...Eschatology has an impact on how we should live our lives and what we are to expect to occur in God's plan. Some important issues in Eschatology are these: What is the Rapture? The word "rapture" does not occur in the Bible. The concept of the Rapture, though, is clearly taught in Scripture. The Rapture of the church is the event in which God removes all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the Tribulation period. When is the Rapture going to occur in relation to the Tribulation? Will the Rapture occur before the Tribulation, at the middle of the Tribulation, or at the end of the Tribulation? What is the Second Coming and why is it important? Why is it so important for Jesus Christ to return? When is Christ going to return? What will be the signs of Christ's return? Is the millennium literal or figurative? The fulfillment of many of God’s covenants and promises rest on a literal, physical, future kingdom. There is no solid basis to deny of literal understanding of the Millennial Kingdom and its duration being 1000 years. Will the generation that saw Israel re-formed as a nation still be alive for the Second Coming? It is not Scriptural to teach that the generation that sees Israel become a nation will also see the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This may be the case, but Scripture does not specifically say...
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...Posttribulation rapture theories” In partial fulfillment for Theo 630 Submitted to: Samuel Hoyt, Th.D By: Tim Russ, Jr. December 6, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Understanding the Rapture…………………………………………………………………….…. 2 Posttribulation view of the Rapture…………………………………………………………….….6 Pretribulation view of the Rapture…………………………………………………………….…..7 Issues with Posttribulation Theory…………………………………………………………….…..8 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..….10 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..…..12 INTRODUCTION The idea of the rapture has been symbolized in movies, documentaries, books of both fiction and non-fiction. It appears as though many have heard about the rapture and the second coming of Christ, but not too many individuals understand the full theology behind both events. Many Christians and scholars have discussed the second coming of Christ, however, many have not given this topic the close attention that it deserves. Many Christians believe that they have an understanding of the rapture, but few can describe the view they hold on the rapture, when it will occur, and what the period of Tribulation means. This is often because Christians tend to shy away from a full understanding of the end-times and the second coming of Christ. There are many varying views on the rapture, and the occurrence of the rapture and what that means for believers and non-believers. Many assume that all they need to know about the rapture is that...
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...this reflection paper, the topics I choose were the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and the “Rapture”. I choose these topics because they both bring topics of debate with them. There are many different views on these two topics and I will try to shed some light on them. Through Biblical research and theological definitions, we will try to discover the purpose and meanings of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Rapture. The first topic of discussion is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This topic stirs up much debate in the denominational realms of the church. There are many different views and standpoints on this topic. John 1:33 states that when John the Baptist, after witnessing the descent of the Holy Spirit as a dove at the baptism of Jesus, recorded these words: “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost”. Later Jesus promised His disciples, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples had a number of experiences involving the Holy Spirit, including the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The disciples spoke in tongues to address the gospel of Christ to many different nations in attendance of Pentecost. This event was the start of the church and its spread of the gospel of Christ to all nations. Many Christians today have confused some of the facts recorded on Acts 2...
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...Christ the Coming King Steven Collier Crown College Abstract In this paper I will discuss the different views on the second coming of Christ, the rapture of the church, how the second coming of Christ affects missions, and I give an exegesis of Revelation 20:1-6. I will also discuss why I believe the pre-millennial view is the correct view concerning the return of Christ. There are three schools of thought in the area of the thousand year reign of Christ. They are the amillennial view, postmillennial view, and the premillennial view. Those who believe in a amillennial view do not believe in a literal or an actual future kingdom of peace and prosperity here on earth that will last one thousand years. Those who hold this view tend to view Scripture in a more figurative way than a literal way. They believe the thousand year reign of Christ is symbolic of the church age between the resurrection of Christ and His return. Most amillennialists believe that a spiritual form of the Kingdom of God is present now. Amillennialism reject the idea of a rapture. They believe good and evil will increase in the world as God’s Kingdom parallels the kingdom of Satan. They believe Satan is bound but yet evil increases. They believe when Christ returns the end of the world will occur with a general resurrection and a judgment of all people. They believe Christ will never reign on earth in a literal way but the Kingdom of God exists on earth in the...
