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I'm sure I've read thet there is a gap, a time of no time, if you will, between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week.
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. ... And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week...
By the way,just remember all the Christians around the world being killed for their beliefs right now. They weren't "raptured",were they?
Besides,where is scripture does it say Jesus returns secretly? It doesn't.
Originally posted by octotom
reply to post by On the Edge
Likening those that believe in a pre-Tribulational rapture as false prophets and saying that they teach false doctrines is ridiculous. They believe in the same Gospel as you do and that is what counts for salvation. The possibility and timing of the rapture is not a belief that is essential orthodoxy.
By the way,just remember all the Christians around the world being killed for their beliefs right now. They weren't "raptured",were they?
For saying that you used to believe in the pre-Trib rapture, you don't really remember much from it. The pre-Trib belief teaches that all believers will be raptured. So, those today that are persecuted for their faith will be raptured when it occurs.
Also, pre-Tribulationalists tend to hold to the position that the Tribulation period is going to be worse than anything today. Thus, the persecutions that our brothers and sisters in Christ are enduring are nothing compared to what will happen during that time.
Besides,where is scripture does it say Jesus returns secretly? It doesn't.
The pre-Tribulationalist would point you to 1 Thessalonians 4. So to say that it doesn't isn't exactly true. It depends on your hermenutic and what presuppositions that you're forcing onto the Scriptures.
Also, to say that a pre-Trib rapture is "secret" is funny. Is millions of people vanishing somehow secret?
As you said, one needs to be open to possibilities. Being too dogmatic about the timing of the rapture is silly because Scripture itself isn't exactly clear on the issue. Each of the views has it's own issues and problems as well, so one shouldn't act as if they've actually settled it concretely with any one view.
A teachable spirit is important and we'll all learn a thing or two come eternity.