ANDY WOODS PREWRATH RAPTURE ONSLAUGHT (PART 1)

Rapture Sermon Series 42 - Explaining & Refuting Pre-Wrath, Part 1. Rev. 6:16-17. Dr. Andy Woods - YouTube

Andy Woods (Sugar Land Bible Church) is quite defensive when it comes to the prewrath rapture view. Of the various rapture theories he has critiqued over the last few months, the prewrath rapture is the most challenging. I think to use the derogatory term "three quarters rapture" is deliberately provocative as it obviously has upset some prewrath proponents in the past. Andy Woods claims claims to be "pre-wrath" himself, in that he believes that the wrath of God applies to the entirety of the 70th week of Daniel. It is critical that we allow the scriptures to define our theology rather than our presuppositions. The prewrath position applies the scriptural designation "the beginning of birth pains" to the first half of the 70th week. (Matthew 24:8). It is also important to distinguish the terms thlipsis (tribulation) and orge (wrath) during the 70th week, since the scriptures make these distinctions. The specific period designated as the wrath of God in this context is the day of the Lord, i.e. the day of his wrath. (Amos 5:18; Joel 3:14 Revelation 6:17, 14:10 etc.) This term refers to the final period of the seventh seal judgements leading up to the battle of Armageddon spoken of by the OT prophets and confirmed in the book of Revelation as the great day of His wrath. (Revelation 6:17). 

I find nothing confusing or deceptive about the term "prewrath". When I first began to consider this view after leaving the AOG some years ago, I had no problem understanding the term. It is true that there are some variations within prewrath camp regarding the exact position of the fourth seal, vis-à-vis  the the great tribulation. Nevertheless, in my view, the defining principle of the prewrath position is the timing of the rapture. 

Regarding the other two rapture views critiqued by Andy Woods: The mid-trib view is no longer popular or considered viable by most bible scholars these days. The post-trib view also has its problems, but unfortunately, no-one within that camp is willing to discuss or address the inconsistencies associated with this view. I have previously contacted two post-trib ministries. I did receive an initial response from Good Fight Ministries, but regrettably they have never followed up on the issues raised in that conversation. Sam Adams (Independence Baptist Church) has completely ignored me. (See further links). 

For the most part, Andy Woods seems to understand, and he has correctly described, the main points the prewrath position as a three part structure i.e. the beginning of birth pains, the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. (Matthew 24:8, 21-30). Andy Woods' comprehension of prewrath will ultimately make it much more difficult for him to give an account for his own teaching. (Hebrews 4:13). I should clarify that the prewrath rapture will occur immediately after the tribulation as per Matthew 24:29-31, following the cosmic disturbances of Revelation 6:12-17. Andy Woods teaches that the tribulation continues for the entirety of the 70th week, whereas the scriptures inform us otherwise. The great tribulation begins at the mid point (the abomination of desolation) and is "cut short" for the sake of the elect. (Matthew 24:22). 

The history of the prewrath rapture view is nothing to be ashamed of. Robert Van Kampen (1938–1999) was a pioneer in the business world and he was also involved in Christian missions and missionary organizations. Van Kampen developed the prewrath rapture position from the scriptures during the 1990's and he authored three books on the subject. As one of the wealthiest men in the US, Van Kampen had no particular agenda, and he had nothing to gain personally from the prewrath rapture position. He sought the help of Marvin Rosenthal who subsequently changed his own view from pre-trib to prewrath. It is very unfortunate that Van Kampen's private collections of rare antique bibles and manuscripts have fallen into the hands of TBN. In June 2007, eight years after Van Kampen's death, the Holy Land Experience Board of Directors sold the property to TBN for an estimated $37 million. {1}  

I own a copy of Van Kampen's book The Rapture Question Answered. It is a straightforward book that gives a clear and concise presentation of the prewrath position. This is more than I can say for Darby's abstruse writing style, his bewildering doctrines and his violation of the scriptures. Charles Spurgeon commented: "If the author would write in plain English his readers would probably discover that there is nothing very valuable in his remarks." {2} If Spurgeon and other learned men of that time had difficulty with Darby's obfuscations and cultish behaviour, then I think there is no shame in admitting that I have similar difficulties.

