Dave Bussard
New Member
Okay Larry, you say that the Church is not mentioned in Revelation. It is, but I understand what you mean. The Church is not mentioned in chapters 4-18, so we must not be there.
The pre-trib theory informs us that the word "saints" rather than "church" is used to speak of the Christ-followers in Revelation 4–18 because the Church is not mentioned at this time. The reason, you say, is that we’re raptured beforehand. You have jumped to conclusions. This is a very short-sighted view because the truth of the matter is that it is only the word "church" that is not mentioned. This is a far cry from the actual Church itself not being there at all.
Okay, so the word "church" isn’t used in these chapters. The word "saints" is used instead. Is this because the Church isn’t there due to a pre-trib rapture? The word "saints" is found in the NIV New Testament 33 times before the book of Revelation. Every single time, it refers to those who are of the Church, as in 2 Cor. 1:1: "To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia…" If "saints" refers to the Church in every instance before Revelation, there’s no reason to say it’s not speaking of the Church in Revelation.
It is also important to keep in mind that the word "church" is not mentioned in the end of Revelation during the thousand-year reign of Christ or the times of the New Jerusalem either. Does the absence of this word mean we are not there? Of course not. Furthermore, John, the recorder of Revelation, never used the word "church" in the books of John or 1 John, which he also wrote. The argument from silence concerning the word "church" is beyond unconvincing.
Dave Bussard
www.whowillbeleftbehindandwhen.com
www.leftbehindwhen.injesus.com
The pre-trib theory informs us that the word "saints" rather than "church" is used to speak of the Christ-followers in Revelation 4–18 because the Church is not mentioned at this time. The reason, you say, is that we’re raptured beforehand. You have jumped to conclusions. This is a very short-sighted view because the truth of the matter is that it is only the word "church" that is not mentioned. This is a far cry from the actual Church itself not being there at all.
Okay, so the word "church" isn’t used in these chapters. The word "saints" is used instead. Is this because the Church isn’t there due to a pre-trib rapture? The word "saints" is found in the NIV New Testament 33 times before the book of Revelation. Every single time, it refers to those who are of the Church, as in 2 Cor. 1:1: "To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia…" If "saints" refers to the Church in every instance before Revelation, there’s no reason to say it’s not speaking of the Church in Revelation.
It is also important to keep in mind that the word "church" is not mentioned in the end of Revelation during the thousand-year reign of Christ or the times of the New Jerusalem either. Does the absence of this word mean we are not there? Of course not. Furthermore, John, the recorder of Revelation, never used the word "church" in the books of John or 1 John, which he also wrote. The argument from silence concerning the word "church" is beyond unconvincing.
Dave Bussard
www.whowillbeleftbehindandwhen.com
www.leftbehindwhen.injesus.com