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No Longer 'Rapture Ready' But 'Ready To Reject The Rapture'

I've written extensively about my "previous life" as an "Ex-Evangelical-Non-Denominational-Spiritual-Island-Unto-Himself" type of Christian and how well-meaning, but completely wrong I was about so many things.

One of those things I got wrong quite often was anything and everything I ever discussed and wrote about the so-called "Rapture" (a.k.a. "The Secret Rapture") and this was mainly due to the fact that I merely believed, taught, and confessed what so many other well-meaning believers in mainstream Christianity believe, teach, and confess about it.

I recall a popular Internet Community Message Board called "Rapture Ready" that I would spend countless hours visiting that fed this fantasy. I even printed off hundreds of articles and commentaries archived there, put them in a 3-ring binder, and then passed that binder around from family member to family member simply saying, "Read it!" without any explanation whatsoever.

Boy, was I lovely or what? 


Still, I didn't just get it wrong, but I was usually way out in left field somewhere always trying to justify that "while this isn't a 'Thus sayeth the Lord' type of announcement from me personally, this is why you need to pay attention to this particular date and listen to me, because we have more reasons than ever before in the history of all mankind to suspect that this time could really be it!" and anyone who doubted that, or who didn't have as much zeal about the subject as me and me like-minded peeps did (yikes!), then they were the "misguided" ones.

Yep, I'm ashamed to say that that was me. So, that's why I always appreciate coming across Rapture-related commentaries nowadays (the kind that prove that my past line of thinking was incorrect and un-Biblical) to not only remind myself of where God brought me from, but to also try to share them with as many fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as I can who might currently be caught up in all the end times hysteria that I once was.

You can imagine my pleasant surprise when 2018 began with me coming across the following 18-minute video by a Lutheran Pastor that seeks to summarize things for us quite nicely.



5 Major Problems With The Belief In A Secret Rapture - Pastor Jordan Cooper 
1. It is not historic Christian teaching 
2. 1 Thessalonians 4 teaches a loud coming of Christ 
3. Luke 17 does not speak about God's people ascending into the air 
4. 1 Corinthians 15 does not give two comings of Jesus, but only one such event 
5. Jesus Himself did not teach two future comings either (Mark 13)


That's really it in a nutshell, but if you're looking for a more "academic" and "in-depth" study on this subject (especially ones from a distinct Lutheran perspective), then please simply search this blog for the word "rapture" and you should find plenty of material I've published over the years that contain several other links as well.

Oh yeah, I also just read this brilliantly satirical piece on this topic too...


 
18 Reasons The Rapture Will Be In 2018


I can laugh at it (and myself) now, but it would've been a whole different story just 6-7 years ago for sure! I mean, I even attended "Prophecy Conferences" where I was invited to be a "Guest Speaker" and I was treated as though I were some kind of authority and scholar even though 100% of my presentations that included this idea of a Rapture were all speculative and subjective fantasizing at best.

My dear friends, by the grace of God I was able to reexamine these popular "Rapture" texts from the Bible and was even able to leave my presuppositions behind too, and that finally convinced me that I was wrong about the so-called "Pre-Tribulation (a.k.a Pre-Trib)" position.

Trust me, it's all there, and it all makes much more perfect sense than any of the theories I held on to for so long. More importantly, it's the truth -- the truth of God's Word!

In a Lutheran layman's terms, I'm no longer "Rapture Ready" but I continue to be more than ready to reject this un-Biblical idea of a so-called "Rapture" and prefer instead to maintain a Biblical belief in Christ's Second Coming.



NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just your average everyday Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to "Confessional Lutheranism" and one who recently escaped an American-Evangelical-Non-Denominational mindset a little more than 4 years ago now despite being a Christian my whole life. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way back into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with the Bible, our Confessions, and Lutheran doctrine in general (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can not only correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1), but repent of my sin and learn the whole truth myself. With that in mind, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavily influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I will defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

About JKR

Christian. Husband. Father. Friend.

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Thank you for visiting A Lutheran Layman! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question since we do not exercise censorship. We've seen a similar policy with other blogs and it's worth repeating: Please act as if you're a guest in my home, and we'll get along just fine. I think anyone would agree that the kind of back-and-forth that is characteristic of blogs/chat forums and social media is becoming tiresome for all of us. Still, we should confess, edify, and love (and contend and defend when needed). Bottom line? Search the Scriptures! Apply Acts 17:11 to anything and everything you find here and, if you do happen to disagree with something you find here (which is certainly ok), or think I'm "irresponsible" and "wrong" for writing it, then please refute my position by supporting yours with Scripture and/or the Confessions. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, especially for those who identify themselves as "Christians" here, right? Besides, Proverbs 27:17 tells us "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." If you have an opinion that's great, I welcome it, but try to support it using God's Word. I mean, if the goal here is to help us all arrive at the truth of God's Word (myself included), then it should be easy to follow through on this one simple request (I'm talking to all you "Anonymous" visitors out there). Grace and peace to you and yours!

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