October 26, 2007

Prewrath Story
How I Became a Pre-Wrather

Robert Fisher writes,

While serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1952, myself and others attended Lowry AFB at Denver Colorado for advanced electronics training. While there I joined a Southern Baptist church and came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Shortly thereafter I was baptized and also became a student of the bible, including both bible prophecy and also pseudo-Christian cults.

Upon my eventual return to Canada I became associated with the Plymouth Brethren movement and joined an assembly of believers. On leaving the air force I attended the Toronto Bible College a non-denominational school, studying English Bible, Church History, Cults, Apologetics and Eschatology, together with various other related subjects. I was indoctrinated into "pre-tribulationism" by studying the text of "Systematic Theology" by Louis Sperry Schaeffer. This was further augmented by constantly having the "pre-trib" view preached at many, many meetings of the "brethren." As an avid student of the prophetic word I purchased most of the then current literature on the subject, and was quite content to accept what I had been taught and instructed.

Then about forty years later in 1990 came a new book by Marvin Rosenthal, "The Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church" Since my knowledge of the subject matter was indeed current, this new view as told by Marv was a shocker to say the very least. I was completely intrigued and impressed by his forthright presentation of the facts, backing everything he observed with adequate unstrained scripture to support his viewpoint.

My Christian brethren immediately dismissed this "new" viewpoint with disdain, and were completely unwilling to give it due consideration, They were quite close-minded over the entire thing, refusing to give any sort of scriptural defense to their "pre-trib" position which they claimed was indisputable. This of course sent me right back to studying Marv's book for a second, third and fourth readings.

I asked the Lord for guidance of His Holy Spirit to grant me the wisdom to understand this entire matter. The result of my personal study was that Marv had it correct, and that the "pretrib" viewpoint was utterly wrong, and fabricated entirely on dispensational teachings and the visionary dreams of that Scottish lassie, Margaret McDonald, with no sound scriptural exegesis to back it up at all. So after 40 or more years as a "pre-tribber," I, like Marvin Rosenthal was forced to reconsider and change my viewpoint forthwith. Since then I have ingested every scrap of information and writings on this subject I can from all available sources, I consider myself to be a "Berean" by nature and stand entirely on the indisputable truth of the Word of God.

This of course meant that I owed it to my "brethren" to try to enlighten them concerning doctrines they hold dearly, and while the "pretrib" viewpoint appeals to the comfort of the "flesh." The "pre-wrath" viewpoint appeals to the "truth" of the word of God, which no true Christian could or should deny, or try to twist around to fit their own pre-conceived ideas. At that time, I wrote several articles on the subject and re-reading them today, I find nothing within them that needs to be changed or re-edited.

One of my proudest possessions is a hard cover copy of "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" personally signed by its author Marvin Rosenthal in April 1991. I have read it through many times in the interim and I am as convinced today concerning the truth of the Pre-Wrath viewpoint as I was back then.

My personal congratulations are due the dear Christian brothers who maintain this web site. This site must stand as a guidepost to all earnest seekers of prophetic truth in these closing days of the age. It is my prayer that many more Christians will become forewarned of the apostasy and perils that lie ahead for the entire church, and will take the necessary steps to guard themselves from the possible onslaughts of antichrist when he assumes his end-time role. Much future suffering could be avoided if the vast body of Christians clinging to the "pre-trib" position could be persuaded to take a more thorough and prayerful look into the Pre-Wrath viewpoint!

October 25, 2007

Book Recommendations - Introduction to the Old Testament

When someone sets out to study a Testament, Old or New, there are five areas that will make up a well-rounded study:

Background (Geography, Political, Social, Economic, Religious)

Historical-Critical (Methodology, Textual, Sources, Literary, etc.)

Content (Books of the Bible: Genre, Author, Themes, Structure, Audience, Theology, etc.)

Biblical History (The Development of Periods, Story Line, Chronology)

Biblical Theology (The Development of God's Redemptive Plan: Unifying Principles, Covenants, Kingdom of God, etc.)

Various Old (and New) Testament introduction resources will address all, a few, or only one of these areas of study. But your personal independent study should include all these elements.

The following are a few selected resources that I suggest for the beginning student of Old Testament studies.

(1) If someone such as a new believer has had no exposure to the Old Testament and does not know it from Adam (pun intended) then I highly recommend the CASKET Study Guide by C. Kaminiski. This is an excellent primer on the Old Testament story. It is not intended to take you through all 39 books of the Old Testament. Rather it is a thematic approach--six periods of OT history. "CASKET" stands for C=Creation, A=Abraham, S=Sinai, K=Kings, E=Exile, T=Temple.

