Since its inception in the early nineteenth century, the basic tenet of dispensationalism (a school of Protestant theology which holds that God deals with humankind in different ways in different periods of time called dispensations) has been that the church and Israel are two sharply distinct peoples of God. The distinction is theological in nature; specifically, anthropological (pertaining to humanity), soteriological (pertaining to salvation), and eschatological (pertaining to last things). The tenet of theological distinctiveness has always been the cornerstone for the dispensationalist's belief in the pretribulation rapture of the church: the belief that at the first stage of Christ's two-stage second advent he will endue all who comprise the true church with a resurrected body like his own, and transport; i.e., rapture, all to heaven before the seven year period of turmoil known as the Tribulation begins on earth. The rapture marks the end of one dispensation when God focused his attention primarily on the church, and the start of another when God will focus his attention primarily on Israel. Today, almost two centuries later, progressive dispensationalists have rejected the view of a sharp theological distinction. From their study of Scripture they observe a soft non-theological distinction. They describe the church and Israel as different redemptive dimensions of the same humanity that share in a holistic and unified eternal salvation. An already and not yet eschatological framework is the cornerstone of their system. This thesis will argue that progressive dispensationalism cannot integrate the pretribulation rapture doctrine into its reconstructed dispensational system on any basis of theological distinctiveness between the church and Israel. This will be accomplished by first setting forth the theological systems of the three major forms of dispensationalism that have existed during its history, namely, classical, revised, and progressive dispensationalism, and second, by showing that each of three kinds of theological distinctiveness, namely, anthropological, soteriological, and eschatological distinctiveness, are present in the classical and revised systems and therefore these systems can support the rapture's integration, but are not present in the progressive system and therefore this system cannot support the rapture's integration. The thesis closes with an explanation as to why progressive dispensationalism is more compatible with amillennialism than with premillennialism.

This book explores the subject of the tribulation from a dispensationalists' point of view. They believe that Christians will be spared from going through the great tribulation, as outlined in the book of Revelation. The tribulation period is one of 7-years duration with the last three and a half years being the most significant. During this event it will be a difficult time to be a Christian as the Antichrist will have been revealed to the world and he will be persecuting those who refuse to take the mark of the beast. They will not be able to trade and will be forced underground if they are to survive. The Antichrist will seek to kill all Christians who refuse to bow down to him and thus the final persecution will begin.The Bible does make it clear that there will be a rapture of Christians during this period before Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth. Some posit, like dispensationalists, that the rapture will take place before the tribulation, others that it will be afterwards and yet more still that it will be around the mid-point. There is no doubt there will be a rapture, that is well established in the biblical accounts. Beatty, however, refutes this when he says:'No doubt the twentieth chapter of Revelation validates the teachings of Jesus that only two resurrections will occur. The third resurrection theory does not stand up to scriptural scrutiny. Since this is the case and we have established that the rapture is a resurrection, then we must conclude that the rapture is the first resurrection found in Revelation 20.' However, there does not have to be three resurrections, but two. There is a rapture of the saints part-way through the tribulation. These are heaven-bound after their being raptured and remain so until Christ descends to earth with them, and the resurrected saints in tow, to conquer His foes in the battle of Armageddon. The second resurrection is that of the reprobates to face judgment at the Great White Throne before their banishment to the fiery pits of hell. Thus the rapture is not a resurrection per se. The Church is raptured to heaven and then resurrected in their new imperishable bodies, with the rest of the dead saints, to follow Christ back to earth.The question this book addresses is whether dispensationalists have the correct view in that the rapture of the church will precede the 7-year tribulation. This will be done, essentially, through an exegesis of the texts they cite in favour of this view.

The Pretribulation Rapture Theory and Dispensationalism Revisited reviews and critiques a confusing array of popular theories that address the return of Jesus Christ and the churchs rapture. It proposes that a clarifying approach rests in letting Scripture interpret Scripture, which yields a simpler, more natural, and consistent explanation of the pretribulation rapture and dispensationalism. Drawing upon thousands of hours of Bible study, J. Mike Byrd presents an analysis and a related proposal that avoid both unthinking conformity to popular notions and oversimplification for the sake of palatability. The Pretribulation Rapture Theory and Dispensationalism Revisited addresses methods of interpretation, defines dispensationalism and the Dispensational Principle, examines the scriptural testimony surrounding the day of the Lord and the day of Gods wrath, surveys the issues regarding imminence, and discusses the rapture, the resurrection, and Christs second coming. If you wonder what Scripture clearly teaches about the this worlds demise, the end of human existence, and the onset of Gods sure and certain work to establish his reign, then The Pretribulation Rapture Theory and Dispensationalism Revisited should offer you the scripturally grounded review, analysis, and explanation you need to understand the Scriptures teachings on these ultimate issues.

The idea of "The Rapture" -- the return of Christ to rescue and deliver Christians off the earth -- is an extremely popular interpretation of the Bible's Book of Revelation and a jumping-off point for the best-selling "Left Behind" series of books. This interpretation, based on a psychology of fear and destruction, guides the daily acts of thousands if not millions of people worldwide. In The Rapture Exposed, Barbara Rossing argues that this script for the world's future is nothing more than a disingenuous distortion of the Bible. The truth, Rossing argues, is that Revelation offers a vision of God's healing love for the world. The Rapture Exposed reclaims Christianity from fundamentalists' destructive reading of the biblical story and back into God's beloved community.

Now completely revised and enlarged, using quotations from the New International Version -- John F. Walvoord's classic work on the Rapture! The Rapture Question examines the four views of the church's role in the tribulation: Partial Rapturism, Pretribulationism, Midtribulationism, and Posttribulationism, with the revised edition particularly discussing the current debate between pretribulationism and posttribulationism. In updating his work, the author also added treatments on the Rapture in the Gospels, in 1 Thessalonians 4, in 1 Thessalonians 5, in 2 Thessalonians, in 1 Corinthians, and in Revelation. A bibliography of current literature plus general and Scripture indexes are included.

Jesus Christ is coming again! That is the Blessed Hope which has since the earliest days of the Church energized Biblical Christians looking for the full revelation of God's redemption. The author sketches the history of interpretations of Christ's second coming and then carefully and lucidly examines the Biblical passages on which this doctrine is based. His conclusion is that the Blessed Hope is the second coming of Jesus Christ, not a pretribulation rapture that believers in a secret coming of Jesus. Yet he concludes that there should be liberty and charity within the Christian community for all who hold to the expectation of "the blessed hope and appearing in glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ."

The Pretribulation Rapture theory has had a foothold on many Christians in America for over a hundred years. This teaching is not allowed to be challenged in many Christian circles. Exposing the Fallacies of the Pretribulation Rapture takes the building blocks of this theory and dismantles them one by one in a serious, thought-provoking analogy of this doctrine. • Is the seven year tribulation really a biblical term? • Is the church literally raptured in Revelation chapter 4? • Are there signs that precede the return of Christ? • Is the rapture really an invisible event? • Are Christians exempt from tribulation? • Where did the true roots of the pretribulation rapture come from? • What does the day of the Lord have to do with the rapture? These questions and many more are answered in Exposing the Fallacies of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Not only is there a thorough examination of the rapture, but also a detailed account is given of the numerous discrepancies among leading pretribulation teachers over Bible passages on the second coming. Billy Broadwater’s in-depth Bible based research for over twenty-years brings home the truth about the rapture.