Doctrinal Divisions Which Create Confusion
A doctrine is a political or religious theory about the basic concepts of that area of study. The doctrine of the Trinity, God’s revelation of Himself as Father , Son and Holy Spirit is accepted by Christians but not Jews.
There also exist many other ‘doctrines’ about the Christian faith which are not so widely supported. In fact they are a serious source of division between churches. The hidden ‘Secrets of Fatima’ is one such doctrine among some Roman Catholic Christians. The doctrine of a Pre-Adamic Civilization is another popular but not widely supported doctrine among protestants. ‘Et Filoque’ is a doctrine in the Orthodox tradition that has caused more division than blessing.
I am going to examine one such doctrine in a more in-depth way to reveal how it is used by the enemy to divide the Church and bring confusion instead of light and unity.
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Doctrine
I chose this doctrine to examine because, until I examined it in the light of what other Christians who rejected it said and then re-examined the supporting Bible references again for myself, I firmly held that doctrine.
I began to seriously re-visit my suppositions about this doctrine when I realized that it is a source of division between the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches (but not all protestant churches). If it creates division and not unity it needs to be examined to see if it is a tool that the enemy is using to divide and confuse the churches and make them more vulnerable to his lies and attacks.
Creating dis-information and confusion behind enemy lines is an important aspect of guerilla warfare. Such confusion is all the more effective if we inflict it upon ourselves.
The second coming of Jesus is an article of faith, an accepted dogma of the Church. It has been ignored but it is not usually rejected. Even the rapture or sudden catching away of the Church to meet Jesus at His second coming is generally accepted. What is new and divisive, confusing and alienating is the idea of this ‘escape’ happening seven years before Jesus returns to deliver the earth from the time of tribulation.
This notion of a pre-tribulation rapture was first developed and presented as a doctrine in 1831 by John Darby. It came to be associated with the doctrine of ‘dispensationalism’, the notion that God deals with humanity differently in distinct ‘dispensations’ of grace. The Scofield reference Bible of 1909 and the charts and diagrams of Clarence Larkin 1918 have been influential in popularizing these doctrines.
I became influenced by these doctrines and studied the Scofield reference Bible. The volume of material available in this stream of doctrine is prodigious and compelling. It is very complicated and requires great effort to understand. Maybe that should have been my first warning sign. I admit that I simply assumed it was true without examining its history or the implications of its tenants. When I told a like-minded colleague that I was about to read a book against these doctrines I was told “Don’t bother.” The safest place for a lie to hide is behind apathy and ignorance.
When I read the book by Paul Thigpen; The Rapture Trap, I was struck by the fact that I had never really questioned the idea at all before. After reading it I was struck by two questions. Why is there a gap between the Church going up to meet Her King and the return of that King? What about the Christians who have endured tribulation already for the sake of the Kingdom?
The Voice of Martyrs organization estimates that there have been approximately 70 million Christians killed because of their faith (martyred) from 33 A.D. to the year 2000.[i] The Pre-Tribulation rapture doctrine suggests that those who are ‘worthy’ will escape tribulation, being rescued by Jesus Himself to feast at a banquet in Heaven while the world suffers without them. This raises two very difficult questions. Why were the 70 million other Christians not rescued – were they not worthy? Why would the Church want to leave their neighbours during their greatest suffering with no one to tell them the Good News of what Jesus will do for them?
Escape from personal suffering is not a tenant of the Christian faith. Bearing one another’s burdens, turning the other cheek, loving those who persecute us is definitely the way that the Church has responded to tribulation and persecution throughout her history. These times have been the times of greatest evangelism and growth for the Church. Why give up now and run to ‘heaven’?
In Matthew 24: 3 (AMP) Jesus was asked by the disciples “What will be the sign of Your coming (again) and the end (completion, consummation) of the age?” Jesus replied in verse 14 “This good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then will come the end.”
The sign of Jesus’ second coming is not an escape or a political event such as the rebirth of Israel. The sign that Jesus specified was the completion, fulfillment, consummation of preaching the gospel to all the nations/ethnos/people. Once this was accomplished – the end.
In verse 13 Jesus states “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” He did not say that those who are worthy to be rescued beforehand will be saved. In verse 37 Jesus says “As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man .” The following verses refer to the day Noah entered the ark with his family, the day of their rescue, as being the same day that the end (or judgement) was released upon all others.
Rapture is a word that means to be quickly drawn out. That is not the most important word for us to examine. The important word is Parousia. This word is translated advent or second coming. Its meaning is very specific. It actually refers to the arrival or return of an official or royal dignitary. Attendant upon this use of the word was the practice of sending a party of officials out of the city to welcome an approaching dignitary, conqueror or king. This group would then accompany the visitor into the city. This understanding made the use of the word Parousia an excellent choice to describe what Jesus had promised to the Church.
We can expect, from what Jesus described to His disciples, that the second coming of Jesus will occur as soon as the preaching of the gospel has been completely/satisfactorily/legally accomplished to all nations and people. We can then expect to arise quickly to meet Jesus , our coming King, in the air and accompany Him immediately as He comes to earth again to make an end of wars.
The Church must be there to finish the preaching. The Church is the legal entity that has authority to welcome Jesus to the earth once more and to give Him legal entrance to the city, Jerusalem.
There is more that can be said about this topic but I think that I have sufficiently proven from the scriptures that the divisive doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church is not Biblical and not worthy of our belief.
[i] Jesus Freaks Revolutionaries p 356