Do Preterists Believe In The Rapture?

[sheshisown]

:waving matthew~

I appreciate you reply below:

My friend, Bonnie, I understand your questions. I really do. I have asked them myself in the twenty some years I remained a dispensationalist. I, like you, loved the Lord and thought I was understanding the Word. But I grew more and more disturbed by the hermeneutical calisthenics I forced to execute in order to remain one. I wish you only the best, Bonnie. I wish for you the same growing discomfort I endured when dealing with time statements and the expectations on the part of those first-century believers. Every time you see a YOU or a WE or a SOON or a NEAR, I pray they will trouble you. As a dispensationalist, I had become so trained to overlook the force of those words, that I don't think I ever really saw them until someone annoyed me and pointed them out. That is perhaps why I sound harsh to you. The Scriptures can be understood, but we must always be willing to re-evaluate in light of further light. There are many things, even as a preterist, that I have not settled in cement in my mind. I am relatively sure that I am properly dividing the word of truth, but I force myself to come again to every passage as though I have never seen it before. Is there something I missed? Does this really say what I think it says? Am I reading something into it that simply is not there? I constantly ask these questions. I do not want to be wrong! I am sure you agree that God's Word demands our utmost respect and diligence. I think such an attitude is reflected in your heart from the posts I read. Keep an open mind. Do not judge us by what others have said. Remember, most preterists were once futurists! Some attacks against preterism are simply unfounded and reflective of misunderstanding. Keep studying, my friend!

Love, in Christ, Matthew24:34

And I am thankful for the peace between us~ may God help us to keep it. :nod As I stated before, I simply do not believe that end times theology can be absolutely known. No view (including my own) can prove to be absolutley dogmatic. Therefore, we stand on two sides of the word in this area. Yes, I know that means somebody is wrong. However brother, I did not come to my conclusions through the lack of conviction, but rather in conviction.

The Lord can reach and teach us all, there is a purpose behind our dilema within the Sovereign control of our heavenly Father. I will be all the more patient, as the Lord gives me the grace, and expectantly so. However, I dare to say... I doubt I will ever change my view. I have been searching the word for the view of end times that (God willed for me) not the one men taught me. I have done the work of study, and of prayer... though I am weak, and consider myself able to fail, the Lord will hold me up. AND He will hold you up, to The Day of our Redemption! That is what counts.


Love to you in our Lord Jesus Christ dear brother... sheshisown/bonnie :shades

 

[Matthew24:34]

:waving matthew~

I appreciate you reply below:

My friend, Bonnie, I understand your questions. I really do. I have asked them myself in the twenty some years I remained a dispensationalist. I, like you, loved the Lord and thought I was understanding the Word. But I grew more and more disturbed by the hermeneutical calisthenics I forced to execute in order to remain one. I wish you only the best, Bonnie. I wish for you the same growing discomfort I endured when dealing with time statements and the expectations on the part of those first-century believers. Every time you see a YOU or a WE or a SOON or a NEAR, I pray they will trouble you. As a dispensationalist, I had become so trained to overlook the force of those words, that I don't think I ever really saw them until someone annoyed me and pointed them out. That is perhaps why I sound harsh to you. The Scriptures can be understood, but we must always be willing to re-evaluate in light of further light. There are many things, even as a preterist, that I have not settled in cement in my mind. I am relatively sure that I am properly dividing the word of truth, but I force myself to come again to every passage as though I have never seen it before. Is there something I missed? Does this really say what I think it says? Am I reading something into it that simply is not there? I constantly ask these questions. I do not want to be wrong! I am sure you agree that God's Word demands our utmost respect and diligence. I think such an attitude is reflected in your heart from the posts I read. Keep an open mind. Do not judge us by what others have said. Remember, most preterists were once futurists! Some attacks against preterism are simply unfounded and reflective of misunderstanding. Keep studying, my friend!

Love, in Christ, Matthew24:34

And I am thankful for the peace between us~ may God help us to keep it. :nod As I stated before, I simply do not believe that end times theology can be absolutely known. No view (including my own) can prove to be absolutley dogmatic. Therefore, we stand on two sides of the word in this area. Yes, I know that means somebody is wrong. However brother, I did not come to my conclusions through the lack of conviction, but rather in conviction.

The Lord can reach and teach us all, there is a purpose behind our dilema within the Sovereign control of our heavenly Father. I will be all the more patient, as the Lord gives me the grace, and expectantly so. However, I dare to say... I doubt I will ever change my view. I have been searching the word for the view of end times that (God willed for me) not the one men taught me. I have done the work of study, and of prayer... though I am weak, and consider myself able to fail, the Lord will hold me up. AND He will hold you up, to The Day of our Redemption! That is what counts.


Love to you in our Lord Jesus Christ dear brother... sheshisown/bonnie :shades

Greetings, Bonnie: Despite what many think here, I am not like you. I do NOT say I will NEVER change my mind. I am constantly reevaluating my beliefs. Every question you have given me, I have looked at closely and have asked, "Is she right? Am I wrong?" But after close investigation, I am still drawn back to the simple fact that words mean things. You will never be at peace with the time statements in the NT as long as you remain a futurist. Never! You will continue to be forced to ignore or redefine them. I do not know how you are able to continually do that and why that does not greatly trouble you. Have you ever seriously considered that your understanding of the nature of the parousia, the resurrection, and the judgment is faulty and is, therefore, the reason you cannot accept the plain, common, usual, normal meaning of simple words such as "soon" and "near?" The fulfillment must agree with the timing. If it doesn't, one should reconsider how he is understanding the fulfillment. There are really only two approaches--ignore or redefine simple words to uphold one's preconceived ideas or accept the time indicators in their plain meanings that were intended by the inspired writers and adjust one's concept of the aspects of the fulfillments so that they coincide with that timing!

God does not give believers opposing views of the last days! Yet, futurists, when unable to deal satisfactorily with the time indicators in the NT, simply want to agree to disagree. That is not acceptable when dealing with God's Word. Either you are right and I am wrong or we are both wrong and someone else is right. If we respect God's Word as we should, there is no room for agreeing to disagree among believers.

Bonnie, you will never reconcile your concepts of Christ's coming, the resurrection, and the judgment to the clear time frame established in the NT. They are simply incompatible. If you are content with that anomaly, that is certainly your prerogative. But this is a major flaw for futurists and it is the major avenue of attack by atheists and skeptics of our day. Even they understand the timing of the NT and the meaning of Jesus' words and the inspired writers' words. They accuse our Lord and His apostles of lying because they claimed that something was to happen in that first-century time frame when, in fact, according to many in the Church today, it has still not occurred! Many futurists want to ignore these critics and say that they have no obligation to answer them when, in fact, they do.

It is the preterist who has the satisfactory answer to the naysayers of our day. The preterist approach silences those who accuse our Lord of being a false prophet, the inspired writers of being false teachers, and Christianity of being a false religion! Jesus and His apostles said what they meant and meant what they said--in plain language. Frankly, the silence of those futurists who refuse to answer is deafening and self-condemning and the absurd teachings of those futurists who attempt to answer with fabricated dual fulfillment and postponement theories is embarrassing! The only solution to the accusation of nonoccurrence is the biblical teaching of occurrence!

With love, your SISTER in Christ, Matthew24:34