Andy Woods has referred to the teaching of Robert Van Kampen and Marvin Rosenthal some thirty years ago. He has not yet referred to modern scholars, such as Alan Kurschner in particular. He briefly referred to Charles Cooper whose prewrath articles are useful, although his hyper-charismatic tendencies are a cause for concern. {3} 

Andy Woods tells us that he has six arguments against the prewrath rapture view that he intends to address in the coming weeks. The first of these arguments is the assumption that the 70th week concerns Israel exclusively, and he cites Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 9:24 as proof texts. The pre-trib camp are adept at making unsubstantiated assumptions where the scriptures are silent. (Proverbs 30:6). As well as presuming that the 70th week applies exclusively to Israel, Andy Woods claims that a worldwide revival amongst the Gentiles will occur during the 70th week resulting from the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish "evangelists". The scriptures are silent about a worldwide revival during this period, and furthermore, there is nothing to indicate that the 144000 Jews are evangelists. In addition, the doctrine of imminence is pure fantasy, and there is nothing in the scriptures to indicate that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). In fact the whole pre-trib view is based upon eisegesis! The inclusion of the church in God's ultimate plan is a progressive revelation. Even the disciples had difficulty in understanding that the Gentiles were also included in God's plan. (Acts 10:9-16, 44-48, 11:18). 

Alan Kurschner: "The New Testament through its progressive revelation reveals the overlay of the church during the final seven year period of Daniel’s prophecy, viewing God working with Israel and the church simultaneously to accomplished his purposes. God’s revelation of Daniel’s prophecy is augmented with more information from the New Testament, just as Old Testament prophecy is described more in detail in the New Testament (e.g. who the Messiah is and what he does). Robert H. Gundry (First the Antichrist, 135) rightly notes, 'So progress in the biblical history of salvation makes the situation in a future seventieth week different from what it was during the past sixty-nine weeks. You can’t legitimately argue from one to the other.'” {4}

For Andy Woods, the discussion is over and he has dismissed the possibility of a debate. I really don't know if his comments about debates and locations are germane. Certainly any man who is willing to travel to a pre-trib stronghold to debate the prewrath position is very brave. As for the accusation that prewrath teachers seek to proselytize pre-trib believers; surely the point of any discussion or debate is to establish truth from the scriptures in order to give believers the opportunity to test the spirits. (1 John 4:1). It is almost as though Andy Woods perceives views of the rapture at variance with pre-trib as another religion! 

1. Holy Land Experience - Wikipedia
2. Commenting & Commentaries—Catalogue (spurgeon.org)
3. WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Charles Cooper (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)
4. ANOTHER GLARING Inconsistent Pretrib Interpretation on Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy | ESCHATOS MINISTRIES (alankurschner.com)

Further Links

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Sam Adams Independence Baptist Church (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Joe Schimmel Blessed Hope Chapel (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

COMMONWEALTH THEOLOGY # THE DENVER DECLARATION: DOUG KRIEGER # DOUG HAMP ET AL

Commonwealth of Israel Foundation: DENVER DECLARATION

The Denver Declaration (DD) is a dislocated document written by multiple authors who promote the false doctrines of Commonwealth Theology. Commonwealth Theology is a variation on Covenant Theology and follows the allegorical approach to the scriptures. Allegorical interpreters can teach pretty much any nonsense they like, and they have the dubious advantage of avoiding the responsibility of providing scriptural evidence to support their views. (1 John 4:1).

