My charges have been anything but "general!" I've been saying all along that your Pretrib Rapture assumption is based on belief without theology. There is no Pretrib Theology in the Bible--none at all. I've even read admission from renowned Pretribbers say that they have no explicit theology stating their belief in this regard. Usually they add that Postrib had no theology either, which is absolutely untrue.
2 Thes 2 explicitly teaches that Christ's Coming for his Church *cannot* take place before Antichrist comes. It is then *at the destruction of Antichrist* that Christ returns for his Church.
This perfectly agrees with the scenario in Dan 7, which is the origin of this theology. There, Antichrist abuses God's saints until the Son of Man returns, in judgment, from heaven, to establish God's eternal Kingdom. This is what Paul is saying himself in 2 Thes 2.
Clear enough? I don't care what you believe. I'm just saying that your Pretrib belief is not based on explicit theology. That's all.
Ok gotcha.
Personally I don't care what "theologies of men" say.
I do believe in a pre-(end of days as we know it, Tribulation) Catching Up of Christ's Church.
(In English, commonly called the Rapture, translated from Latin (rapturous ) and Greek (harpazo)...meaning caught up).
2 Thes 2 explicitly teaches that Christ's Coming for his Church *cannot* take place before Antichrist comes.
I believe that words in Scripture become commonly (by men) "interchanged" and thus the understanding of men become different.
There IS language in Scripture of Jesus "Coming" and "Returning" to Earth.
Not the same thing. ^
There is Scripture of Gods intent to send His Wrath and Great Tribulation, as the world has never before experienced, upon the Earth and those of the Earth (World).
There is Scripture of who are the members of Christ's Church.
There is Scripture of His Church MEMBERS NOT being Appointed to Wrath.
There is Scripture of Jesus being in Heaven, "coming" down to the Clouds, calling His Church "UP" TO meet Him....between Heaven AND the Earth.
There is Scripture of God sending Servants to Earth and Sealing them, During the G-Tribulation period....their focus is ON the Jews and Tribes of Israel.
There is Scriptures of God sending A servant Angel to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to give one last opportunity for the whole world to accept His Offer of Salvation.
After that...(Void of God, Void of Christ, Void of saints, (soul & spirit), Void of Israel (soul & spirit), Void of Christ's Church (body, soul, spirit) being ON the Earth...
death and destruction will plague the earth and its inhabitants..and fallen spirits.
War between good and evil spirits in the lower heavens...
THEN Christ the Lord Jesus "Returns" to Earth, With Clouds, with His saints, to gather the bodies of the Faithful Dead, raising them in Glory...and the unfaithful shall return to dust.
Each of those events require a deep time consuming study. I know what time I have spent, but can not speak for others.
Just saying; reading a couple of Scriptures does not teach or prove or disprove an individual's position.
We are not waiting for the anti-Christ to COME...The introduction of the REAVEALING of the Anti-Christ...Is the Time of The Beginning of Wrath upon the Earth and its inhabitants.
IF Christ's Church were SUBJECT to Wrath... by Consequence they Would NEED to BE ON the Earth to experience the WRATH.
The First Wrath mentioned is The LAMBS Wrath...
You could ask yourself WHY?
Who would be Subject to the Wrath of the Lamb?
The answer is...Israel, who rejects Jesus as their Christ Messiah.
But that does NOT Apply to a Member of Christ's Church...who Believe IN Jesus the Christ Messiah AND God.
It's a matter of difference between you and I about Christ Jesus Lifting UP His Church Off the Face of the Earth...Before Wrath Begins...(as God caused the rain to Lift up Noah's Ark, saving Noah from Gods Wrath upon the Earth and its inhabitants...or not.)
You could ask yourself, what you (the Church) would be doing on Earth during the Tribulation...and WHAT Scripture talks about the Church ON Earth during the G-Tribulation.
Anyway, take care, God Bless,
Glory to God,
Taken