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...Introduction The Rapture and the Great Tribulation seem to be gaining popularity with Christians as well as non-believers throughout the nation. Recently, there have been films made and books written that depict what the world is going to be like just prior to the second coming of Christ. Many have recently become intrigued by the ideas of the rapture and the great tribulation, and after reading the books of Thessalonians and Revelation I can see why. An abundance of vivid and descriptive words are used by John of Patmos, the author of the book of Revelation, to describe what we shall see during the Tribulation period. In Revelations 9:17, John describes his idea of the coming tribulation as “The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur” (Rev. 9:17). This description of the tribulation is very powerful and awe-inspiring. Theological Definition of Rapture Paul wrote awe inspiring words in his litters to the Thessalonians describing the rapture stating, “then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). The word “rapture” doesn’t appear in any English translations of the Bible. The idea of the Rapture is said to be an event that will take place shortly before the second coming of Christ. This idea is...
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...Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….…1 The Rapture…………………………………………………………………………….……1-2 What is meant by the term “Rapture?” The Tribulation………………………………………………………………………….…..2-4 The Outpouring of the Saints………………………………………………………………..4-5 Seven seals and seven trumpets The Millennium, Revelation 20:1-6…………………………………………………….…..5-11 The Millennial Kingdom Satan Bound Christ reigns on Earth Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..11 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………...12 The 1000 Years of Revelation; The Millennium Introduction The millennium refers to 1000 years of Christ’s future reign on earth which will immediately precede eternity. The focus of the millennium is not on Satan as some would think. The central focus, however, is on the savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ will bind Satan for 1000 years so that He can deal with sin perpetrated on the earth among the inhabitants of the earth. Then Satan will be “turned loose for a little while” and he will deceive the hearts of many believers who will turn to him rather than God. The war of all wars will be fought and the rapture will come. Then, “after these things” Christ will leave heaven and come to earth a second time to judge sin and save the lost. He will bring with Him those who have been beheaded and those that persevered in Him to help judge the world. The Rapture: Rapture is a term in Christian eschatology which refers to “being caught up” discussed in 1 Thes. 4:17, “When the ‘dead in Christ’ and ‘we who are alive...
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...position that church will not go through the Great tribulation, and on the other side, D.A. Carson, Wayne Grudem, George Ladd, Robert Mounce, Gundry Robert Horton, et al. argue for the position that church will go through the Great Tribulation.1 “The view that Christ will take the church to himself prior to the tribulation is called pretribulationism; the view that he will take the church after the tribulation is called posttribulation”.2 Which view is nearly biblical, Pretribulationism or posttribulationism? This paper will explore historical development of the teaching of the secret rapture [which is the teaching of pretribulationism], scriptural evidences and arguments which both view advocates bring to validate their views, and the writer’s position and arguments. 1. The Great Tribulation Before we engage in investigating historical development of pretribulational teaching of the ‘secret rapture’, let’s know what the issue itself is. What is the Great Tribulation? How it is distinct from other sufferings which church has been passing throughout in centuries? According to Grudem, Great Tribulation is an expression from Matthew 24:21 referring to a period of great hardship and suffering prior to the return of Christ.3 Since genuine...
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...Table of Contents Introduction 2 History of Eschatology 3 Eschatology in Antiquity 3 Modern Developments in Eschatology 4 Contemporary Eschatology 4 Scripture 8 Support for Dispensational Premillennialism 8 Refutation of Dispensational Premillennialism 8 Theological Implications of Dispensationalism 10 Conclusions 11 Bibliography 13 Introduction Within the past few decades the interest in eschatology has shattered all previous interest in the subject. This has been in part to greater interest in Scriptural literature and also due to popularization of biblical dramatization. The modern push of interest is based on books and movies like The Late Great Planet Earth, or The Left Behind series. These publications are themselves based on theological arguments but place them in emotionally driven drama’s that attune people to want to relate to them, and in many cases believe these renditions without any critical evaluation. In the developing twenty centuries of the Christian faith there have been many disagreements on theology, doctrine, practice, and canon of scripture which were settled time and again by coming together and debating the issues and measuring those controversies and made a decisions on what was within the boundaries of acceptability of Christianity, it has been within the last few centuries that the time tested definitions of Christian theology have been razed to the ground and new systems have been rebuilt. Under the new schematics of self-appointed...
