I am taking a prophecy class led by a wonderful lady who I really respect and admire. I think this is the first time I have sat in a Bible study class where I know the teacher actually spends a lot of time studying the Bible. I know she tries and seeks to speak the truth and teach the truth. Yet, even during this time of study there are plenty of things that I disagree with her on.
Once the class is finished, I plan to blog about the end times and what I learned. Basically, her stance is an after the "mid-point" rapture but before the "Day of the Lord" or the full wrath of God's judgement. I want to wait until we go through Revelation (which we are starting now) before I say too much about that. I will say that after sitting under her, reading the verses - verse by verse, letting Scripture interpret Scripture - her teaching on the rapture makes a lot of sense. I hope she is wrong and it is a pre-trib but so far, I am not really seeing that. Although, if you sit and listen to John MacArthur teach on the rapture, you will be pre-trib too (which is what I always was and I love John MacArthur....just not so sure he is correct on this one). Time will tell, huh?
A couple of things, however, we disagree on. First, she is a "Zionist" and believes that we are still under the old Jewish traditions and laws. Obviously, without a temple, there are no sacrificial systems in place. But, she believes we still are to hold to the Jewish feasts, traditions, dietary laws and the Sabbath. Now, I am working through Kay Arthur's Covenant study, (not the Precept Upon Precept but the one published through Lifeway). I just studied Hebrews 10 this morning and I simply cannot see a requirement to keep the old Jewish traditions.
Hebrews 10:9-10 (ESV) says:
Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:18 (ESV) says:
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
I don't see it saying we still need to hold to the Jewish traditions. Christ died but keep the feasts? I just don't agree with that. Any thoughts?
Now, I am not saying they weren't important because obviously if God put them in the Scriptures, then they were important. I think it is important to study them, but I don't see that we are required to keep them (or the diets or anything else for that matter). But I would love feedback on this.
Another thing is, like I said earlier, she believes we should keep the Sabbath. She said God designed the Sabbath to be the meeting place/day with him. This is another thing I cannot see. In Colossians, Paul says,
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to i a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
In other words, Paul said that the people still trying to force those old things onto the new believes in Christ were wrong. The notes in the ESV Study Bible says they were pushing these things for spiritual advancement. Paul goes on to say in Colossians 2,
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Besides, many places in the New Testament it is clear that the believers gathered on Sunday, the first day of the week. Even Jesus, while on his earthly ministry, performed miracles and such on the Sabbath (Like the guy w/ the mat who wasn't supposed to walk with the mat because of some old law and Jesus healed him and told him to go walk with the mat). Since Jesus could not sin, then obviously having a man walk with his mat wasn't against God's law.
Right after that class, when what I heard her say made sense and I was all concerned about how we ended up having church on Sunday, John MacArthur did a four part series on GTY about the Sabbath. You can read or listen here. He really explained it well (which is why I love listening to him)!!
I could go on, but this is getting rather long so I will post more about it at another time.
I still love the class and have learned so much about the End Times. And it shows that it is OK to fellowship with others we disagree on. As long as the foundational truth - salvation is by faith through grace ALONE, then we are OK. It also shows how important it is for us to study God's word for ourselves and not always take what others say as the sole truth because we will be tossed back and forth.
3 comments:
I agree with you that Scripture does tell us that we are not under the Mosaic law since Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice and that through faith in Him we have eternal life.
I've been slowly reading Scriptures about the end times and have also been coming to some tentative conclusions that the rapture may actually be mid-trib. There is a verse that I came across that seems so plain.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Interesting because I've always heard from preachers and teachers that the church would be raptured before the anti-christ is revealed.
I'd like to know what your teacher said about this verse and the rest of the verses that go along with this in the same chapter. Looking forward to your post when you are through with the class!
We are working through 2 Thessalonians now (along w/ starting Revelation). We are using Precept's New Inductive Study Series for 2 Thess. So I will let you know about the discussion on that verse :)
Albert Mohler (who is a post -trib thinker) has said that the Pre Trib rapture is a newer idea of the last 100 years or so and that before that, no one ever really taugh pre-trib. I need to go back and look at Luther and Calvin and see what they taught (I think both have commentaries online if I can understand them).
I'm of the same mind that we're no longer under Jewish OT laws. The laws about how to live are no longer a requirement for salvation, but they become, rather, a voluntary expression of our relationship with God.
As for the tribulation and the rapture.... I think I've decided that it doesn't matter to me how it happens, as long as I'm ready. I believe God will do what He says, even if I can't figure out how it will happen, or misunderstand what He's said. Once it's all over, we'll see how His plan worked perfectly.
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