After someone works through this study guide, they will have a solid grasp of the "big picture" of God's redemptive plan--which will then help them fit the trees in the forest in subsequent studies. Also to complement this study guide, Kaminski has produced four graphic laminated charts that aid in seeing the flow of OT events.

These two resources will be available for sale on the Internet next year. But at this time you can order them from the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Bookstore (1.888.252.4287).

(2) The next resource, which I think every believer should have in their library is a good Bible Atlas. My suggestion is the Holman Bible Atlas. It is the best all-around Bible Atlas. It includes the Old Testament, New Testament, as well as the Intertestamental era. I really would suggest reading this Atlas from cover to cover at some point. We are all visually wired to some degree, and to visualize these events and place them on physical landscapes will do wonders for a memory.

The maps have superb explanations on each page, and explanations of some background and historical events, places, and cultures. The maps are anything but boring, being professionally done--even some in 3D.

(The standard academic scholarly Atlas is The Macmillan Bible Atlas by Aharoni, Y. & M. Avi-Yonah).

(3) A comprehensive (and classic) introduction to the Old Testament is Introduction to the Old Testament by R. K. Harrison. The first half of the book is devoted to most of the five areas I mentioned at the beginning of this article. The latter half treats each book of the Old Testament. It is a bulky book, but it covers, by far, most of what you should learn in a holistic study on the OT.

(4) The final resource I recommend is A History of Israel From the Bronze Age Through the Jewish Wars by Walter C. Kaiser. This is the standard conservative Biblical history of the OT. At some points it can be a bit technical, yet, overall it is still an introduction to the historical periods of Israel's history.

I realize these recommendations are brief. But if you want to learn more about them, I am sure you can easily find reviews of some of these works on the Internet. But I wanted to suggest this handful of resources for those who would like to cut their teeth on the Old Testament.

(Do I even have to mention that the best way for studying your Old Testament is just reading it!)

October 24, 2007

First Temple Remains Found on the Temple Mount

Leen Ritmeyer is the world's leading authority on the first century temple mount.

Todd Bolen writes on this important discovery as well.

October 23, 2007

Difficult Times Are Soon Ahead For the Church - It is Sobering, Yet Joyful

These are sober times to reflect on the judgment that is soon to come on this nation in full force. Indeed, homosexuality, secularism, and those who believe they are a law unto themselves are judgments in themselves on this nation.

Those whose happiness is tied up in things will find those things passing away. Truly, we must examine to see what attachments we have for this world system. Here is our power during times of persecution--indeed, it should be our mindset even now,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

And our attitude should be,

"...if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." (1Peter 4:16-19)

Our Blessed Hope is not escaping trials and persecution in itself, nor having wealth and good health. What is our Blessed hope? It is now, being secure in the love of Christ; and it is a future promise of being with Christ at his appearing and subsequent fellowship in glory. It is not a blessed hope to see Christ at his return in the midst of watching television sitting on a plush sofa cramming our faces with food. No. It is a blessed hope for the one who is naked and hungry sitting on a hard floor in jail who refused to bow the knee to Antichrist. It is a blessed hope for the one who has been betrayed by their children and siblings for the Name of Christ. It will be a blessed hope to see Christ at his return in the midst of persecution--not prosperity.

And in those future dark days, may we press close to our hearts this most awesome promise from our Creator and Savior,

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39) (Katherine views this passage as pivotal as well.)

May we prepare our hearts now, for God does not honor unprepared foolish virgins who will not be vigilant. It is Godly wisdom to prepare now for the banquet.

October 22, 2007

God Is Lifting His Hand of Restraint, and the Result: godless Secularism Running Rapid.

Take heed brothers and sisters:

White concludes his poignant article saying,

I pray God will cause me to love His truth, His church, His people, His gospel, more and more, so that my attachments to this world will grow ever weaker and weaker. The only Christians who will remain strong in the coming years will be those who realize the strong antithesis of these simple words: "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). The only "leverage" the world has against us is that which we willingly give: our ungodly attachments to this world system. The more we are crucified to the world, the more we live in light of our death in Christ and our life in Him, the less power they will have. This is the secret of the persecuted church, and it is a lesson our brothers and sisters in other lands know well. It is one we must learn, and quickly.

October 19, 2007

Dave At The Tribune Has A Few Words To Say About Imminency...