The DD is presented under the guise of countering anti-Semitism vis-à-vis the error of Replacement Theology (Supersessionism) i.e. the false teaching that the church has replaced Israel in God's plans. The DD also complains that Messianic believers often find themselves isolated from the main body of believers. As a response, these authors have taken the speculative leap of identifying the ten lost tribes of Israel i.e. the house of Joseph/Ephraim, as the Gentile church, without the prerequisite of actual genetic descent from Jacob. {1} The authors of the DD have misinterpreted the prophetic scriptures regarding the ultimate gathering together of Judah and Ephraim in Jeremiah 50:4-5 and Ezekiel 37:16-19, 21-22 and have misapplied them to Ephesians 2:15. This dubious theory denies the genuine lost tribes of Israel, who are genetically identifiable, their unique designation BEFORE GOD, as "natural branches". The supposition that genetic Israel are now amalgamated with Gentiles and have become "wild branches" is insupportable.

DD: "The House of Israel/Ephraim was intentionally, divinely scattered and diffused among the Nations (Gentiles) so that they were “swallowed up.”

They who were ‘swallowed up of the Nations’ [aka, Ephraim, Israel, Jezreel, Samaria – Hos. 8:7-9]; yet, He 'will gather them' for “As He says also in Hosea: ‘I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God’” (Hos. 2:23; 1:10; Rom. 9:25-26)."

We affirm but ONE OLIVE TREE (Jer. 11:16) yet “two branches” but “one root” – these two are seen as the “natural branches” (Judah) and the wild branches (those 'elect from among the nations'– Rom. 11).."  (Section 1)

The New Testament refers to both Judah and Ephraim specifically as the "natural branches". Paul refers to Judah and Ephraim as a whole: What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. (Romans 11:7). All twelve tribes of Israel received the Mosaic Law and were part of the Mosaic Covenant. (Romans 11:1). The twelve tribes are the covenant people to whom the promises given to the patriarchs refer. (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 7:4, 21:12). At the present time the "natural branches" (Judah and Ephraim) have been temporarily cut off. (Romans 11:24). 

When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:8-10).

The Commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12) 

..remember that you (Gentiles) were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12).  

The commonwealth of Israel designates the special relationship Judah and Israel previously had with God under the Mosaic covenant which is now abolished. Israeli and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ have become one under the new covenant ~ the Israel of God i.e. the spiritual seed of Abraham by faith. (Galatians 6:16 cf. Galatians 3:9,29; Romans 2:28-29; Philippians 3:3).

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22).

The authors of the DD make a cringeworthy attempt at officialdom with the opening phrase: 

 "THEREFORE - BE IT KNOWN".

DD: God has not forgotten nor forsaken either Judah or Ephraim. (Isa. 49:14-16; Jer. 3:12; Rom. 11:1-2)—notwithstanding their “scattering.” Both the everlasting Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant remain in place on God’s part: “Concerning the election...the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:28-29); “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).

We should stop short at this point and question the above statement since it goes against the specific New Testament teaching that the Mosaic Covenant has been abrogated. Unfortunately, the divisive heresy that the Mosaic covenant remains in place is taught by a number of aberrant sects and includes modern Judaizers Doug Hamp, Scott Harwell, and presumably Doug Krieger et al, who keep the Mosaic Law regarding Levitical dietary laws, Sabbath days and feast days. (See further links) The Mosaic Covenant is referred to as the Old Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:14; Hebrews 8:6,13), i.e. it was replaced by the New Covenant in Christ (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8,13, 9:15, 12:24).The New Covenant in Christ is superior to the old Mosaic Covenant it replaces because it fulfills the promises made in Jeremiah 31:31-34, as quoted in Hebrews 8. No genuine believer can support the heresy that the Mosaic Covenant remains in place!

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith. ”But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:10-14). 

Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Galatians 3:23-25).

Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death. But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6).

Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness! Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it. For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures! (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:13-16). 

In context... one new man in the New Testament refers to those who were far off i.e. the Gentiles who did not have the Mosaic Law, and those who were near i.e. Israel who did have the Mosaic Law. (Ephesians 2:13-16). Ephraim falls into the latter category. 

