That's what I'm trying to understand here, from you. I've been watching and reading over the past couple of days and doing research and I'm trying to find out what you believe. Right now (and feel free to correct me...I'm just guessing here), it sounds as though you cannot divorce dispensationalism from pre-trib beliefs?
IOW: It sounds as though you see 'pre-tribbers' as an inclusive subset of dispensationalism? Perhaps I am mistaken, so could you clarify this for me?
I should note that I don't believe eschatology to be a settled doctrine so I am open for different...better(?) truths, thus my query to you.
Of course I can. George Eldon Ladd was a premillenial theologian and a fine one so was Walter Martin, John Warwick Montgomery, J. Barton Payne, Heny Alford (one of the worlds most devout and erudite Greek scholars), and Theodore Zahn. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is almost exclusively HISTORICAL pre mil. I admire and respect these men and their teachings. But there is a gaping divide between this historically orthodox crowd and the kind of nutter stuff that dispensationalists crank out. Dispensationalism is NEW teaching and HISTORICALLY UNFOUNDED teaching, and UNBIBLICAL teaching.
IOW: It sounds as though you see 'pre-tribbers' as an inclusive subset of dispensationalism? Perhaps I am mistaken, so could you clarify this for me?
Only because I have never met a pre trib rapture advocate who was not dispensational. There is a first time for everything, though, I guess.
I should note that I don't believe eschatology to be a settled doctrine
Me either. I go back and forth from a mil to pre mil and have very optimistic spurts when I read of the periods of powerful revival and I think of the regrafting of Israel and "life from the dead" and I start looking at the post mil guys (did you know that ALL of the great fathers of the American missionary movement were all post mil?). I really do not know where I come down.
I DO know that the disjunction of Israel and the Church and the silly silly stuff by Hal Lindsey (LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH was the second book I ever read as a Christian) and LaHaye is unworthy of serious consideration as I try to hammer it all out.
WHOOPS. sorry, I saw "PREMIL" and you wrote "pretrib" therefore alot of what i said above is senseless. Please forgive.
Yes, I have never met a pretrib advocate who was not dispensationalist. Like I also said though, there is a first time for everything.
Why would a non-dispenstionalist need a pre-ANYTHING rapture in his system. The only reason for a "rapture" like folks teach is to get the "church" out of the way to go back and work with the nation of "israel" (a distinction which is unbiblical, btw).