Rapture/ Both sides

I believe the doctrine of the "Rapture" comes from raptus, the Latin word for carry off. The Latin Bible uses the verb form of the word in I Thessalonians 4:17. In II Thessalonians 2:1, we learn that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him will not come until their is first the apostasy and the man of sin is revealed. Those who entertain such fanciful notions advocated by Jack Van Impe, Hal Lindsay, et al place the Rapture before these things which Paul teaches must come first.

 

These same errors are taught by very respected theologians such as Dwight Pentacost. In fact I think his book "Things to come" is a fairly common college text. I happen to think he's wrong (I agree with you that those things must come first), but he's not in the same category as Hal Lindsay and Jack Van Impe.

As for the OP. I don't know of any resources to recommend. You can get the book "Things to come" by Dwight Pentacost. He covers the three most popular views (pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib). Again, I think he's got it all wrong, but it's a respectable source. It's a big book, and not something you can finish reading in a day or two, though.

If you want to read a book that (in my opinion) is closest to the truth, I'd recommend "The pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" by Marvin Rosenthal. It's short and easy to read.

 

Marv Rosenthal, ah, now there is an old name. I still remember when he was fired from the directorship of Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (Israel My Glory) for denying a literal hell.

Does he still push that heresy?

Be careful - once a preacher starts to change his views on such a fundamental truth as the reality of an eternal, burning hell - he is probably going to be off on his eschatology as well.

 

I would recommend a few works. InterVarsity's excellent viewpoints series did one on the rapture with three views, which is an okay edition. I believe the late Paul Feinberg defended the pre-trib. rapture position in that work. I'd like to say Doug Moo is involved with the post-trib. position but my memory is a bit hazy on that one.

There's not much more than that on rapture specifically on the market in monograph form. If a good theological library is nearby you'll find much more in journal articles (bib. sac. seems to cover the issue frequently).

However, many systematic theologies will give it some coverage. Erickson's "Christian Theology" has some good content (he opts for post-trib. rapture); there's also Gordon and Demarest's "Integrative Theology," which is a decent work that I believe covers the rapture with some detail (but I'm not 100% sure on that; it's been a while since I've read it).

Regarding commentaries on Thessalonians let me recommend Pillar's commentary by Green (Wheaton prof.); he doesn't assume too much from the reader and does a great job with the text.

There's a lot more out there comparing pre, a-, or post-millennial eschatologies.

hope your study goes well.
BJ

 

http://www.baptistboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/28/3398.html#000000

 

I think Steven Gregg's book: "Revelation, Four Views: A Parallel Commentary" is a good book to see the arguments presented fairly from all different sides and from the most noted and prominent proponets from each viewpoint. I hope this helps.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Paul knew more than any respected "theologian" today, and II Thessalonians 2:1-3 is, in my humble opinion, sufficient to prove the error of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory, and as far as I know, there isn't even a copyright on that. Be that as it may, I respect your wish.

 

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This topic has been and is now being discussed
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Well, the Rapture must be true since Stephen L. Anderson (Who?) just gave a sermon against it.

http://www.baptistboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/10/6563.html

 

JackRUS,

I wonder shy Anderson is so maligned. Has he
refused to debate with anyone?

Mel Miller

 

Looks interesting, but I'll bow out on this discussion. I notice Paul didn't remain on Mars' Hill with the Philosophers, and Theologians for very long. Those interested in the "rapture" and other revelations Christ gave to Paul came down off that hill, following him for their knowledge.

Once that knowledge is gained, we know it, whether or not it agrees with those "well knowns". I would imagine there were a number of "well knowns" in the days of Noah.


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