At the end of the 70th week of Daniel, a Jewish remnant, referred to as all Israel, will be saved. This will fulfil the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 and Zechariah 12:10. This remnant will be protected from the day of God's wrath on the earth at the very end of the age during the seventh seal trumpet and bowl judgements. ((Revelation 12:1-14; Revelation 8). The remnant of Israel will therefore remain on the earth during the day of the Lord, whereas the church will be raptured between the sixth and seventh seal of Revelation. (Revelation 7:9–17). As such we do have to make a distinction between Israel and the church since both groups are treated differently during this period and also during the millennial reign of Christ.

ONE IN MESSIAH CONVOCATION - DENVER - 18-20 JULY 2019

 

Gentile believers in Jesus Christ are not "Ephraim" and they are not under the Mosaic Law! 

Beware of these false teachers.

1. Commonwealth of Israel Foundation: BELIEFS 

Further Links

(1) Duke professor writes about Lost Tribe of Israel - YouTube

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Doug Hamp (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

DOUG HAMP'S SABBATH SUBTERFUGE

An Open Letter to Christian Pastors and Theologians: A Call to Return to the Biblical Sabbath | DouglasHamp.com

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17).

Such is Doug Hamp's determination to put believers under the Mosaic Law, his seditious Judaizing went as far as sending an open letter to "Christian pastors and Theologians" in 2018 in a call to return to what he termed as "the biblical sabbath". 

Seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbatarianism is a legalistic belief that the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 should be strictly observed. It is practiced by various sects such as Seventh-day Adventists, Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, Church of God (Seventh Day), the Hebrew Roots Movement and other Torah observant groups.

Hamp's Geiermann Subterfuge

Hamp: "The Bible never changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day; the Catholic Church openly admits they changed it. 'The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!'” —Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50."

Geiermann referred to the Synod of Laodicea (AD 364), a minor convention in historical Christianity consisting of about thirty members from local churches in the Middle East:

Canon 29: "CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ." {1} 

The Roman Catholic church are guilty of many heresies and perversions of the scriptures, but they cannot legitimately take credit for reinstituting the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. The practice of Sunday worship pre-dates the Synod of Laodicea and can be found in both the New Testament and the early Church Fathers. 

Hamp: "Paul’s Acts 20:7 message took place in the evening of the first day of the week, which was Saturday evening from sundown until midnight (biblical days begin after sunset not at the Roman-established midnight). Nevertheless, even if his teaching had taken place Sunday evening, that would still not constitute a change in the Sabbath. Setting aside an offering on the first day (cf. I Cor 16:2) likewise would not constitute a change. The first day of the week, not Sabbath, was when they would handle money. John being in the Spirit on the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) is not a change in the Sabbath; God declares His day is the Sabbath. 'Call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable.' (Isa 58:13) There simply is no New Testament directive to abandon the Sabbath. None."

In Judaism the days of the week are not named, they are simply referred to as the first day, second day, third day, etc. The first day of the week, Sunday (Yom Rishon) begins after sundown on Saturday. Paul's message in Acts 20:7 therefore took place on the first day, i.e. the day after the Jewish Sabbath. The first day of the week is the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) i.e. the day of the Lord's resurrection. In the New Testament there is no evidence that the Jewish Sabbath was observed by Christians; rather all the evidence suggests that the first day was reserved for worship, almsgiving, and the Lord's Supper. Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2 cf. John 20:19-26). Paul's practice was to reason with (evangelize) unconverted Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath. (Acts 17:2; 18:4 cf. Acts 13:5,13-52, 16:13).

Apart from the above scriptural support, evidence that the early church worshipped on the first day of the week is overwhelming. (Deuteronomy 19:15). 

The Didache (c. 50-120 AD)
Chapter 14. Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day.

