The timing of the Church's Rapture has been and continues to be among premillenarian Christians (i.e., they who affirm a literal 1,000-year reign of the Son of David upon the Earth in the person of the glorified Son of Man) a most contentious issue. They who refrain or boast that they are, consequently, "pan-trib" are only hiding from the fray behind ignorance or seek to keep a very shaky "unity" with others around the table where such issues are best left to the nether world of those who delight in counting the number of angels who can dance on the end of a pin. Under the adage that "They who stand for nothing may fall for anything" cannot be said of stalwart pretribbers (i.e., those who believe the Rapture comes before the final Week of human history as we know it to be--the 70th Week of Daniel's prophecy found in Daniel 9:24-27). They at least have conviction on the matter. Although this text will "take on" the alleged "biblical" assumptions of the pretrib Rapture position as doctrinally erroneous; it at least commends them for taking a position!Furthermore, they are our "comrades in arms" when push comes to shove in the trenches of "spiritual warfare" in the latter days. Notwithstanding our many compatibilities on key elements, not only of the Faith once delivered to the saints, but on a host of prophetic possibilities--we simply agree to disagree agreeably on one of the most important aspects of end-times' prophecy: The Rapture's Timing.This text seeks to systematically counter point after point made by those versed in the pre-trib position--and, yes, this is an in-house food fight . . . so if this might interest you, it would most likely be because you take your eschatology seriously enough to delve into these matters.Much is at stake regarding the primary issues of the pre-trib position relative to the chronological order of Matthew 24-25 - the timing of the "Birth Pangs of the Messiah" - issues defining the timing of the Day of the Lord, Day of Christ, Day of God - the nature of the Wrath of God/the Lamb vs. the "Devil's Great Wrath" - Tribulation vs. God's Wrath - the "Time of Jacob's Trouble" - issues surrounding the "Tribulation Saints" - Israel and the Church's possible "united testimony" in the Latter Days - the so-called "Imminent Return of Christ" - the "Last Trumpet" - the Revelation of the Man of Sin/the Antichrist - timing/nature of the Abomination of Desolation - the timing of the New Heaven and New Earth - the Fullness of the Gentiles - Who are the Two Witnesses? - John the Baptist would have been Elijah "if you would have received him?" All these and many more issues are brought forward in systematic fashion in an attempt to "deconstruct" the superstructure of the pre-trib Rapture of the Church.If you are easily offended by such disputes and find them counter-productive to the "main thing" of the gospel, we unapologetically do not concur with your position. It is time to examine these matters with all due diligence to determine if these things be so--what if one is the wrong and the Church embarrassingly, if you would, finds herself smack dab in the middle of the fray at the end of days until "they [the martyrs of the Church under the Fifth Seal] should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were was completed" (Rev. 5:11)? Are these martyrs just the martyrs during the "tribulation" or do they represent the martyrs of all generations? Rev. 3:10 speaks of being "kept from the hour of trial which is to test them that dwell on the earth." Agreed. But are not these the same "earth dwellers" who delight in the death of the "Two Martyrs" (a.k.a. Witnesses) of Rev. 11? This nearly 500-page book - if you can endure unto the end - is designed to change your world view. It has an abundance of charts, references, indexes [both subject and Scripture] and is heavily footnoted. MARANATHA - Our Lord, Come!
About the Author: Douglas W. Krieger is a published author having written or co-authored a number of books, including The Final Babylon . . . America and the Coming of Antichrist (with Dene McGriff and S. Douglas Woodward); SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS and ON THE EARTH...Man's Days Are Numbered...and he is Measured! (Fourth Edition with some 40,000 new word-content--#1 Best Seller in Science/Mathematics/Measurement Geometric Mensuration for 2014); Blood on the Altar (co-authored with 12 others); Uncommon Sense (co-authored with S. Douglas Woodward); and the two volume set of THE TWO WITNESSES...I Will Give Authority to My Two Witnesses-a treatise on Israel and the Church in the Last Days (Two Volumes). He and Dene McGriff have operated several blogs: The Tribulation Network and the Tribnet for over ten years (www.the-tribulation-network or www.tribnet.org). The blogs have had over 1 million "hits" per month. Theology, specifically eschatology, as well as analysis of today's news is the major emphasis of the sites. Literally hundreds of articles and e-books can be viewed on these sites as well as at World Mysteries (www.world-mysteries.com). His specialty is his studies on the Neolithic Earth and their relationship to the "Dimensions of Paradise." Some have accused him of a predisposition to "Sacred Geometry"--he resembles that remark! Doug has been married to his loving wife, Deborah, since 1968, has three married children all of whom love the Lord. For several decades Doug was in public education as a high school teacher and administrator-he was graduated from both California State University Los Angeles and CSU Sacramento--having taken advanced studies at the University of California, Davis; University of San Diego, and Brigham Young University Extension with his theology training at today's Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. He currently works with the Urban Hope Christian Alliance based out of Sacramento, California and with the Prophecy Forum. His background includes serving as an elder-pastor in Berkeley, California during the Jesus Movement and is a frequent speaker at prophecy conferences during the past decade. His next two books, The Twelve Wars of Heaven and Earth; and Unsealing the End of Days . . . the Visions and Prophecy of Zechariah will be released in 2015-16. Doug may be reached through his website at www.tribnet.org