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Featured A Secret Rapture? How Can It Be?

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by Gregory Perry Sr., Oct 18, 2012.

  1. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Folks...this thread is primarily for those of us Baptists who DO believe in the coming Rapture or "catching away" of the Church (hopefully very soon). It is NOT for arguing about whether or not there WILL BE a rapture. To those of our dear brothers and sisters who don't believe in it...please...humor us... let us discuss this in peace. However, if you have something relevant or an opinion that is non-divisive about this topic...go ahead and weigh in.
    My personal convictions and beliefs about a Pre-trib,end-time Rapture of the church are based primarily on 1 Cor.15:51-55, 1 Thes.4:13-18, 2 Thes.2:3-12 and the fact that the Church, as a body, is neither present nor mentioned any further in the book of Revelation after Chapter 3 and not again until Chapter 19:11 and following.
    Now....I have heard many times people refer to a "secret" rapture. My question for rapture believers is...How could any event as profound as the catching away of untold millions of pre-deceased believers and THEN all those still-living believers ever be done in "secret". The dead ones maybe...but the living ones? Just them instantly ("in the twinkling of an eye") vanishing in many cases right before unsaved peoples eyes would have to cause widespread panic. How could the vanishing from and ultimate destruction of planes, trains, ships, cars, trucks etc. ever be kept "secret" form a watching world that is already in a constant state of media "saturation". I personally contend that the Rapture will be no secret. Not possible. I do believe that the Bible teaches that those left behind in that time would believe strong delusion and a lie (2 Thes.2:11-12). I believe it is no stretch of the imagination that the lost of that time have been having their minds prepared for that day with all the talk and emphasis on science fiction, ufo's, aliens and alien abduction and this pure fantasy that the world has embraced called evolution. The special effects creators of our day in what I'll call "Hellywood" have become so skilled at their craft that they can literally make nearly anything LOOK and APPEAR believable. Millions of people disappearing worldwide all at once...NO PROBLEM....!

    The world is being prepared for the "strong delusion" that the anti-Christ will use to usher in his short but ugly seven year "reign". He will have an answer that will satisfy most of those who remain.

    Secret??? I don't think so....how about ya'll???:thumbs:

    Bro.Greg:praying:
     
  2. timf

    timf Member

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    I have noticed a recent trend to add the word "secret" to the word rapture to make it pejorative.

    There are several things that could make such an occurrence less noticeable.

    1. It could occur at the same time 1.25 billion people die. (Rev 6:8)

    2. The number of people who are really Christian could be a lot smaller than we think. Jesus asked that when the Son of man returned if He would find faith on the earth.

    3. It could be explained away perhaps as that when the anti-Christ appears and may be heralded as both the Messiah and the 12th Iman bringing peace to the Mid East that those who disappeared were taken by him to serve him.
     
  3. Mexdeaf

    Mexdeaf New Member

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    Or it could be secret like the Gospel is a secret. Not hidden in the normal sense, just not known or understood.
     
  4. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
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    I think the idea of a secret rapture is that we will not see it coming, we will be caught unaware.

    Now how about those being raptured being engaged in activities that should they be taken, calamity would ensue? Could God not arrange for them not be be so engaged. A little while before, they experience the on-set of say a head-ache such that someone else must "fly the plane or perform the surgery.

    But, yes, the idea does present problems. What about all those families with believing parents, but have children below the age of accountability, such as in the womb?

    As far as the timing of this catching away event, it appears to happen early in the Great Tribulation, i.e. before mid-trib folks think.
     
  5. abcgrad94

    abcgrad94 Active Member

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    Bro. Greg, I agree with you.

    I don't see how the rapture could possibly be kept "secret" unless this refers to Satan trying to keep it a secret by sending the delusion.
     
  6. mont974x4

    mont974x4 New Member

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    I think that's an interesting idea. It is possible that God can confuse people, or as has been pointed out earlier...send a great delusion. Whatever His plan it will have to be His acting in it because there are enough unbelievers that have heard of the rapture. Apart from God working I would say it its a statistical impossibility that no one would see the sudden and simultaneous disappearance of so many people around the world and not connect it to the rapture.