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...to heaven or you do wrong and go to hell. That’s the Christian way of thinking and that’s the way it is. While I grew stronger in the religion and began to be able to see the bigger picture, I then was in turn able to make a decision for myself what was the right thing. Through reading the Bible, going to church, and listening to elders, deacons, and pastors I determined that this was indeed the Christian view of eternal state that I believed in. There were however a few blanks that had to be filled in, like; 1) Where do we go when we die? 2) What is Heaven? 3) What is Hell? and 4) What is the rapture? These are all questions that many have asked and many have to have the answer to in order to make an educated decision about what religion to follow and what end of time theory to believe in. The Bible states in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” In the end, there will be an eternal punishment and only you can determine what your fate will be. In order to stand behind the Christian view of the end of times you must first prove there is a heaven and hell. Let’s start by talking about heaven. Webster’s dictionary defines heaven as, “1.a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky.” John 14:2-3 says...
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...many different ideas of what we will see in the end times. When thinking about the different ideas of the end times two of them pop out at me. The rapture and how future events can be looked forward to by Christians. What is the rapture all about anyway? Will when you get right down to it means to be caught up. How as a Christian does that help us understand what rapture even means? For a true meaning of the word rapture we have to dig a little deeper in God’s word to find out the answer. As we take time to learn about the rapture we then will have a much better understanding. Being caught up or being taken up to heaven is what we can define the word rapture as. If the rapture would happen today then Jesus has retuned and we as Christians are being raised up in spirit to the heavens. That is exciting to even think about the opportunity to be whisked away right where we stand. It reads in 1st Thessalonians 4:14 that since we believed that Christ was raise from the dead then when Christ comes back he will raise us up. One of the things that we have to do is be ready for that day because it could happen without a moment’s notice. God did not give us the time or the date because if we knew then we would use that information for our own selfish reasons instead of God’s reasons. Just exploring a little bit about what the rapture means we can start to see how important it is to be ready at all times. To be ready in our life is exactly what God had intended us to do all along...
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...Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 Historical Context Situated near the site of Therma on the Thermaic Gulf, Thessalonica was located near the northermost reaches of the Aegean Sea. “The ancient city was founded in Macedonia (a region that encompassed roughly the northern half of the Greek peninsula) about 315 b.c. by Cassander, who named it after his wife, Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip II and sister of Alexander the Great.” (Martin, 1995, p.21) Enjoying the status of a ‘free’, self-governing city (although still under Roman control), Thessalonica was the most influential city in Macaedonia. The city functioned as a very important trade city, as it was located on the Via Egnatia trade route (the major east-west highway from Asia Minor to Rome). On hearing the gospel, many Thessalonians were persuaded and the church grew quickly under the supervision of Paul. Many amongst the Jewish community, however, were not persuaded and instigated a riot in the city, hoping to trap Paul and his companions (Acts 17:1-9). Due to this, Paul was forced to leave the city of Thessalonica earlier than expected. As a result, two important factors were at play: * There was dissent amongst some of the Thessalonian believers, who queried whether Paul may have been motivated by money or power (hence his defense of his ministry in 1 Thessalonians 2). * The Thessalonian believers still had many lingering questions about the faith, that Paul had been unable to answer during his brief...