"It seems that one of the major hang-ups that pre-trib believers have when it comes to pre-wrath is their belief that Christ could come any moment, and that believing otherwise destroys the doctrine of imminency."... Read the rest here.

October 18, 2007

A Berean Tells Her Story of Coming to the Prewrath Perspective...

Katherine writes,

About a year ago I was encouraged to take a fresh look at the end time passages in Scripture using a simple, face-value hermeneutic and following the Golden Rule of Interpretation: "If the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense." ...Read the rest of her inspiring story here.

October 12, 2007

Legs To Stand On: An Update, Part 2

Click here to listen to the program.

October 11, 2007

National Muslim-Christian Debate in Seattle, October 19

For those who live near the Seattle area, you will not want to miss this monumental national debate between James R. White and noted Muslim apologist Shabir Ally. They will be debating the crucifixion of Jesus. The specific thesis is: Was Jesus Christ Crucified as a Willing Sacrifice for the Sins of God's People?

For those who may not be familiar with James R. White, he is recognized as one of today's leading Christian apologists having debated in over 70 moderated public debates with leading thinkers on Mormonism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Secularism, among other fields. Not to mention his popular published books on various apologetic subjects.

For those who will be able to make that debate, I can guarantee that you will witness how a professional academic debate is suppose to function. Further, you will see God's truth being demonstrated and proclaimed in the most honest and accountable medium of communication. You can be sure that typical Muslim claims about Jesus and the Bible will be refuted with the best arguments that Christianity has to offer.

October 10, 2007

The Council of Europe Document - Dogmatic Secularistic Fundamentalism

James R. White writes,

I have added a new category here on the blog: persecution. We all know that our brothers and sisters are persecuted around the world by repressive regimes, whether they be atheistic/communistic (North Korea, for example), or religious (Islamic, Hindu). But it is no longer any secret at all that secularists want to silence Christians, whether they be of the dogmatic Darwinist sort (Dawkins) or others, such as the homosexual lobby.

We saw just recently that the Council of Europe (part of the EU) put forward document 11375 (17/9/2007 -- in European date order, which makes more sense, in this case, than the standard US format) titled "The dangers of creationism in education." The document can be found here. There is no room for debate, no room for discussion or dispute, as the document begins with its summary, "Creationism in any of its forms, such as 'intelligent design', is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are definitely inappropriate for science classes." Well there you go! That settles it! Just as Rome attempted to silence criticism of its own misunderstandings centuries ago in Europe, no one seems to have learned a thing during the intervening centuries. While once it was religious bigotry that stifled the very ability of man to speak and debate and argue and disagree, now the secularist bigots have taken control, and they are just as intent upon stifling free speech and the expression of opposing viewpoints as ever their religious ancestors did.

Dogmatically committed to Darwinism with a fervor of faith beyond almost anything known today in European "Christianity," the Secular Kingdom of Europe has firmly established its credentials as hating God's law, hating God's Word, and hating God's truth. You will love homosexuality, abortion, and everything else that eats at the soul of man, or you will be an outcast, and feel the brunt of the heel of the kingdom's boot. Of course, secularist Europe cannot withstand the onslaught of Islam, for the secularist is concerned only about himself or herself, and hence simply does not reproduce. So this monument to man's hatred of God will be washed away in short order by the natural reproduction rates of the immigrant Islamic populations, and the work of persecuting Christians, begun by the secularist regimes, will fall to those with far more experience in that field.

There are so many contradictions and absurdities in the Council of Europe document that it takes one's breath away. It is a monument to dogmatic secularistic fundamentalism. It does not even show a passing familiarity with the key issues in the debate, but, how could it? Darwinists do not want their theory debated. They want it obeyed. Period.

So today I was pointed to another indication of the incessant bent of the Western Rebel toward hatred of God. Here is another move to shut the mouths of those who would speak God's Word in the UK. I have documented numerous times on this blog the push to establish "gay super rights." Homosexuals, constantly suppressing the voice of conscience, want no one adding to that monumental effort by speaking the truth they are working so hard to suppress. So they seek to silence those who would say homosexuality is a life-destroying, culture damaging addiction by force of law. "Hate crimes" legislation is nothing more than a means of giving the government the right to peer into the hearts and minds on the basis of its own prejudice. It is a mechanism to suppress expression of "politically incorrect" views. We watched the old Soviet Union use these kinds of laws for decades as a basis for its brutal suppression of free thought, and now the West is mimicking its vanquished foe. While it will take longer for these laws to come to full effect in the US, the process has already begun. Free speech is now only for those who wish to promote godlessness thereby.

