Can pretrib rapturists find support for their view in the stages of a Jewish wedding, as some assert?
Every encyclopedia I checked (including the Jewish Encyclopedia) states that there are two stages in such a wedding: the "kiddushin" (betrothal) and the "nissuin" (marriage).
Although some pretrib leaders find proof for their rapture view in Jewish wedding stages, there is widespread disagreement among them over how many stages there are.
In his book "The End Times Passover"Joe Ortiz refers to John Walvoord's book "The Rapture Question" which accepts R. C. H. Lenski's view that a Hebrew marriage has three stages.
Charles Monk sees 5 "customs" (stages).
Arnold Fruchtenbaum has found 6 "steps" (stages) that Thomas Ice has appropriated.
The ReturnToGod.com site observes 12 "steps" (stages).
Not to be outdone, Renald Showers actually sees 17 "customs" (stages).
(Think of all the work to boil down 17 or even 5 stages into a two-stage second coming!)
An internet blog titled "For the Love of Truth" is representative of not a few that reveal that it's dangerous as well as unscriptural to base a pretrib rapture outlook on Jewish traditions. In an article titled "Jewish Wedding and Rapture" the same blog has some startling information:
It says: "Jewish Wedding traditions being discussed are the rabbinic teachings found within the Talmud and Kabbalah." (Not only are these sources occultic and anti-Biblical but the Talmud is filled with lies and blasphemy about Jesus that are as irrational as they are totally evil!)
It reveals that certain pretrib leaders "have taken snippets of the various Jewish wedding traditions" and "rearranged and reinvented the content and events and then made the declaration that the Jewish wedding tradition is really the story of Christ and the rapture...."
It also states that "the seven blessings [during the ceremony] obviously have nothing to do with Jesus Christ or His return," adding that "Nowhere does the Bible tell us to interpret scripture by looking to man's traditions."
Incidentally, it's well-known that pretrib rapture defenders claim that certain Bible passages are on "church" ground while other passages are on "Jewish" ground and that we should always maintain the Darby-approved "church/Israel separation" principle. However, with impunity they can jettison that principle in the twinkling of an eye if they need support for their 187-year-old novelty from occultic Jewish traditions or from Lev. 23's Jewish feasts!
Since far too many pretrib leaders seem to be "stagestruck," and since their love affair with stages has rubbed off on me, I hereby share a personal "revelation" I've had lately that I've titled "The Seven-Stage Coming (I Thess. 4)" which proves that pretribs should be looking for a seven-stage coming and not just a measly two-stage coming:
1 - The Lord descends.
2 - The shout.
3 - The archangel's voice.
4 - The trumpet of God.
5 - The dead rise.
6 - The caught up (rapture).
7 - The meeting in the air.
Yes, seven stages. And isn't 7 supposed to be a perfect number?
Something else. Have you noticed the unnatural language pretribs like to use? If a friend visits me, goes away for a month, and then comes back and visits me again, he never says: "I'm back for the SECOND stage of my one visit." But pretribs use wording like this when they place SEVERAL YEARS between their two stages!
During their short history pretrib promoters have disagreed on many things in addition to the number of stages in a Jewish wedding. They have also disagreed on which Jewish feast is symbolic of a pretrib rapture, and disagreed on which symbol in the book of Revelation is the best "pretrib" symbol.
Although some pretrib leaders find proof for their rapture view in Jewish wedding stages, there is widespread disagreement among them over how many stages there are.
In his book "The End Times Passover"Joe Ortiz refers to John Walvoord's book "The Rapture Question" which accepts R. C. H. Lenski's view that a Hebrew marriage has three stages.
Charles Monk sees 5 "customs" (stages).
Arnold Fruchtenbaum has found 6 "steps" (stages) that Thomas Ice has appropriated.
The ReturnToGod.com site observes 12 "steps" (stages).
Not to be outdone, Renald Showers actually sees 17 "customs" (stages).
(Think of all the work to boil down 17 or even 5 stages into a two-stage second coming!)
