It should first be noted that one's eschatology (doctrine of last things), while obviously important, does not, in and of itself, constitute the litmus test of orthodoxy. To make it so is to violate that ultimate standard of measure as defined in one's having been accepted by the Father (Rom. 14:3). At the same time, the following should be seen as profoundly and increasingly significant.
That our Lord's return and his coming constitute a singular, inclusive event as opposed to the two-phased proposal of much present teaching is to be seen, for example in:
1. The simultaneity of Christ's going forth to "judge and make war" and to raise the righteous dead in "the first resurrection" (Rev. 19:11-20:5). There is no seven year interval;
2. The simultaneous outpouring of judgment upon the wicked and deliverance of the righteous "in that day" (singular; Mal. 3:17-4:3);
3. The "growing together until the harvest" of both wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30);
4. Separation of the wicked from the just - not at a preceding Rapture but "at the end of the age" (Matt. 13:40-43; 47-50);
5. The issuance of rewards and meting out of punishment as a singular occurrence upon the Master's return (Matt. 25:14-30);
6. The simultaneity of recompence "to every man" at Christ's "coming in the glory of his Father with his angels" (Matt. 17:27; cf. Rev. 22:12);
7. The imminence of the believers "redemption" concurrent to men's "hearts fail[ing] for fear" at the "shaking" of heavenly powers and in "apprehension of the things coming upon the world" (Luke 21:16oo-28). The scene is not post-Rapture;
8. The acknowledgement of those confessing Christ and disavowal of those denying him concurrent to his "com[ing] in the glory of the Father" (Luke 9:27; 12:8-9; Matt. 10:32-33; Mark 8:38);
9. Paul's declaration that "When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory" - not seven years subsequent (Col. 3:4);
10. Paul's reiterative equation of the believer's "blessed hope" with the "appearing in glory of God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13);
11. The granting of "relief" ("rest," KJV) to believers (Paul himself included, vs. 7) "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed...in flaming fire dealing out retribution to those who do not know God" (II Thess. 1:6-10). Here again, the two-phased proposal fails totally of biblical time line concurrence.
12. Our Lord's failure to correct the Disciples' misconception as to the simultaneity of his return and end of the age had his intention and design been otherwise. Further note Christ's own confirming reference to a singular "sign" (Matt. 24:30) as opposed to a necessary use of plurality ("signs") had his point of reference been variant that of the Twelve (vs. 3).
Two final questions will here suffice:
1. If, as per Pre-tribulation eschatology, the Antichrist appears only after the Church has been translated to heaven, how then might the "first resurrection" (itself seen by Pre-trib as concurrent to the Rapture) include those having been martyred for resisting the Antichrist and refusing his mark (Rev. 20:4-6)?
2. If "the day of the Lord" refers to Christ's subsequent coming in might and authority to overthrow the world's ruling powers, how then to explain Paul's exhortation to the Thessalonian believers (here defined as "sons of light and sons of the day"; I Thess. 5:2-6) that they maintain an ongoing state of preparedness in anticipation of "that day" (again, "the day of the Lord," vs. 3) - given the fact that Christ would have already returned for the Church some seven years prior?
Simply stated, Days of testing lie ahead.
Blessings,
Burl Ratzsch
