Re: Origins of the Rapture Doctrine

Eileen,

Thanks for your posts, I especially appreciate your comments on this subject. The subject of eschatology is complex indeed. I exhort everyone to take some time to carefully study this out. Although this is a critical issue, it is clearly a secondary issue on which we can disagree. The most important issue is the Gospel—-what it is and isn’t—on that we must agree and remain united. We must first and foremost preach Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified.

Regarding the ‘secret Rapture’, I disagree with my friend R2R on her position here, but I do acknowledge that this is one issue that I hope I am wrong about and that God will rapture us away before the Tribulation.

The best book I have read on this subject is The Church and the Last Things, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. It can be purchased separately, but it’s also sold as book 3 in his excellent book, Great Doctrines of the Bible. I highly recommend this book as an outstanding simple primer on doctrine and a good thorough introduction to end time events. This link describes the book, The Church and the Last Things.

http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1652


In addition to rejecting the ‘secret rapture’, I also completely reject the Preterist view of end time events that is now being advocated by Hank Hanegraaff and some others.

Check out the following link primarily for the origins of the Preterist and Futurist views of the end times.

http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=181

I also recommend that you regularly check out Jan Markell’s Understanding the Times radio show and ministry. Although I disagree with Jan’s position on the pre-Trib rapture, I have tremendous respect for her efforts to monitor end time events. Her radio program this week was on the new pope, it was absolutely outstanding—-you can listen to it in her archives, it should be posted by next Saturday. Although I disagree with Jan on the timing of the Rapture, I do sincerely hope she is right and I am wrong on this.

http://www.olivetreeviews.org/

Finally, here is a link to the book I recommend by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great Doctrines of the Bible. Please consider reading this, it’s one of my absolute favorites:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=44972&netp_id=30...








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