Friday, June 6, 2014

Once Upon A Pre-tribber Part II



Once Upon A Pre-tribber Part II
     Yes, Daniel and John along with the entire Early Church knew that there were things that needed to be in place before the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel and the Second Coming. Jesus listed many of them in Matthew 24:3-31 which is the beginning of the Olivet Discourse and the best place to find answers to the chronological unfolding of the end times.
     But this chapter is set aside by Pre-tribbers because they say it is for the Jews only…curious theory to say the least. This action by Pre-tribbers is called “The Jewish Waste Paper Basket” because it is where troublesome Bible truths are tossed by Pre-tribbers when they don’t align with their error-filled theory!
     When the PTRT was born in the 1830’s it was soundly refuted by Bible scholars of that day. Dr. S.P.Tregelles was the most notable Bible language and prophecy scholar of the nineteenth century who wrote a small but accurate treatise on the subject called: “The Hope of Christ’s Second Coming”. One of the twenty-four chapters in this book is called “The Jewish Waste Paper Basket”. He also was reputed to be the go-to-guy on prophecy for Charles Haddon Spurgeon during his ministry in England which was also Tregelles home.
     Tregelles clearly documents the numerous errors found within the PTRT and one of his primary concerns was that there were and would be false teachers within the Church. His concern has exploded into reality as C.I.Scofield merged the notes of John Darby, PTRT founder, into his study Bible which has now flooded the western Church having also been adopted and promoted by Lewis Sperry Chafer founder of Dallas Theological Seminary.
     And, in the process they ignored Tregelles work and eleven of the thirteen Early Church Fathers who wrote of their belief that the Church would experience the persecution of the Antichrist. They also set aside the fact that the majority of believers through the centuries since the Lord’s ascension have held to a Post-tribulation rapture doctrine which is also what I believe the Bible teaches based on Matthew 24:29-31 where the Scripture clearly affirms this truth.
     Within the last few decades a modification to the traditional Post-tribulation rapture doctrine has emerged through the studies of Robert Van Kampen who is now with the Lord. His book “The Sign” and an additional work by Marvin Rosenthal called “The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church” have cleared the prophetic air concerning the timing of the rapture by presenting the fact that the Great Tribulation will be shortened by the Lord according to Matthew 24:21. It is shortened by the rapture, when we, the saints, will be literally rescued from the intense persecution of the Antichrist!
     They labeled their position as Pre-wrath because that is what the Bible teaches from cover to close. God never causes His people to suffer through His supernatural judgment of the wicked as witnessed by Noah and his family and Lot and his family (Luke 17:22-37). Therefore, the rapture will be Pre-wrath, NOT Pre-trib (I Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9).
     Back to my trucker friend who did not stick around to hear the positive news concerning the Bible Truths just discussed. Should the Lord choose to send him back to our Mobile Chapel the encounter might not be as brief as the first, but, this is the nature of the ministry of a Chaplain in the trucking business where the “Congregation” is fluid and the encounters are brief,  but often very rewarding! Just the other evening, John, from Ontario, Canada got saved as he was searching for truth not knowing how to be saved. Please, pray he will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord!
     Also, pray for our  ministry of literature, witnessing, preaching and discipleship which is the main focus of the work, as I was telling my son-in-law just the other day, I have not preached one ‘planned’ message on prophecy since this work has begun. Our emphasis is primarily upon discipleship which is “The Great Omission”…except for the impromptu message given to the Pre-trib Trucker just mentioned during this brief Bible teaching encounter!
Chaplain Larry Wolfe I-85 Exit 35 SC
thepilotswolfman@gmail.com

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