But every Lord's day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. {2} 

The Epistle of Barnabus (c. 70-132 AD)

Barnabas 15:9: Wherefore also we keep the eighth day for rejoicing, in the which also Jesus rose from the dead, and having been manifested ascended into the heavens. {3} 

Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 AD)
First Apology: CHAPTER LXVII -- WEEKLY WORSHIP OF THE CHRIS- TIANS.
And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration. {4} 

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD)

(Letter to the Magnesians 8

Chapter IX.-Let Us Live with Christ.
If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death-whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master-how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead. {5} 

Tertullian (c. 200AD)
Chapter XIII.-- THE CHARGE OF WORSHIPPING THE SUN MET BY A RETORT.

Others, with greater regard to good manners, it must be confessed, suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity. {6} 

Didascalia Apostolorum (c. 225 AD)

Chapter XXVI
Cease therefore, beloved brethren, (p. 113) you who from among the People have believed, yet desire (still) to be tied with the bonds, and say that the Sabbath is prior to the first day of the week because that the Scripture has said: In six days did God make all things; and on the seventh day he finished all his works, and he sanctified it [Ex 20.11; Gen 2.2-3]..
But the Sabbath itself is counted even unto the Sabbath, and it becomes eight (days); thus an ogdoad is (reached), which is more than the Sabbath, even the first of the week.

Origen (229 AD)
Commentary on John Book II
Hence it is not possible that the rest after the Sabbath should have come into existence from the seventh of our God; on the contrary, it is our Saviour who, after the pattern of His own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of His death, and hence also of His resurrection. {7} 

Acts 20:7 Commentaries 

Clarke: "Upon the first day of the week - What was called κυριακη, the Lord's day, the Christian Sabbath, in which they commemorated the resurrection of our Lord; and which, among all Christians, afterwards took the place of the Jewish Sabbath.. They who, professing the Christian religion, still prefer the Jewish Sabbath, have little to support them in the New Testament. How prone is man to affect to be wise above what is written, while he is, in almost every respect, below the teaching so plainly laid down in the Divine word. {8}

Alford: ἐν τῇ μιᾷ τ. σαββ.] We have here an intimation of the continuance of the practice, which seems to have begun immediately after the Resurrection (see John 20:26), of assembling on the first day of the week for religious purposes. (Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 67, p. 83, says, τῇ τοῦ ἡλίου λεγομένῃ ἡμέρᾳ πάντων κατὰ πόλεις ἢ ἀγροὺς μενόντων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ συνέλευσις γίνεται.) Perhaps the greatest proof of all, that this day was thus observed, may be found in the early (see 1Corinthians 16:2) and at length general prevalence, in the Gentile world, of the Jewish seven-day period as a division of time,—which was entirely foreign to Gentile habits. It can only have been introduced as following on the practice of especial honour paid to this day. But we find in the Christian Scriptures no trace of any sabbatical observance of this or any day: nay, in Romans 14:5 (where see note), Paul shews the untenableness of any such view under the Christian dispensation. The idea of the transference of the Jewish sabbath from the seventh day to the first was an invention of later times. {9} 

Ellicott: "This and the counsel given in 1Corinthians 16:2, are distinct proofs that the Church had already begun to observe the weekly festival of the Resurrection in place of, or, where the disciples were Jews, in addition to, the weekly Sabbath." {10} 

Benson: “The whole of the ceremonial law of Moses being abrogated by Christ, (Colossians 2:14,) Christians are under no obligation to observe any of the Jewish holydays, not even the seventh-day sabbath. Wherefore, if any teacher made the observance of the seventh day a necessary duty, the Colossians were to resist him. But though the brethren in the first age paid no regard to the Jewish seventh-day sabbath, they set apart the first day of the week for public worship, and for commemorating the death and resurrection of their Master, by eating his supper on that day; also for the private exercises of devotion. This they did, either by the precept or by the example of the apostles, and not by virtue of any injunction in the law of Moses. Besides, they did not sanctify the first day of the week in the Jewish manner, by a total abstinence from bodily labour of every kind. That practice was condemned by the council of Laodicea, as Judaizing.” {11} 

If pastors and teachers have any wisdom whatsoever, they will reject Hamp's call to return to the "biblical sabbath" and follow the example of the scriptures and the early Church Fathers. 

