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Welcome to
the April, 2007, edition of Strong Tower Publishing's
e-newsletter.
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Three Prewrath Church Additions
* Where Has H. L. Been?
* “This Generation” in Matthew 24
* Answering Questions From Renald Showers' Prewrath Critique
* Strong Tower Publishing Offers Permanent Discount
PREWRATH CHURCH ADDITIONS
There have been three additions to Strong Tower Publishing's
prewrath church list over the past several months. This brings
the total on the STP website to 20 churches in 13 states. Keep 'em
coming!
Pastor H. Frederick Drye
New Life Alliance Church
P.O. Box 1155
3529 High Street
Logansport, IN 46947
www.newlifealliance.net
Pastor Jack Smith
Elijah's Fire International Church
607 Middleton Run Road
Elkhart, IN 46516
(574) 522-9944
pastorjack@efichurch.com
www.efichurch.com
Pastor Mike Rogers
Reign Scent Christian Center
3601 Bruce St.
Bellefontaine, OH 43311
(937) 935-9686
reignscent@charter.net
WHERE HAS H. L. BEEN?
Longtime subscribers to this newsletter will have noticed that
the newsletter has gone from being monthly or bi-monthly to
irregularly produced. H. L. Nigro, founder of Strong Tower
Publishing and author of the newsletter, has also stopped
posting regularly on the Prewrath Only forum on Yahoo! Groups.
Where did H. L. go? She's been a bit, well, distracted for the
last nine months. On March 12, 2007, H. L. and hubby Tom
welcomed their second child, Emma Katherine, into the world.
Welcome, Emma!
WHEN IS 'THIS GENERATION' IN MATTHEW 24?
Recently, we received the following email, challenging one of
the refutations of preterism on the Strong Tower Publishing
site. This challenge is based on Jesus' use of the term “this
generation” in the discussion of His return in Matthew 24. Here
is the reader's question and our response:
Q: This question is in regards to the article, "Is
Matthew 24 Fulfilled?” Why have you failed to address v. 31: "I
tell you the truth this generation will certainly not pass away
until ALL these things have happened"? One of the most important
verses in the chapter to understand in its context. You cannot
overlook this in your refutation. It is in the context of the
destruction of the temple that the disciples ask Jesus, "When
will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and
of the end of the age?" Heretofore, there have been no
references to His final coming, so it seems presumptuous to
assume that the references to the "end" in vv. 24:3, 6, 13, 14
refer to the end of time as we know it with the final coming of
Christ. Please note: the original context -NOT the proof text -
is the destruction of the temple, and stretching the prophecy
into the future is therefore a deliberate "interpretive" choice.
Also, reading Matthew 24:14 as a future event engenders reading
the entire chapter as a future fulfillment rather than a past
event, and thus potentially skews one's interpretations of other
biblical doctrines.
A: There are two issues here.
First, the context of the Matthew 24 prophecy is not the
destruction of the temple. It is Jesus' coming and the end of
the age. Initially, the disciples discussed the beauty of the
temple. To this, Jesus told them that there would come a day
when not one stone of the temple would stand. However, after
Jesus said this, the disciples followed up with a different
question: "When is your coming and the end of the age?" This is
the question Jesus answers in the remainder of Matthew 24.
Of course, the disciples probably thought that the destruction
of the temple and the end of the age would occur at the same
time. After all, wouldn't it take the end of the world to
destroy that seemingly indestructible temple? But just because
the disciples thought this doesn't make it true. The disciples
asked two questions and Jesus gave two answers. Different
questions, different answers, and different future events.
Second, there are three possibilities in regards to "this
generation."
1. It is possible that - as you believe - "this generation"
refers to those living in the first century.
2. It is also possible that, at the time Jesus was speaking, it
was theoretically possible for all of the end-times prophecies
to be fulfilled if - if - Israel had accepted Jesus as
the Messiah. When Jesus was speaking, He may have been speaking
under the "innocent until proven guilty" principle, operating as
if Israel could, potentially, recognize Him for who He was. Of
course, Israel did not, so the preconditions were not met and,
under this scenario, the fulfillment of those prophecies was put
on hold. Instead, God ushered in the Church Age and the
fulfillment of those prophecies (again, theoretically possible
in the first century) was delayed. There is ample scriptural
precedent for this to be true.