In a wonderful display of irony, I paged down to find one Dan from Sheffield making a comment on the news story. He concluded his comments with, "laws against incitement to hatred already exist for other things, this just extends that legal standard, and should extend equally, to everyone, whatever sky pixie they happen to believe in." Why shouldn't Dan's description of my God as a "sky pixie" fall under the very same prohibitions of "hate speech"? No one can answer that question, since logic and reason are not relevant to those who promote this kind of mindless "political correctness."

The days of our freedom to speak are numbered in the West, my friends. We must take advantage of them while we can! It will not be long before "counting the cost" will finally have meaning for those of us who have been blessed with unlimited freedom for a very long time.

October 8, 2007

The Consistency of the "Cosmic Disturbance" Motif

Over a year ago I wrote an article titled, "A Case for the Prewrath Rapture: the 'Cosmic Disturbances'." This article has been one of the more popular in the past year, so those who are new here I would encourage you to read it.

In prophecy discussions you will often hear folks invoke some "key" to unlocking an understanding to prophecy passages. Often that key ends up being someone's tradition, or one ambiguous passage that is used to filter all other prophetic passages. What you have as a result then is not an unlocking of prophetic mystery, but simply distortion that is even more confusing and misleadding than before.

In my view, the "Cosmic Disturbance" motif is a significant key to unlocking a proper understanding of end-time passages because it is precisely just that: a motif. It is found in almost every major eschatological passage that discusses the Day of the Lord's wrath. And the consistency is very striking in that it functions as an announcement of God's wrath upon the ungodly.

There are several ways to introduce the Prewrath position to your friends and family, and the approach that I use most often is tracing the Cosmic Disturbance motif starting with the Old Testament passages, then the Olivet Discourse, and finishing with Revelation's sixth seal.

I believe that demonstrating the consistency of this motif reveals the coherency of the connection of the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming. In fact, I have had not a few tell me that when they saw this prominent theme and how it functions as an announcement to the Day of the Lord's wrath, they could no longer hold to the pretribulational view.

October 5, 2007

The First Six Seals Are Not God's Wrath

Many Pretribulationalists have wrongly assumed that the six seals are God's wrath and thus part of the Day of the Lord. This is simply assumed and necessary for the Pretrib system because they cannot allow any prophesied events to unfold before the rapture because that would undermine their Holy Grail: Imminency.

The seals are not God's wrath but precursors to the Day of the Lord. The following is not meant to be an exhaustive explanation of this supposition, but an outline of points.

First, the Cosmic Disturbances of the sixth seal announce God's wrath upon the ungodly, "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (Joel 2:31)

Second, both the responses from the martyrs in the fifth seal and the ungodly in the sixth seal reveal that God's wrath is soon to come--they have not viewed it already in the past. The fifth seal martyrs are asking when God will pour out his wrath; and the ungodly in the sixth seal are running to the caves and crying out about the impending wrath.

Third, the fact that there are two groups of people, one group being sealed and the other delivered, just before the seventh seal suggests strongly that they are being sealed and delivered from something looming that will come upon the whole world.

Fourth, the nature of the events in the first four seals are "natural" (but intense) catastrophes (wars, famines, etc.) carried out by "horsemen." This is in contrast to when the seventh seal (supernatural contents) is opened up and the unmistakable wrath of God is mediated directly by angels via the trumpet and bowl judgments against the ungodly. (By the way, a fourth of mankind is not killed in the fourth seal; there is only, "power over a fourth of the earth.")

Fifth, the first five seals in Revelation chapter six parallel Jesus' teaching about this being the "beginning of birth pangs" in Matthew 24:5-8.

Sixth, obviously the fifth seal is not God's wrath because it specifically speaks of the martyrdom of believers. And since believers are promised protection from the Day of the Lord's wrath, to argue that the fifth seal is God's wrath is contradictory.

Seventh, when the seventh seal is opened, immediately it says that there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour. The most plausible explanation for this silence is for all the members of the heavenly court to observe the grave and profound significance of the event that is to follow: The Eschatological Day of the Lord's wrath. Immediately after this silence it says,

"Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

This unprecedented dreadful opening act of God's wrath is then followed by how the Old Testament prophets characterized the Day of the Lord: fire and destruction. And this is realized in the trumpet and bowl judgments.