I'd like to add to what Pastor Bob has said in defense of our blessed hope of escaping ALL these things.
Titus 2:
12.
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14.
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15. These things
speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Rebuke with all authority! Rebuke what? Any that despise us for this blessed hope!
Luke 21:
35. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
I heard the late J. R. Church saying that he didn't consider the pre-trib rapture an escape and I can't really remember what point he was trying to make but Jesus certainly considered it an escape, and I'll
stick with His view.
Jesus said that one of
the remarkable (because He remarked on it) traits of the Philadelphia
Church, (the one He promised to keep from the hour of temptation that
will come on all the world to try them which dwell upon the earth) is
that they have little strength. I once was challenged by a self
proclaimed Bible/end times expert for my bold belief that I am a member
in good standing of this Philadelphia church. He asked me how I knew...
Well, let's compare my symptoms with what Jesus described the
Philadelphia church to look like:
A. for thou hast a little strength, (Check)
B. and hast kept my word, (Check)
C. and hast not denied my name. (Check)
D. I have loved thee. (Check)
E. thou hast kept the word of my patience (Check)
Hey, I'm batting a thousand! Furthermore, I do not see myself described at all in any of the other
churches.
(By the way, that's Jesus patience
(endurance) that I keep the word of. He endured the cross and such
contradiction of sinners against Himself and I keep the word of that.
Modern translations all ruin that by turning it around and focusing on
you as if your patience or endurance buys you anything. There are a lot
of patient Muslims, Hindus, Mormons etc., etc. Mere patience doesn't
mean anything by itself. It's keeping the word of HIS endurance on our
behalf that He rewards with a ticket out of here. Because He knows that
it is going to take faith to hang on to our blessed hope in the face of
naysayers such as the one that Pastor Bob is referring to on that web
site that denies the pre-trib rapture.)
I met
the man who runs that site and because he lives near me, I agreed to
meet him and instead of a restaurant, my wife offered to have him over
for dinner. We thought at that time that he was
a "pre-tribber" "blessed hope" guy like us, (having found each other
through the 5 Doves site) but almost immediately upon meeting him at our
house he begins to challenge us and our belief and trying to persuade
us that we are wrong. I let him speak and then offered to give him the
reasons why I am pre-trib. He listened and he was not able to refute any
of my reasons but only suggested that I watch a DVD presentation which
he left with me.
I would like to say for those
of you still reading and therefore interested in this, I have noticed a
consistent phenomenon surrounding issues of debate in spiritual
things. It is the demonstration of what Jesus described as the Father
hiding things from the "wise" and "prudent" while revealing them to
"babes". Whether we are discussing the rapture or a controversial book
like "The Shack" it is the same: Babes get it while "wise" and "prudent"
do not. This is the Father's
doing.
I reluctantly accepted the offer to
borrow the DVD from this person through much insistence but in all
honesty, I did not get very far into watching it because I could see
right away where the young man on it was coming from and knew therefore
what his conclusions would be and that they are wholly in error. The DVD
is by Tim Cohen, "Messiah, History, and the Tribulation Period 2005
Prophecy Conference". Tim Cohen is also the "Antichrist and a Cup of
Tea" guy. Right from the start the DVD rests all of what is to follow on
the enormity of the scholarly work done by this individual. We are
asked to believe what we are to hear because this guy has done his
homework and has figured it all out for us. Though the DVD description
claims he was "Called by God in 1987 to be 'Him who has understanding'
..." never once does he credit the Holy Spirit with revelation knowledge
the way that Jesus told us God teaches by leading us into
all truth, but rather this man has studied and by his advanced
abilities has uncovered word meanings and using "hermeneutics" has
"proven" that his way is right.
One thing that
these sort have in common is the negative way that they attack the
opposing view. for example, here is a quote off the back of the DVD
cover:
"False 'Christian' teachers and
'Christian' prophets everywhere take heed: Tim is gunning for your lies,
and his aim is lethal!..."
The opposite of
this hard edged, sense driven approach to understanding is the inner
witness of the still small voice of the Holy Spirit who testifies with
our spirit and appeals to us and leads us into all truth as we submit to
Him.
Again, for any who would be interested, I
can share, in a later post what I shared with this individual, as to
why I hold to a pre-trib rapture hope. It is not
through "much study" but rather the faithful revealing to me of a
loving Father, as a result of my asking, seeking, knocking, and using
His word to give me confidence in His faithfulness to His own word, He
has led me into numerous and profound reasons why I KNOW there will be a
pre-trib rapture for some of God's people and I am ready to go.
God
is faithful and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second
time without sin unto salvation. What about them which are not looking
for Him? His coming will be like a snare and they will have men like Tim
Cohen and his expertise to thank for their fate.
Don't
trust men. Ask God to reveal to you directly the truth of this. It is
too important. Ephesians 4: 14. That we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to
deceive... I cannot think of a better way to accurately describe what
men like Tim Cohen have wrought.
I stand by my
position in accord with and obedience to the above scripture
admonishing us 15. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all
authority. Let no man despise thee.