tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3681147477861371560.post7564823771189475944..comments2024-03-27T22:11:02.541-07:00Comments on Book Reviews from an Avid Reader: 40 Questions About The End Times by Eckhard SchnabelJoan Nienhuishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07401635474445086666noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3681147477861371560.post-12152323630680996192012-05-27T13:48:09.376-07:002012-05-27T13:48:09.376-07:00[Thanks, Joan. Enjoy this snippet I found on Googl...[Thanks, Joan. Enjoy this snippet I found on Google today. Amanda]<br /><br /> Christ's return is NOT imminent !<br /><br /> by Bruce Rockwell<br /><br />(Pretrib rapturists claim that Christ's return is imminent, that is, capable of occurring at any moment. Theologian and pastor Norman MacPherson, in his excellent book "Triumph Through Tribulation," offers proof that the Bible has never taught an any-moment return of Christ. Here are the points discussed at length by MacPherson:)<br /><br /> 1. Great Commission fulfillment implies a long period of time.<br /> 2. Seed growth in Matt. 13 is a time-consuming process.<br /> 3. Paul expected death, not rapture, in II Tim. 4:6-8.<br /> 4. Jesus predicted Peter's martyrdom in John 21:18-19.<br /> 5. Matt. 24 teaches that signs must come first.<br /> 6. Many passages speak of a large interval between Christ's ascension and return: Jewish dispersion into "all nations" (Luke 21); "man traveling into a far country," "after a long time the lord of those servants cometh" (Matt. 25).<br /> 7. Apostasy of last days takes time to develop.<br /> 8. Bridegroom tarried in parable of virgins.<br /> 9. Pastoral epistles teach Church's continuing ministry, which involves time.<br /> 10. Paul says Christ's coming is not imminent (II Thess. 2:1-3), for apostasy and Antichrist must come first.<br /> 11. View of seven phases of church history (seven churches of Revelation) involves big lapse of time and imminence difficulties for pretribs; could Christ have come before the last phase?<br /> 12. Exhortations to watch and be ready are tied to what pretrib teachers regard as the second stage (which is necessarily non-imminent) in Matt. 24 and 25, I Cor. 1:7, Col. 3:4, I Thess. 3:13, II Thess. 1:7-10, I Pet. 1:13 and 4:13, and I John 2:28.<br /><br /> And Acts 2:34-35 and Acts 3:21 clinch non-imminence! Would anyone dare assert that the Father's throne (at which Jesus now is) will descend with Jesus into our atmosphere to destroy His "foes" and restore "all things" BEFORE THE TRIBULATION?<br /> How can an "imminent" return of Christ have a greater practical effect on us than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit already has, or should have, on us? For more on pretrib beliefs and history, Google "Pretrib Rapture Secrets," "Pretrib Rapture Diehards," "X-Raying Margaret," "Edward Irving in Unnerving," "Deceiving and Being Deceived" (by D.M.), "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty," "Walvoord Melts Ice," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)," "Roots of Warlike Christian Zionism," "Pretrib Rapture Secrecy," "Letter from Mrs. Billy Graham," "Islam Will Purify Jews and Christians," "Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal," and - with the 2012 election in mind - "Pretrib Rapture Politics."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com