The End-Times Doctrine: An Internet Example

The End-Times Doctrine: An Internet Example

I am not making this up. There is a huge not-so-underground movement in this country that believes that the "last days" are approaching. They base their apocalyptic view of the end of the Earth, the destruction of everyone, the return of Jesus Christ, and the separation of the good (presumably including, in their humble opinion, the authors of this stuff) from the bad (anybody who did anything awful, like not believe this stuff, or having the misfortune to practice or believe in the "wrong" religion) on a dream recorded by Paul.

There is a best-selling series based on this premise (the Left Behind series) and another (sections of the Bible, based on some Christians' interpretations).

There are even Workshops to help get you through the "Tribulation" and "Rapture." Here is a clipping from one I perused on the Internet:

Since there are two events that take place when Christ returns (believers will be rewarded, and the unsaved will be punished), some doctrines believe that these events happen at two different times.

Got that? Goodies rewarded, baddies (the unsaved) punished. Somewhat reminiscent of a snatch of dialogue from the movie, The Others.

This is where most of the disputes come in. Some believe that God would not allow his followers to go through the time of great tribulation, and that Christ will make an invisible return to collect the believers before the tribulation starts. After the tribulation period, Christ will return visibly to judge the rest of the world. This is called the "Pre-Trib" theory, meaning that the rapture will occur before the tribulation period. This is the most widely supported position, although it's not as popular as it used to be.

I love this guy's use of data and facts to support his generalizations. "most of", "not as popular" "used to be." Of course, he overlooks another belief: the vast majority of the human race that either has not heard of or does not endorse this rather narrow interpretation of one of several major religious sacred texts.

Others think that believers will go through a portion of the tribulation period, but not all of it. Various reasoning is used, and various timing is the result. Although it varies somewhat, this version basically says that Christ will remove the believers from the earth at about the middle of the 7 year period of judgement, just as things are really getting bad. This is usually referred to as the "Mid-Trib" theory.

The "Pre-Wrath" theory is very similar to the mid-trib, except the timing is a bit different. It can actually mean a variety of things, depending on how you define "wrath". Most backers of this theory say that the believers will not be removed from the earth until shortly before the unsaved are destroyed at Armageddon, but the term can be applied to several points of time, most of which are during the last 3-1/2 years.

The "unsaved" (presumably, those who are not Christians, or perhaps the exact flavor of Christian this author believes you should be) are "destroyed at Armageddon." Nice. This sounds more like a projection of human dichotomous and sado-masochistic thinking than a deity one would worship, much less admire.

Question: if God is all-powerful, and he is also prescient, according to this model, God creates people by definition knowing he will destroy them. Put another way, he will create them, knowing they are destined not to be "saved." Since most of the world is non-Christian, a literal interpretation of this passage would paint a bleak and dreary picture. Such a "chosen tribe" mentality could allow you to rationalize away the suffering of most of the human race, since they are "unsaved" and only destined for destruction at "Armageddon" anyway, right?

The "Post-Trib" position says that when Christ returns, He will not gather the believers until the very end of the time of tribulation. Although Christians will go through this entire time period, they will receive divine protection from the Lord.

Now I'm not only depressed but confused. Well, which is it? Or this is all some metaphor taken far too seriously, whose original meaning, like much of the Bible, has been lost across translations, cultures, and time, pulled out of context and contorted like a Rorschach to support the prejudices and biases of the "believer"?

Here is the entire clipping:

The Last Days Workshop

(clipped from http://tldw.truepath.com/basics.html)

Introduction

If you're new to the study of Bible prophecy, all of this talk about a "rapture", the "return of Jesus Christ" and a "great tribulation" might be very confusing. In this section I'll try to explain some of the most basic issues, and show you what some of the terms mean. Each of them will be discussed in detail in other portions of this web site, along with the scriptures where these events are discussed. The following will just be "thumb-nail sketches" to give you a basic knowledge of the various issues and terms.

It may be hard for you to understand why there can be so many different opinions about what the future holds. After all, if the Bible is perfect, doesn't it tell us what will happen?

