Rich, Revelation, and the Rapture

Gary discusses a recent Tucker Carlson interview with country musician John Rich about Bible prophecy.

The pre-tribulation rapture interpretation was developed in the early part of the nineteenth century, and was made popular by the 1909 and revised 1917 Scofield Reference Bible. The newness of the position does not mean it’s wrong, but it does give reason to question it.

Relevant Questions to Ask

1. Did God stop the prophetic clock regarding Israel, thereby postponing the 70th week of Daniel’s 70-weeks-of years prophecy by inserting a nearly 2000-year gap called the “Church Age”?

2. Will God restart the prophecy clock at the beginning of the 70th week (seven years) once the Church is taken off the earth in the pre-tribulation rapture?

3. Does Daniel’s “70 weeks of years” prophecy indicate a gap in time (parenthesis) between the end of the 69 weeks (483 years) and the 70th week (7 years)? If there is no gap (now supposedly nearly 2000 years long), can there be a pre-tribulational rapture or any rapture?

4. Does the Bible teach a distinction between Israel and the Church where the Church is a new redemptive body of believers because Israel rejected Jesus as its promised Messiah?

5. What is the fate of Israel in the pre-tribulational rapture interpretive position, and why would God wait nearly 2000 years to deal with Israel again and then lead the chosen nation into another holocaust?

6. Does the Bible say that Jesus could come at “any moment” or that His coming was “near” and “soon” to take place before that first-century generation passed away?

7. Is the “wrath” or “tribulation” that the Bible says God’s people will escape an escape from this world in a “rapture” or an escape from a local judgment in Jerusalem?

If the 70th week (7 years) of Daniel follows the other 69 weeks (483 years) without a gap in time that has now stretched to nearly 2000 years, then there is no reason to believe that their understanding of the “rapture” constitutes a fundamental biblical doctrine. They also must demonstrate from Scripture that “the antichrist enters into a seven-year treaty or covenant with Israel” and so much more. You don’t need to be a biblical scholar to see that there is no mention of a gap in the prophecy (Dan. 9:24–27) or of an antichrist who makes a covenant with the Jews.

The Rapture and the Fig Tree Generation

For decades Christians have been enticed with the belief that they would be taken to heaven before a coming tribulation period in an event called the “rapture.” Since the national reestablishment of Israel in 1948, countless books and pamphlets have been written defending the doctrine assuring readers that it could happen at any moment. Some prophecy writers claimed the “rapture” would take place before 1988. We are far removed from that date. Where are we in God’s prophetic timetable?

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Gary discusses a recent Tucker Carlson interview with country musician John Rich about Bible prophecy. Both Carlson and Rich point out some of the problems with the doctrine of the pre-trib rapture (there are many), including politics and foreign policy. Once again, it proves that eschatology is not a side-issue; it has massive real-world implications.

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