation rapture… The Lord Jesus Himself descends from His Father’s House where He has been preparing a place for His bride, the church. John 14:1-3 • 1 Thessalonians 4:16 He will come to receive us to Himself. John 14:1-3 He will resurrect those who have died – those who have fallen asleep and whom we will not precede. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-15 He will shout as He descends with … Continue reading →