    We already know it will be sudden and unexpected. Scripture tells us that.

    I guess I don't really see any reason to add "secret" to it when we discuss it.
     
  7. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    How about this?

    Dateline Washington D.C.
    The world's top social scientists are grappling with an answer as to why millions of people, mostly in North America and Europe, suddenly vanished. A common thread seems to be that they were all professing Christians. Some theologians that were consulted have used the phrase "fundamentalist", describing them as believing the Bible to be the very words of God and other archaic beliefs like marriage only between and a man and a woman, anti-abortion, anti-evolution, etc.

    "I think it's possible that God was sickened by these people acting as a brake on the progress of Humankind to a better, higher plane of educated reason and enlightenment", opined Jeffrey Waltzer PhD, "and perhaps supernaturally caused them to wink out of existence. Dust to dust, if l could borrow a phrase of theirs. Now that we are free of these narrow minded hate-filled bigots we can go about our destiny of tapping into our own inner-deities and finally achieve the greatest good for Humankind. I suspect if we all pull together in one unified push we can solve all our problems such as hunger, economic disparities, elimination of war. Who know? We might even be able to save Mother Earth itself!"
     
  8. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    The following is some information I prepared some months ago in teaching the Book of Revelation:

     
  9. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Interesting....


    Tim...thank you...those were all good and interesting points that were both reasonable and worthy of consideration.:thumbsup:

    Bro.Greg
     
  10. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Also good...

    Good point Mex....we all know that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God....."(1 Cor.2:14)..so yes... this may be another of those things that is somehow (and God knows how...amen?) hidden from the unregenerate. :thumbsup:

    Speculative yes...but reasonable.

    Bro.Greg
     
  11. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    It is secret because God has not given some the grace to understand it. We shall pray for them.
     
  12. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Wow!!

    I'm impressed ITL....you may want to contact LaHaye/Jenkins or one of the movie studios! They might want to employ you as a "ghost" writer or script writer! That was VERY good...had an aire of believability to it!:laugh:

    Bro.Greg
     
  13. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Move along...nothing to see here.....

    OR...No Thank You! :tonofbricks:

    Bro.Greg
     
  14. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    There are none so blind as those who will not see the truth!

    There is not a single verse of Scripture that teaches a pre-trib snatching of the Church from the earth. Jesus Christ tells us that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, neither can dispensationalists!
     
  15. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Sad

    OR...I am sad that you can't honor my request in the OP concerning this thread and the subject of it. From this point forward I will simply ignore any responses from you in it. My advise...start your own thread. Since I disagree completely with you on this subject, I PROMISE that I won't spam your thread and post in it.

    For the rest of you who have or may respond, I appreciate your responses. I'm not FORCING my convictions about this subject on anyone but I am not ashamed of them or afraid to share them either. Convictions and beliefs are the purview of the Holy Spirit. I pray we are all sensitive to His wishes in the things that we embrace. God Bless you all (including you too Brother Old Regular):smilewinkgrin:

    Thanks,
    Bro.Greg:thumbs:
     
  16. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    Why thank you. I'm particularly pleased with the phrase, "all pull together in one unified push" as I think it captures liberal gobblety-gook speak fairly well.
     
  17. Gregory Perry Sr.

    Gregory Perry Sr. Active Member

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    Begin Laughing..

    Why you're welcome!! yep...that sounds like something right out of the DNC playbook....no offense:laugh:. Actually, all joking aside....it is way past time for us all to do some serious praying...for this country and our world. Time is winding down quickly I think.

    Bro.Greg
     
  18. convicted1

    convicted1 Guest

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    Brother Gregg, you mentioned an end time rapture. How could it be end time, if the world goes on for seven more years(trib, then great trib) and then 1,000 years later, judgement? That's 1,007 more years of time after the church is raptured out. Please further elaborate.
     
  19. SovereignMercy

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    It's not a secret to God's elect.
     
  20. webdog

    webdog Active Member
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    You were specifically asked not to participate via the op. Respect the wishes of those starting the thread. Prosyletize your stuff on your own thread. How extremely rude and Christ dishonoring!
     
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