Debbielynne Kespert: A Life Well Lived to the Glory of Christ

Justin Peters remembers Debbielynne...

The Rapture Part 6 — Matthew 24:31

Another article by Dave:

Pretribulationists argue that the Olivet Discourse does not describe the rapture, or any resurrection for that matter. They say the audience of this passage is the remnant of Israel, whom the disciples represented at the time.[1] One common argument is that the descriptions of the rapture are so different from this passage that they should be considered two separate events.[2] The posttribulationist replies that they describe different aspects of the same event, and the two are reconcilable. Posttribulationists, including Moo, Ladd, and Gundry; and pre-wrath proponents, including Kurschner and Van Kampen, say that Matthew 24:31 (“they will gather His elect from the four winds”) describes the rapture.[3] They point out that the disciples may have been Jewish, but they soon became the Church. The disciples’ identity is not the only contextual issue, however...continue reading

An Argument for a Pretribulation Rapture

What do you think? Must the church be removed for God to focus on Israel? My thoughts will be forthcoming once Dave finishes the series.

The seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 is hugely important for the rapture question. It establishes the timetable for the consummation of God’s plan for Israel, and it defines the tribulation period (Dan. 9:27). The proper name for the tribulation is Daniel’s seventieth week (the prophecy is given in groups of seven years, or weeks of years). The chapter begins with Daniel praying to the Lord, confessing on behalf of his people (Dan. 9:20). “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth” (Dan. 9:13). Israel should have repented after seventy years of Babylonian captivity, but they did not...continue reading