Hi Folks. I said in the last podcast that I would talk more about the purposes of the Rapture. And I will, soon. But I want to put the question of imminence - defined in the last podcast - behind us. You must accept the Doctrine of Imminence. And, yes - it is a doctrine. Once you accept it, the mid-tribulation rapture, the pre-wrath rapture, and the post-tribulation rapture are simply out of the question. You can forget about them.

Some of you may recall that I did a detailed analysis of imminence in an earlier podcast:

In that podcast, I went into the relevant Greek words and even tenses to prove imminence. But I think that what I’ve pasted below, from John MacArthur, sums up imminence so clearly that nothing more is needed. Please read the Summary and put any doubts that you have about imminence to rest.

Soon, I’m going to make the case that the Pretribulation Rapture and the Seventieth Week of Daniel - the 7 Year Tribulation - are not optional doctrines for the born again believer. Why? Because they are both intimately related to God’s future plans for the Nation of Israel. And God’s plans for Israel are very important to Him. I believe that those who disdain these doctrines (the Pretribulation Rapture and the Tribulation) are going to be schooled about them at the judgement seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10 ) and they are going to lose crowns. This includes my friends who believe in Covenant Theology.

Thank you for reading and listening, my friends.

From Grace to You, the ministry of John MacArthur:

https://www.gty.org/articles/A368/is-christs-return-imminent

Summary:

The New Testament is consistent in its anticipation that the return of Christ might occur at any moment. That pervading perspective of imminence prompts three questions. The first question pertains to whether the Tribulation will precede Christ’s coming for the church. The answer to that question is that it will not because the church is never asked to look forward to the tribulation, but they are asked to look forward to Christ’s coming. The second question revolves around how the return of Christ could have been imminent in the early church. The answer here is that no one but the Father knows when the coming will occur, so that Christians including the early church must always be ready. The third question asks why Christ’s imminent return is so important. This answer relates to the motivation it supplies for believers to purify their lives and thereby progress toward the goal of sanctification and Christlikeness. The threefold call of the imminence doctrine is to wake up and obey right now, to throw off the works of darkness, and to put on the garments of holy living.

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