1. CHURCH FATHERS: Synod of Laodicea (4th Century) (newadvent.org.
2. Didache. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (translation Roberts-Donaldson). (earlychristianwritings.com)

3. The Epistle of Barnabas (translation J.B. Lightfoot) (earlychristianwritings.com)
4. Saint Justin Martyr: First Apology (Roberts-Donaldson) (earlychristianwritings.com)
5. St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians (Roberts-Donaldson translation)(earlychristianwritings.com)
6. Tertullian (Roberts-Donaldson) (earlychristianwritings.com)
7. Origen: Commentary on John, Book 2 (Roberts-Donaldson) (earlychristianwritings.com)
8. Acts 20 Clarke's Commentary (biblehub.com)
9. Acts 20 Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford (biblehub.com)
10. Acts 20 - Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Bible Commentaries - StudyLight.org
11. Colossians 2:16 Commentaries: Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- (biblehub.com)

DOUG HAMP'S RAPTURE INCOMPETENCE: LUKE 17:34-36

 Who is Left Behind? Understanding the Order of the Final Gathering (Rapture) | DouglasHamp.com

Doug Hamp's Eisegesis: Who will be taken and who will be left?  (Luke v17:34-36). 

Doug Hamp's incompetence as a bible teacher has become painfully clear over the last few weeks as I have watched his weekly Prophecy Roundtable with fellow hosts Scott Harwell and John Haller. {1} Hamp's mild mannered "chats" belie the lethal doctrines being promoted on these videos. Hamp and Harwell are modern Judaizers who promote Torah-observance, the Talmud and the skewed doctrine known as "Commonwealth Theology" which works on the false premise that both the Abrahamic covenant and the Mosaic covenant remain in place. Hamp takes the same position as Joseph Smith (Mormons) i.e. that the church is the ten tribes of Israel (Ephraim). Hamp applies the rapture to Israel and places it at the end of the tribulation. Much more could be said, but I will limit this post to Hamp's interpretation of Luke 17:34-36. 

The above link demonstrates Hamp's error in taking one small excerpt from the scriptures in order to justify his warped view that this passage does not refer to the rapture. He does not take into account the parallel passage in Matthew 24 and other related scriptures that confirm that the righteous, not the wicked, are taken. (Psalm 119:160).

Hamp: "..we see that the ones taken from the bed, mill, and field, are not the righteous, but the wicked who have taken the mark of the beast. They are removed to destruction where the birds will eat their flesh. The righteous who didn’t know it will inherit the earth as flesh and blood and have children. The elect (commonwealth of Israel) are gathered by the angels and are transformed in a flash into their new bodies and become rulers with Christ during the thousand-year rule."

Hamp's eisegesis is an inversion of the entire passage. His proof text (Ezekiel 39:17-20), is based on the assumption that Ezekiel 38 and 39 refers to the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19.* Ezekiel demonstrates that the assembly of the wicked has nothing in common with the rapture event described by Luke i.e. one taken (paralambanó) and the other left. (Luke 17:34-36). Ezekiel describes the gathering of the vultures, not the removal of the wicked, taking place on the the mountains of Israel, the location where Gog's armies will fall. (Ezekiel 39:4 cf. Matthew 24:28; Revelation 19:17). The kings and their armies are assembled together at Armageddon by the three unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon. (Revelation 16:13-14). And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:6).

Luke 17:34-35 : One will be taken (paralambanó). Typically paralambanó is an affirmative verb meaning to receive or to take to oneself. The verb paralambanó refers to the rapture in Matthew 24:40-41 and John 14:3.{2} 

“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:17-20).

Luke 17:26-37

26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32Remember Lot’s wife. 33Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”37And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”  

The question: Where Lord? Jesus identifies the wicked with the corpses i.e. the vultures will gather and they will gorge themselves on the corpses of the wicked where they have been killed by the Lord. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Revelation 19:17-21).