An internet blog titled "For the Love of Truth" is representative of not a few that reveal that it's dangerous as well as unscriptural to base a pretrib rapture outlook on Jewish traditions. In an article titled "Jewish Wedding and Rapture" the same blog has some startling information:
It says: "Jewish Wedding traditions being discussed are the rabbinic teachings found within the Talmud and Kabbalah." (Not only are these sources occultic and anti-Biblical but the Talmud is filled with lies and blasphemy about Jesus that are as irrational as they are totally evil!)
It reveals that certain pretrib leaders "have taken snippets of the various Jewish wedding traditions" and "rearranged and reinvented the content and events and then made the declaration that the Jewish wedding tradition is really the story of Christ and the rapture...."
It also states that "the seven blessings [during the ceremony] obviously have nothing to do with Jesus Christ or His return," adding that "Nowhere does the Bible tell us to interpret scripture by looking to man's traditions."
Incidentally, it's well-known that pretrib rapture defenders claim that certain Bible passages are on "church" ground while other passages are on "Jewish" ground and that we should always maintain the Darby-approved "church/Israel separation" principle. However, with impunity they can jettison that principle in the twinkling of an eye if they need support for their 187-year-old novelty from occultic Jewish traditions or from Lev. 23's Jewish feasts!
Since far too many pretrib leaders seem to be "stagestruck," and since their love affair with stages has rubbed off on me, I hereby share a personal "revelation" I've had lately that I've titled "The Seven-Stage Coming (I Thess. 4)" which proves that pretribs should be looking for a seven-stage coming and not just a measly two-stage coming:
1 - The Lord descends.
2 - The shout.
3 - The archangel's voice.
4 - The trumpet of God.
5 - The dead rise.
6 - The caught up (rapture).
7 - The meeting in the air.
Yes, seven stages. And isn't 7 supposed to be a perfect number?
Something else. Have you noticed the unnatural language pretribs like to use? If a friend visits me, goes away for a month, and then comes back and visits me again, he never says: "I'm back for the SECOND stage of my one visit." But pretribs use wording like this when they place SEVERAL YEARS between their two stages!
During their short history pretrib promoters have disagreed on many things in addition to the number of stages in a Jewish wedding. They have also disagreed on which Jewish feast is symbolic of a pretrib rapture, and disagreed on which symbol in the book of Revelation is the best "pretrib" symbol.
(For 30 years Darby's basis for a pretrib rapture was Rev. 12:5's "man child" that is caught up - a verse that is presently being discussed around the world in connection with a hoped-for rapture this coming Sep. 23rd!)
For 300 pages of the most accurate documentation anywhere on the long covered up but now revealed history of the pretrib rapture view, I invite you to obtain my book "The Rapture Plot" at Armageddon Books and other online stores. Google "Scholars Weigh My Research" to see how eminent scholars have evaluated my discoveries.
Finally, it's apparent that pretrib teachers are experts in arithmetic - the MULTIPLYING of stages which has caused a lot of DIVIDING among Christians!
For 300 pages of the most accurate documentation anywhere on the long covered up but now revealed history of the pretrib rapture view, I invite you to obtain my book "The Rapture Plot" at Armageddon Books and other online stores. Google "Scholars Weigh My Research" to see how eminent scholars have evaluated my discoveries.
Finally, it's apparent that pretrib teachers are experts in arithmetic - the MULTIPLYING of stages which has caused a lot of DIVIDING among Christians!
Quite amusing really-"I'm back for the SECOND stage of my one visit."! SEVEN years (or more) apart!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine being in front of a judge in a court of law saying "Honestly M'lud, I know that you granted me one visit a month, but the 'second' visit wasn't really the second, it was the second stage of the one visit that you allowed me!"
A human judge wouldn't entertain such gobbledygook, much less the Lord of glory!!!
God bless.
As for the 23rd, no doubt something will happen on that date, but it WON'T be any rapture!
