If you like i can post you quotes from several early christians who understood Jesus will "rescue" the christians prior to the tribulation.
Well, I would agree; we will in fact be rescued. Yes, when Jesus returns, He will free us ~ and all of creation ~ from sin and death, for sure, as I said. But to... well... parlay that into, "oh, yeah, that means they believed we will be whisked away to... someplace else... and then return seven 365-day periods later while tribulation comes on this world, and
then sin and death will be defeated" is quite ridiculous. That's not what they meant; there is no need and no warrant for that second timeline.
They show that Darby didn't invent what we now call the biblical pre-tribulation rapture of the church. I'll grant you Darby popularized it for modern times.
<
chuckles> I certainly understand the need to... substantiate one's beliefs in that way, for sure. But he did. It is true, for sure, that after the times of the Apostles, there were writers expounding belief in the “imminence” of Christ’s return, but to extrapolate that into a pre-tribulation removal of His Church... Yeah, as I said, there is no Biblical need or warrant for such a second timeline and such... gymnastics... to... "make it work."
Regarding Revelation 19 and 20, CrowCross, the entirety of Revelation 19 is
not pre-sequent to the entirety of Revelation 20; likewise, the entirety of Revelation 20 is
not subsequent to the entirety of Revelation 19. Revelation 19 and Revelation 20 are
concurrent... specifically,
Revelation 19:11-21 is concurrent with Revelation 20:7-10... both are descriptive of Jesus's
return and final defeat of Satan.
More on that in a moment, but just to address this thing about the white horse... <
chuckles>
The angels in Acts say Jesus will return in the same way He left... Jesus didn't leave on a white horse. This means Jesus returns twice...once not on a white horse...the 1 Thes 4:16 rapture of the church then a second time at the end of the tribulation on a white horse.
Goodness gracious. No... <
smile> I mean, you're right, Jesus didn't ascend to heaven on a white horse, but ~ likewise ~ Jesus does not literally return on a white horse. In His return, rather ~ to put it succinctly ~ He comes in final power and conquest and... yes, rescue... and deliverance, and the white horse of Revelation 19 is
symbolically indicative of that.
Now back to the relation of Revelation 19 to Revelation 20... The events of Revelation 20:1-6 are not addressed in Revelation 19; in Revelation 19 those events are assumed to have
already happened. When we get to Revelation 20, we should see it as a
retelling, for the
seventh time, of the cycle of history from Pentecost to Jesus's return, which we finally see in Revelation 19:11-21 and again in Revelation 20:7-10. At the very least, all Christ’s enemies have been destroyed in Revelation 19:11-21, and If Revelation 20:1-6 were to represent events later than Revelation 19:11-21, there would be no one left for Satan to deceive in Revelation 20:3. And this seventh cycle is the only cycle in which we actually see the introduction of the New Heaven and New Earth and the fullness of God's eternal Kingdom (Revelation 21:1-8).
Grace and peace to you.