Douggg, your handle says you're anytime rapturist, non-dispie futurist. Would you mind clarifying that for me? Thx
I am anytime rapture view meaning that the rapture could happen any time between now and when it actually takes place.
The only limitation is that it must take place before the day of the Lord begins, which will be triggered when the Antichrist goes into the temple, sits, claims to be God. Which generally speaking is in the first half of the 7 years, near the middle. There is not enough information to determine an exact day on the timeline like we can for some of the other events.
The other rapture views mandate that the rapture begins before the 70th week begins (pretrib), or at Jesus's return day (post-trib), or after the 70th begins but before the wrath of God begins (pre-wrath).
The anytime term is something I came up with based on Luke 21:34-36, "any time" used in verse 34. The basic idea is to be aware that the rapture could happen anytime. Could be before the 70th week begins, or maybe after the 70th weeks begins. But it has to be before the 2Thessalonians2:4 event, based on the beginning of the Day of the Lord, which in turn is noted in the rapture verses in 1Thessalonians5:9-11.
The anytime rapture view is not overly restrictive to the possible time, but still has a limitation of being before the beginning of the Day of the Lord. The idea is to be keenly aware that the rapture could happen anytime. The closer we get, the smaller the window. So we watch the end times events as they develop for key signals as the end getting nearer.
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The futurist view is that the prophecies of Matthew 24:15-31 are still yet unfulfilled, yet acknowledges certain verses in Luke 21 were fulfilled in 70 AD in the destruction of the temple and city, and the Jews being sent into the nations, as the times of the gentiles take place.
A subdivision of the futurist view, is dispensationalism, which asserts that over the course of man's history, God has dwelt with man in different ways, in successive so-called dispensations. Such as dispensation of innocence, dispensation of conscience, dispensation of promise, dispensation of government, dispensation of law, dispensation of grace, then the millennial Kingdom.
I don't subscribe to that rigid approach of breaking down how God has dwelt with man over history as appropriate. So I am not dispensationalist. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to package their various opinions on a wide range of bible topics equate dispensationalism with futurism, not realizing the difference, and attack any futurist as being a dispensationalist.
So that is the reason I put "futurist, non dispensationalist" in my personal info screen-name display.
There are some dispensationalists at this site. For anyone who want to address them specifically on the merits or flaws of the dispensationalist view.
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At this site, mostly people are either partial preterist, or historists, or futurists.
historists tend to view the pope/papacy as the Antichrist and/or beast, and voice the thoughts of the reformers era. I would put Seven Day Adventists in that view category.
Which there are some who hold the SDA view here.
Futurists are divided.
Some think the Antichrist and/or beast will be the Mahdi, and put an Islamic Caliphate overlay to the end times.
Some think the Antichrist and or beast will be leader of the U.N. and be a gentile.
Some, like me, think the Antichrist and or beast will be a Jew and come out of Europe.
The futurist view in general tracks and anticipates the arch villain of the end times and the path he follows to his ultimate destruction at Jesus's return - as a way to formulate a timeline of events. For that reason, there is so much discussion about that forthcoming wicked person at this site.