Expert: Cooper P. Abrams III - 4/7/2011

Question
Please pastor, kindly enlighten me about the doctrine of RAPTURE. I'm a Fundamental Baptist and wonder how Baptists denominations differ regarding this doctrine.

I'LL GUARANTEE YOU, I'LL READ YOUR RESPONSE. If you're kind enough pastor send me teaching materials that you authored.

Your Brother in Christ,
Danilo J. Balanaditan
Good Shepherd Baptist Church
F.Timbol St., San Jose
Concepcion, Tarlac
PHILIPPINES 2316

Answer
Hi Danilo,
   Thank you for writing and you request.  Most Baptist are Pre-Millennial, and believe in a Pre-Tribulational Rapture.  The following explains the various views as to the end times and Christ Second Coming.  They correct view is as stated above and the others are false doctrine.

There are four main views or ways that the Book of Revelation is interpreted. Each view is related to the coming Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ in His earthly Kingdom promised to the nation of Israel. (see Ezekiel 36-48).

    The correct and biblical view is the Pre-Tribulational, Premillennial View:  This is the biblical view of concerning prophecy and is held by those who correctly hold to a literal interpretation of the Bible.  The Bible teaches that the next prophetic event to be fulfilled is the rapture of the Body of Christ,  which refers to all believers saved in this the Church Age which began in Acts 2.  (See 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 Cor. 15:51-52)   The rapture is followed by the Seven Year Tribulation (Daniel=s 70th Week - Dan. 9:27). At the end of the seven year Tribulation Christ returns to earth in the Second Coming. The Second Coming is followed by the  Millennium, in which Christ will fulfill His promises to Israel and set up the promised Kingdom on earth.    After the one thousand year kingdom will come the Great White Throne Judgment in which Jesus will judge the unsaved and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. ( Rev. 20:15-18).   Following the final judgment of the unsaved the Lord will establish the New Heaven and Earth.  The  earth has been purified of all sin and sinners and the city, the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. The redeemed of the Lord continue to serve the Lord through eternity

  The false views which are false doctrine are:

     Post-Millennial View:   This optimistic view sees the events of the Book of Revelation as mostly figurative.  It merges the Kingdom promised to Israel with the institution of the church.  It teaches that the church through its evangelist zeal would eventually win the world for Christ and thereby prepare the mankind for the Second Coming of Christ.   It does not view the Kingdom as literally being on earth, but rather a spiritual one in heaven.  It does not see the return of Christ as imminent, but sometime in the far distant future and certainly not our time.  The Tribulation is seen as symbolic in nature and not a literal prophecy of events within a future seven year period.   This view see the return of the Lord as a singular event with one generation resurrection.  It is based on the erroneous view that God has set aside Israel and given the promises made them her to the churches.   The error of this view is compounded in that it ignores the dispensational truths taught in the God=s word.  God in the Old Testament dispensation worked with the nation of Israel, but today is working in this dispensation through the local churches.  There is a future dispensation called the "The Kingdom Age" or Millennium when God will re-establish the nation of Israel and Jesus Christ will literally rule on earth from His throne in Jerusalem.  The Post-Millennial posi¬tion was fueled by the great missionary efforts around the turn of the 19th Century that optimistically thought their evangelistic work would convert most of the world to Christ.    However, after the horrible events of World War I and the state of the world since, most saw the fallacy of this view and it has been largely abandoned.   


     Amillennial View:  "A" millennial: means = "no" thus Amillennial means no millennial.  This false view states we are presently in the Great Tribulation and the next prophetic event will be the Second Coming of Christ and a "Sheep and Goat Judgment" with a general judging of the world with the saved on the right hand of God and the lost separated on the left.  This view falsely interprets  Matthew 25:32 as supporting this view.  Actually,  this passages addresses the judgment at the end of Daniel's 70th Week which is the Tribulation. The Amillenialists teach that there is no thousand year reign of Christ or Millennium and that eternity begins immediately after the Second Com¬ing.  It ignores or symbolizes all  the Old and New Testament prophecy concerning the restoration of Israel and the many unconditional promises God made to them as a nation. (See Gen. 15:18, Isa. 10:21-22, 19:25, 43:1,65:8-9, Jer. 30:22, 32:38, Eze. 36:1-48:35, 43:24, 30-31, Mic. 7:19-20, Zech. 13:9, Mal. 3:16-1)    The Amillennialist falsely concludes that God rejected Israel totally and that all the promises God made to Israel were transferred symbolically to the churches in this dispensation and  therefore there will be no thousand year reign of Christ on earth. It does not accept the literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation and instead spiritualizes or allegorizes  most of prophecy to make it fix into their interpretation.  This false view is held by most Protes¬tant denominations and is the position of most the Southern Baptist Convention schools.  It should be noted that even though the Amillennial view is held by most SBC schools many conservative SBC churches are Premillennial.

     Mid-Tribulational, Pre-Wrath,  Premillennial View:  These false views teach that the church will go through some part of the Seven Year Tribulation, but be raptured sometime before the Second Coming.  The Pre-Wrath view holds that the first part of the Tribulation will be a time of relative peace which will be broken by Satan being to earth and the Antichrist=s releasing his hated for God on the world.    The view holds that the churches will go into the Tribulation, but be raptured before the judgment of God are poured on the earth. Most who hold the views see the Rapture at the middle of the seven year Tribulation after the first three and a half years and at the time when Satan is cast down to earth (Rev. 12)  The major flaw in these views is that teach that the Seal judgments are the judgments of man and not of God.   However, Revelation 5:5 plainly states that Jesus, "the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."  Revelation 6:1f states that the Lamb (Jesus Christ) opens the first and the subsequent seven seals which begin the seven year Tribulation and God's outpouring of His wrath on the earth.

    I also have a message at http://bible-truth.org/myst-3.htm that addresses and explains what the Bible teaches about the Rapture.   

    Please if you have further questions please write.  You can e-mail me directly at cpabrams3@gmail.com

    God bless you as you study God's word and seek His direction for your life.
If you have further questions or comments please write.

Cooper P Abrams III
Romans 12:1-2
http://bible-truth.org
                 "You cannot serve God without serving others."
      "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity"  (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 )

For a clear explanation of God's plan of salvation please go to: http://bible-truth.org/gospel.html