The answer is yes, it does tell us what will happen - but only partially. It gives us very small glimpses of some of the events that will take place, and lets [sic] us try to figure out the rest. It's kind of like having a few pieces of a jig-saw puzzle, and trying to put them in their proper locations - without having the rest of the pieces.

The reasons why God set things up this way are even more complicated than prophecy itself, and we won't get into them here. For now, let's just look at some of the key elements of prophecy, and try to get an understanding of what they mean.

The Return of Jesus Christ

This is the starting point for any study about prophecy. It's the most important part, and everything else revolves around this truth. Fortunately, there are so many scriptures that tell of His return that there isn't any doubt that it will happen.

When Christ returns, He will set up His kingdom on earth. All believers who have died will be raised from the dead, and - along with the living believers - will be given immortal bodies. Our sinful nature will be replaced with a spiritual nature of obedience and service to God. We will live with Christ throughout all eternity.

There are several other things that are associated with the return of Christ. These would include a time of great tribulation, the rapture of the saints, the final battle at Armageddon, and a millennium of peace. Setting these events in their proper order is really what all the debate is about. Of course, if you are excited about the return of Jesus and you like puzzles, it's a fascinating subject to study!

The Great Tribulation

In many of the scriptures dealing with prophecy, a time of judgement is mentioned. This is not an eternal judgement, but a short-term punishment of all nations of the earth because of our disobedience to God.

Most doctrines believe this punishment to last approximately 7 years, with the last 3-1/2 years being the most severe. As a result, some call the entire period "The Great Tribulation", while others save that title for the latter half.

It is during the tribulation period that the Anti-Christ will be a prominent figure on the world scene. He will be a greatly admired world leader, who turns out to be a fraud. In truth, he is the physical embodiment of Satan himself. He will have support from a false prophet, who is also possessed by Satan. Together, they will show signs and miracles that will deceive the nations of the world.

The Rapture

The "rapture" is actually a part of the coming of Christ, but is directly related to believers instead of the world in general. The term 'rapture' basically means "to snatch away", or to be "transported". Although the word 'rapture' is not found in the Bible, it's a term that is used to speak of the gathering of the saints to meet the Lord in the air. The Bible doesn't really give this event a name, but it definitely teaches about it. (You can call it whatever you want, but most people call it the rapture).

Since there are two events that take place when Christ returns (believers will be rewarded, and the unsaved will be punished), some doctrines believe that these events happen at two different times.

This is where most of the disputes come in. Some believe that God would not allow his followers to go through the time of great tribulation, and that Christ will make an invisible return to collect the believers before the tribulation starts. After the tribulation period, Christ will return visibly to judge the rest of the world. This is called the "Pre-Trib" theory, meaning that the rapture will occur before the tribulation period. This is the most widely supported position, although it's not as popular as it used to be.

Others think that believers will go through a portion of the tribulation period, but not all of it. Various reasoning is used, and various timing is the result. Although it varies somewhat, this version basically says that Christ will remove the believers from the earth at about the middle of the 7 year period of judgement, just as things are really getting bad. This is usually referred to as the "Mid-Trib" theory.

The "Pre-Wrath" theory is very similar to the mid-trib, except the timing is a bit different. It can actually mean a variety of things, depending on how you define "wrath". Most backers of this theory say that the believers will not be removed from the earth until shortly before the unsaved are destroyed at Armageddon, but the term can be applied to several points of time, most of which are during the last 3-1/2 years.

The "Post-Trib" position says that when Christ returns, He will not gather the believers until the very end of the time of tribulation. Although Christians will go through this entire time period, they will receive divine protection from the Lord.

Virtually all fundamentalist Christians who take the Bible literally fall under one of these four catagories (pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath and post-trib). In other portions of this web site, you will learn about another possibility that I call the "Post-Armageddon" theory. Although this position would fall under the catagory of post-trib, most post-trib supporters believe that we will be raptured immediately before Armageddon. I believe the Bible tells us that the saved of this world will not be raptured until AFTER the unsaved are destroyed at Armageddon. I hope you will consider this possibility as you continue your study of Bible prophecy. - Larry