CHAPTER EIGHT
"Pre-Trib Christians are looking for the coming of the Lord. Other views have them awaiting Tribulation, Antichrist, and suffering." 1
To suggest this argument as an additional reason for being a pre-Tribulationist is, at the very least, disingenuous. In truth, this is not a new argument at all; it is merely a restating of the tenets of the doctrine of imminency (a doctrine which was discredited in the last chapter). That this is the case can be clearly seen from LaHaye's writings: "Frankly, one of my principal objections to the mid- and post-Trib theories is their destruction of imminency. For if Christ cannot come at any moment, these views cannot instruct us to look for His return. Instead they advise us to look for the inaugurating of the Tribulation period, when Antichrist signs a covenant with Israel for seven years for the rebuilding of the Temple, the mark of the Beast, the advent of Antichrist himself..." 2
That pre-Tribulationists would devise another argument having to do with imminency is not surprising. No matter how compelling the reasoning against this doctrine, they always act as though it is an irrefutable fact of Scripture. This unwavering confidence in the validity of imminency is captured in the following quote: "Lovers of Biblical truth will have to be confronted with more convincing evidence than has yet been produced before they will feel compelled to embrace a doctrine which destroys imminency." 3 Never mind that Scripture does not teach it—that is, apart from adding arguments from silence; forget also that Scripture actually contradicts it. (See John 21:18-19, the Lord's prophecy of Peter's death). For these self-proclaimed consistent literalists, none of that matters—imminency stands, no matter what the Scriptures say!
That brings us back to Reason # 8. As long as pre-Tribulationists persist in interpreting Scripture through the use of logical fallacies, they will continue to view imminency as a Biblical truth. Then, armed with that erroneous assumption, they proceed to create further "proofs" for the pre-Trib rapture. No doubt, they suppose these new arguments add credibility to the pre-Trib position. The problem, of course, is that these additional proofs (such as Reason # 8) are all grounded in the same false assumptions. To fully grasp that this is the case, we need only see the formal argument.
Part 1.
Part 2.
Clearly, until a sound Biblical case for imminency can be established, Reason # 8 merely begs the question. For that reason, it is logically unsound. (Likewise, until we establish there are men on Mars, it is nonsense to entertain discussions on their mating habits.)
Notes on Chapter 8.
Last Updated November 6, 1997 by Larry Simmons