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...I. The Scriptures (Bibliology) A. Inspiration - The Scriptures in the autographs are literally God-breathed (yeopneustov.) Holy men of God spoke and wrote as they were borne along (feromenoi) by the Spirit of God. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21 B. Infallibility (Inerrancy) - The Scriptures, being inspired, are incapable of error. 2 Peter 1:21; Hebrews 6:18 C. Complete (Plenary) - The canon of the Scriptures (66 Books - the 39 of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament) was completed with the writing of the Book of the Revelation and there will be no further Scripture (written) revelation from God. Revelation 22:18 D. Preservation - God has promised to preserve His Word, and the Scriptures that we have today are the Words of God. Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23 E. Authority - The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice for the Believer. 2 Timothy 3:16; James 1:21-22; 1 Samuel 15:22 F. Translations - While not inspired, as are the autographs, a translation based upon, and accurate to the preserved copies of the autographs (those of the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus of the New Testament) is the Word of God and is, with consideration being given to typographical error, Infallible, Plenary, and Authoritative. II. The Godhead (Theology Proper) A. The Trinity - The Bible declares one God eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal in power and...
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...intellect and reason in order to have faith in Jesus? 5. What does Jesus teach about truth? Online Excerpts: “Understanding the Faith” 1. What is more important than the sincerity of your belief? 2. What are the six types of faith that describe the believer's relationship to God? “Prolegomena to Theology”—Pg. 18–24 1. What are the four tools for accurately arranging a systematic theology? 2. What four questions must we ask about faith? 3. What 5 factors can limit our theology? “The Names of Christ” – Pg. 160–173 1. What chapter of the New Testament does the author suggest contains the most names of Jesus? 2. Which of God’s names do some scholars think that Jesus is claiming with his “I am” statements? 3. What is the term “only begotten” used to describe about Jesus? 4. Why does the author think that the Gospel of John calls Jesus the “word”? 5. What would Jews think who heard Christ calling Himself the “Son of...
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..."How could she act like that and still call herself a Christian?" "Is he still saved, I heard he left his wife for another woman?" You've probably heard these questions asked and maybe asked them yourself at some time. It's true that people often act in ways that make you question their Christianity. And what about you? Have you ever committed some really serious sin that has caused you to wonder if you're going to make it into heaven? Have you backslidden from the Lord and can't seem to find your way back? Or are you searching for the truth and don’t know if Jesus Christ and Christianity is the right way to go. Well, I've got good news for you, and it has nothing to do with your car insurance. (Maybe a little to do with your fire insurance) Once you are biblically born again your eternal destination is sealed! You’re bound for Heaven and you're sure to get there! Which brings us to the all-important question; "So, I'm Born Again... NOW WHAT???" Well, here's the answer, the first thing we must understand is: Salvation Comes in Threes. There are three levels to salvation, each affecting a different part of your being at a different time in a different way. The Three Levels of Salvation are: (1) The Regeneration of the Spirit (2) The Restoration of the Soul (3) The Transfiguration of the Body In strictly biblical terms we call them: (1) Justification (2) Sanctification (3) Glorification 1st Corinthians 6:11 says, “And such were some of you: but ye are...
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...return a second time. Although we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). This doesn’t give us an excuse to live our lives as christians anyway we wish. Once we have a strong foundation in Christ we can use our churches in many ways to help carry out the great commission. How can we be confident that Jesus is returning? Prophecies are an important part of the bible scriptures. The Old testament prophecies fore seen the birth of Jesus. This came to pass 4 BC. In addition to the accuracy of this prophecy this should leave us no doubt that the Old Testament prophecy of the second coming of Jesus will be accurate and will come pass. As early as genesis in the old testament makes reference to the second coming of Christ. Genesis 3:15 says “and I will put enmity between thee and the women, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise his head, and thy shalt bruise thy heel. The first book of the bible predicts that the incarnate of God, which will be born from a women will defeat Satan. This is a reference to the great tribulation where Satan is defeated then ,cast into the lake of fire. On the contrary Deuteronomy 30:1-20 is speaking on another aspect of the second coming and the event there of. It discusses the believers of Christ will be in heaven with God. It says those who keep his commandments their names are found in the book of the law and to love the lord with all their hearts and they will be in...
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