I'm on board with Dr. Henebury's position on the flexibility of the term "The Day of the Lord," and when the 6th seal of Revelation occurs. It makes sense to me.
Is a posttribulational rapture explicitly taught in Scripture? A participant in a Facebook group discussion has cited two statements made by John Walvoord:
1) "The fact is that neither pretribulationism and posttribulationism is an explicit teaching of Scripture. The Bible does not in so many words state either."
2) "Both pretribulationists and posttribulationists are confronted with the fact that the Scripture does not expressly state either view."
Then this individual claims that Walvoord's statement is only partially true:
"It is A FACT that pretribulationism is not an EXPLICIT teaching of Scripture. However, it is a FACT that the Scripture teaches a rapture AFTER the tribulation." (All capitalization his)
The idea of posttrib explicitness is based on his assumption regarding the "context" of the Mathew 24 Olivet Discourse. But what does this alleged rapture passage actually say?
And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Mat 24:31
This person's expectation (among other things) is that the gathering is the rapture, and that the elect is the church. His "context" is derived from superimposing a prewrath-posttrib assumption onto the text. One might just as easily (even more so) make a case that this passage refers to Israel's final gathering.
Given this, John Walvoord was right: neither posttrib nor pretrib is explicit in Matt 24.
For more see a previous post: Conclusion to Messiah's Lecture on Israel
Read Denny Burk's thoughts HERE. See especially the points on Scripture evidences of a work of the Spirit.
And Alisa Childers....
The new Left Behind movie has drawn a few comments from non-pretrib folk. I recall one popular activist some years ago spouting that pastors are negligent if they don't prepare their flock for "Antichrist's Great Tribulation."
More recently a five-point Calvinist borrowed from Pascal's Wager, remarking that if his view was wrong pretribs are OK. But if they do face the Antichrist, many could become susceptible to apostasy and lose everything.
I presume losing everything means becoming unsaved. How does Calvinism (TULIP) operate in concert with that concept?
For a brief rundown on Calvinism's TULIP system, see Got Questions' article: What is a Calvinist? Calvinist R. C. Sproul answers the question: Can a Christian Lose their Salvation? Read the Got Questions Version. See also The Threat of Apostasy and this on Hebrews 6. Note Paul Henebury's comment on the latter, and find his commentary on Hebrews HERE.
So the non-pretrib Calvinist evangelist must say something odd like this:
"O, and by the way; you're predestined and eternally saved and can't lose your salvation; but you better prepare for the Antichrist or risk losing it (apostasy)."
The OSAS opponent might say:
"You better prepare for the "Antichrist's Tribulation" or you'll (somehow) get confused after not being raptured and possibly take the Mark of the Beast, and lose your salvation."
I've asked how they prepare. It surely can't be that they merely expect to face the Antichrist. The lengthy equivocations never answer the question directly. They don't target postmils and amils, so one assumes these groups are somehow naturally prepared.
Both examples are self-exulting, divisive postures that seek to justify activist behavior and various non-pretrib ministries.
John Murray wrote,
If we prize our life (that is, our natural life) more than Christ's honor and will compromise his truth and glory rather than part with life, then we are not Christ's. That's the simple issue. We're not his if we will compromise truth and justice and honor in order to preserve our life in expense of God's glory. (The Cost of Discipleship)
The question ought to be: have you truly placed your faith in Christ now? Examine yourself. He is the One who keeps you.
Perseverance: Jesus will not lose any who have been given to him by the Father (John 6:38-39); he gives eternal life to them so they will never perish (John 3:16; 10:27-28), and those who leave the faith were never believers to begin with (1 John 2:19).
Additional thoughts:
If you're a genuine Calvinist, you understand that God is sovereign in salvation. If that's the case, God is also the one who keeps a believer. For more on this see John MacArthur's "Ashamed of the Gospel," especially the chapter called "The Sovereignty of God in Salvation." See also J. I. Packer's "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God."
God is sovereign in electing and preserving. No one can stand in their own preparation. The non-pretrib Calvinist's warning is disingenuous.
Keep in mind that I appreciate Alistair Begg and attend Parkside Church.
From Dr. Reluctant...
I have received the following objection to the Pre-Trib Rapture from a brother named Jerry Parks. Jerry is a good man who blogs here. He states his argument thus (I have brought together his main assertions from several comments etc.)...continue reading
It was posted in a Facebook Group where a couple of prewrath adherents responded. Some of the comments are TLDR (too long, didn't read); but I skimmed through a few. Perhaps after Paul finishes I'll add my 2 cents. For the record, I rarely engage there as I find the debates go in endless circles.
