Take A Shot

I thought that I would put myself to the test and let a world-class scholar challenge my tendency toward a posttribulational but prewrath position regarding the "Rapture" of the Church.  This endeavor is meant to augment my claim that my mind is opened to biblical positions that are contrary to my own especially when the subject-matter relates to the various eschatological statements concerning the Church and the coming of the Lord (see my previous post on July 24).

The book is entitled "Kept from the Hour:  Biblical Evidence for the Pretribulational Return of Christ"  The author is Gerald B. Stanton with introduction by John F. Walvoord (Zondervan, 1991).  Both are world-class scholars from the Dallas/Talbot/Biola tradition; a tradition that I have looked up to and have respected for many years now.

In refuting the posttribulational claim that those with a pretribulational view are merely attempting to meet the demand for a "comforting type of teaching" Dr. Stanton responds thusly:  "This, however, is uncharitable, for those of pretribulational persuasion do not gear their ministry to comfortable teachings.  Among their number are the most powerful and convicting preachers of sin and judgement and hell, and they preach these things because they are in the Book.  The same men preach the comfort of a pretribulation hope, not because it appeals to the flesh, but because this, too, they find in the Word of God.  The idea of comforting one another with these truths originated with I Thessalonians 4:18, not with Thiessen, although he loved to proclaim it." (p. 31)

This source of comfort has been proclaimed by many able teachers in the pretribulational community and I find it to be derived by a shallow exegesis and further find it to be incredibly harmful to those who do gain comfort in the passage.  The idea is that the believers in the Thessalonian Church are to be comforted by a gathering together unto Christ before the great tribulation period engages.  I fail to find that thought to be even hinted at in the biblical passage.  Let's review the passage as found in I Thess. 4:13-18:

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. therefore comfort one another with these words." 

Now what appears to be the source of grief and hopelessness in the Thessalonian community (v. 13)?  It appears that the text is indicating that some in the community have lost their loved-ones and that those very same loved-ones may not be candidates to be "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air (v. 17).  Not so, Paul claims.  We are all going to be gathered together in that wonderful day to be with Him forever.  That is our hope!  Nowhere does the passage indicate that we will be delivered from tribulation; any Tribulation, even the one "with a capital T".  Our loved-ones will be with us all in that great day.  Let's "comfort one another with these words". (v. 18)  As in my previous post, I  am emphasizing that this controversy is not simply academic. Physical life-and-death brutality may soon be unleashed upon the Christian community by this escalating godless world-system.  How much more serious is the thought that some in our community will have their faith tested beyond measure and will actually abandon the faith; an abandonment that  will lead unto eternal damnation.  We need to go beyond pretending that we are tolerant of our different positions on this particular subject and begin to actually dialogue with each other with an open mind while actually generating love and respect for each other.  Our experiential life, it seems, does not always attain in degree to our preaching of tolerance.

I am still open to being challenged.  This statement by the author did not press that challenge.