Harpazo Hysteria

Well, if you've been living under a rock you might have missed the news that the Rapture is going to happen Saturday.  Or at least so Harold Camping claims.  But of course there are those who disagree, because they know that the Rapture, or at least the start of the 70th Week, is going to …

Revelation Not to the Ekklesia? Part 3 – Old Testament Prophecy

As we continue our analysis of E.W. Bullinger's commentary on the book of Revelation, we come to his next proof that the Revelation is not intended for the Ekklesia, which is that it "is another undoubted fact, that the Church of God is not the subject of the Old Testament, either in history, type, or …

New Podcast: When the Stars Fall – Part 1

Back when my book first came out, I got several requests to do an audio version so that people could listen to it while working.  While I have no particular desire to do a word-for-word reading of the book, it occurred to me that doing a series of podcasts that would parallel it but give …

Revelation Not To the Ekklesia? Part 2: Hebraic Character

In part one of this series, we looked at how Bullinger's rather radical take on Dispensationalism colors not only his eschatology, but his ecclesiology and his theology in general.  With that as our set-up, let's start taking his arguments one-by-one, starting with, "The Hebrew Character of the Book."  After pointing out how critics have used …

Revelation Not To The Ekklesia? Part 1: Bullinger’s Theology

Someone who has started on my book (yes, plug, plug) wrote a few days ago asking me to address the arguments of E.W. Bullinger's Commentary on Revelation that the final book of Scripture is not addressed to the Church.  It seemed like it would make for a good series, and ties in well with the …

Prewrath Rapturism Part 4: Lining Up the Times

Pity the poor disciples of Yeshua!  Those who have read the end of the Gospel accounts find it all too easy to poke fun at the poor clods.  We chuckle when they are confused by Yeshua’s predictions of His death or that they are constantly saying and doing the wrong things.  But let’s be honest …

Prewrath Rapturism, Part 3: Daniel’s Gap

    In the prophecy of Daniel's Seventy Weeks, we have a curious gap between the 69th and 70th Weeks.  The 69th Week concludes with "the coming of the Messiah, the ruler" and then includes two additional events:  The Messiah is first "cut off" and then Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed.  Then the 70th …

Prewrath Rapturism, Part 2: Daniel’s Seventy Weeks

In the study of prophecy, there is one passage that stands out above all others in its clarity and its precise fulfillment in history.  And yet, ironically, there are few prophecies that engender more visceral debate.  It is not too much to say that one’s entire view of prophecy depends upon one’s view of Daniel’s …

Prewrath Rapturism, Part 1: Defining Our Terms

About the only subject more divisive than the role of Israel in the Eternal One's plans and her relationship to the Ekklesia is the timing of the so-called Rapture.  I say so-called not because I don't believe in the event, called the harpazo or "catching away" in 1Th. 4:17, but because a) the term Rapture …

The Perils of Pre-, Post-, and Prewrath Persecutional Views

I'd meant to do another post on Bullinger today, but didn't get a chance.  So instead, I thought I'd post an essay I wrote a while back discussing the potential pitfalls of both pretrib and prewrath Rapturism. I say both because pretty much any theological position on any matter has its potential pitfalls. For example, …