I'm still laughing, Colin, at your reaction. We are all familiar with products that are fat-free, sugar-free, or salt-free, etc. I thank God that neither you nor Treena ever seem to promote "Antichrist-free" theology - the "sanitized" (or "Satan-itized" ?) theology which unfortunately has dominated noticeable portions of Christian theology for almost 200 years and has kept its adherents (read "fanatics") in la-la-land slavery!
ReplyDeleteGod did a remarkable work in helping me to open my eyes to lie/deception of the pretribulation rapture. I had been taught this lie from the early days as a babe in Christhe and never thought to question it as it is what "Everyone" beleieved and were able to point to scriptures which seemed to support it (which I have since come to understand are faulty "proof texts". Add to the the popular "Left Behind" book series and the hokey Left Behind movies with Kirk Cameron and I was sold. Then one day a friend handed me a book and suggested I might want to read it. It was a fictional tale of Christians still on earth enduring the tribulation, ie:PERSECUTION via the followers of the beast and any who dared not take the mark. Well, that at least got me thinking and I adopted a "hope for the best/prepare for the worst" approach to eschatology. Then some more years later, a young woman I had led to Christ asked me what I believed about the rapture and second coming. I told her I believed and hoped that the rapture would happen before the grest tribulation but that I thought it wise to a least consider and be mentally/spiritually prepared for the worst case senario - that being Christians are NOT raptured during the time when Antichrist is ruling and reigning. Well, that wasn'the good enough and she pressured me to commit to one view or the other. It dawned on me that I had never really studied what the Bible said on the matter for myself so I confessed this to her and told her I'd spend some time studying all of the prophetic scriptures pertaining to the last days, the rapture and the second coming (having no idea just how MUCH scripture we are talking about) and that I'd get back to her when I'd discovered what God via the Bible says on the matter. So began a life transforming, faith renewing spiritual adventure of a lifetime! If anyone would like to hear exactly how the Hold Spirit led and revealed the truth to me about the deception of the pre-tribulation rapture and the true mestage of Jesus, the Prophets and the Apostles regarding the end of the age, the day of the Lord and our being gathered to Him, I would be more than happy to share the conclusion of this on going adventure! Email me at debgoetz81@yahoo.com.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteYour experience reflects that of so many Christians. They are taught certain things and they do not think to question them. It is so vital in these last days to seek the Lord and to study the scriptures for ourselves.
There are many false teachers and hirelings out there. (John 10:7-18).
God bless.
I am so very glad debgoetz81@yahoo.com that you have discovered the truth regarding "the deception of the pre-tribulation rapture".
ReplyDeleteThis false teaching has become the default position of all new believers, it would seem. Certainly it was so in my case. As Treena says, we should "seek the Lord and study the Scriptures for ourselves. There are many false teachers and hirelings out there."
When I became convinced from Scripture ALONE that pre-trib doctrine was unbiblical, scales fell off my eyes as it were, it was a most liberating experience! I say this because until I was convicted of the truth, I was "halt between two opinions". 1 Kings 18.21 (not a good place to be!)
May God continue to "open thou my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (word)" Psalm 119.18.
Stay posted! and may God continue to open YOUR eyes!
God bless.
Congrats to the Anonymous who signed as debgoetz81. The world needs more like you, especially during the present downfall of planet earth. It's amazing what pretrib hucksters like to avoid in the Word - verses like Acts 2:34-35 and Acts 3:21 which declare that Christ cannot leave heaven until it's time to destroy the wicked (which obviously cannot happen before the trib) and until it's time to restore all things that the OT prophets talked about (which obviously cannot happen during the trib). And II Thess. 1:7-10 reveals that we get our "rest" (vs. 7) when the Lord comes in "flaming fire taking vengeance" (obvious not in a pretrib setting!). So - more power to you, Anonymous, and "Full Steam Ahead" in the face of $ecret e$cape $ale$men who are afflicted with a bad case of Wordphobia!
ReplyDelete