The parallel passage in Matthew 24 confirms that the elect, not the wicked, are gathered and that this event (i.e. the rapture) happens immediately after the tribulation. (Matthew 24:29-31). In contrast, the battle of Armageddon occurs after the rapture and follows the trumpet and bowl judgments. The armies assemble at Armageddon at the sixth bowl judgment. (Revelation 16:12-14).

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather (ἐπισυνάξουσιν) his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31, 36-44 cf. Mark 13:27; Luke 21:26-28; 2 Thessalonians 2:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

Old Testament Parallels 

Noah as an example ~  Noah entered the ark i.e. Noah preceded those outside who remained and were destroyed. (Luke 17:27 cf. Genesis 7:7). The ark rose above the flood waters and those who were left behind on the earth were destroyed.

In some versions Matthew 24:39 reads  ..the flood took (airó) them all away (NIV KJV NASB etc.) 

This is a point of confusion with taken (paralambanó). The context of the passage is not that the wicked were literally taken (raptured), but that the flood swept them away and they were destroyed.

..they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:39 ESV)

Lot as an example ~  Lot went out from Sodom. (Luke 17:18-28-29). The two angels accompanied Lot out of the city (Sodom), and Lot subsequently fled to Zoar: Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:19-24). Those who remained in Sodom were destroyed.. so it will be when the son of man is revealed.. (Luke 17:29:30 cf. Matthew 24:31). 

Lot and his family are told to flee without delay.. without going back for their goods and without turning back.. Lot's wife is given as an example not to look back. (Luke 17:31).

 

The righteous will be taken up in the rapture in order to escape the wrath of God on the earth. In the same way, Noah escaped the flood waters, and Lot escaped the destruction of Sodom. (Matthew 24:30-31).

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Alan Kurschner's critique of Reclaiming the Rapture: Restoring the Doctrine of the Gathering of the Commonwealth of Israel by Doug Hamp and Chris Steinle is very cutting. Apart from commenting that it is very poorly written and edited, his main criticism is Steinle's incompetence, his denial of the rapture and his mistranslation of harpagésómetha as plunder.

Kurschner: "Steinle argues fallaciously that Paul’s usage of harpagēsometha in 1 Thess 4:17 does not mean to be snatched or seized. Rather he thinks it means plunder." {3} 

Hamp's conclusion is just as problematic as his faulty exegesis above.

He divides people into three categories:

The elect (Commonwealth Israel = followers of Christ)

Those who took the mark of the beast (Hybrids/Rephaim cf. Isaiah 26:19, Rev 14:9-10)

Those who were righteous but didn’t know it – they don’t take the mark or follow beast but they don’t necessarily seem to be followers of Christ either. (Matthew 25:37)

Hamp: "In conclusion, we see that the ones taken from the bed, mill, and field, are not the righteous, but the wicked who have taken the mark of the beast. They are removed to destruction where the birds will eat their flesh. The righteous who didn’t know it will inherit the earth as flesh and blood and have children. The elect (commonwealth of Israel) are gathered by the angels and are transformed in a flash into their new bodies and become rulers with Christ during the thousand-year rule."

*  I recommend Chris White's video on the timing of the Gog/Magog War in Ezekiel 37 and 38. White successfully debunks the various theories that this war will occur prior to the return of Jesus Christ. He also outlines the difficulties associated with the battle of Armageddon view. (Revelation 19). White's view that the Gog/Magog war will take place at the end of the millennium is worth consideration. (Revelation 20:7-9).  The Timing of the Gog Magog War - YouTube

 

1. WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: Torah observance (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

2. Strong's Greek: 3880. παραλαμβάνω (paralambanó) -- to receive from (biblehub.com)
3. Is the Meaning of Harpagēsometha in 1 Thess 4:17 'Rapture' or 'Plunder'? Part 6 - Ep. 131 | ESCHATOS MINISTRIES (alankurschner.com)