Did God know Israel would reject Jesus? Of course. But He is a
perfectly fair God, and so it's reasonable that He gave them
every available chance by operating under the assumption that
they would, even if He knew they ultimately wouldn't.
3. It is possible that "this generation" refers, not to the
generation listening to the prophecy, but to the generation that
witnesses "all these things."
Which of these interpretations is correct? Since this verse can
be interpreted multiple ways, let's interpret the unknown by
what we DO know. And what we DO know is that the prophecies of
Matthew 24 were not fulfilled perfectly. Close works in
horseshoes, but it doesn't work in prophecy.
We also know that, even after A.D. 70, one disciple was still
looking for the return of Jesus - John, writing on the Island of
Patmos. The book of Revelation was written around A.D. 90, and
at that time, John was still looking for the future Antichrist,
the future great tribulation, and the future return of Jesus. If
Matthew 24 had been fulfilled in A.D. 70, John would not have
still been looking for those prophecies to be fulfilled.
Likewise, the writings of the early church fathers (second and
third centuries) reflect the fact that, long after the A.D. 70
destruction of the temple, the church was still looking for the
future Antichrist, the future great tribulation, and the future
return of Jesus.
Therefore, because the Matthew 24 prophecies were not fulfilled
with precision or completeness in the first century, and we know
that God always fulfills His prophecies precisely, we know that
Jesus' reference to "this generation" cannot be restricted to
those living in the first century.
Summing up, there are two options with regards to "this
generation":
1. We can take the many prophecies given in Matthew 24 literally
and look for a complete and literal fulfillment of those
prophecies. This did not occur in the first century. Therefore,
we accept that the interpretation may not be restricted to the
first century.
2. We can allow a haphazard interpretation of the prophecies in
Matthew 24, accepting imperfect fulfillment (and even omission
of fulfillment of entire prophecies) in order to hold "this
generation" to the most restrictive, narrow interpretation.
Given those two choices, I prefer the first.
Of course, it's important to keep in mind that this is an
important but still tangential issue in Christian doctrine. It
is important to properly divide the Word of God and to have a
sound understanding of end-times events. If we are not prepared
for the coming Antichrist, Satan can do great damage to the
Church, as well as hamper our efforts to share the gospel with a
dying world. But in light of the importance of knowing Jesus as
our Savior in the first place, and having our sins washed by His
perfect sacrifice, it's not something that should divide the
unity of the Body of Christ.
ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM RENALD SHOWERS' PREWRATH CRITIQUE
Q: Renald Showers in his book The Prewrath Rapture
View: An Examination and Critique, pages 96, 97 writes the
following:
Critique
"This Pre-Wrath view teaching that the Second Coming of
Christ will take place shortly after the cosmic disturbances of
the sixth seal is based on two questionable beliefs.
“1. It is based on the belief that the great tribulation will
not last to the end of the 70th week because it will be cut
short by the sixth seal with its cosmic disturbances part way
through the second half of the seventieth week. But in an
earlier chapter, we saw biblical evidence to the effect that the
great tribulation will last to the end of the 70th week.
“2. It is based on the belief that the cosmic disturbances of
Matthew 24:29 are those associated with the sixth seal in Rev.
6:12-14 (Rosenthal, Pre-wrath Rapture. p. 110). That
belief presents several problems.
“The first problem with that belief is that the cosmic
disturbances of Matthew 24:29 will take place 'after' the great
tribulation. In other words, they will not begin until after the
great tribulation has ended. This point means, therefore, that
the cosmic disturbances of Matthew 24 will not cut short or end
the great tribulation; for the cosmic disturbances of Matthew
24:29 to cut short or end the great tribulation, the great
tribulation would have to continue until those cosmic
disturbances began.
“By contrast, the Pre-Wrath view teaches that the cosmic
disturbances of the sixth seal will cut short or end the great
tribulation. In light of this contrast, how can the cosmic
disturbances of Matthew 24:29 be those associated with the sixth
seal of Revelation 6:12-14? To nullify this contrast, the
Pre-Wrath view changes the wording of Matthew 24:29 by stating
that its cosmic disturbances "will occur after the
tribulation-or more correctly, when the tribulation is
cut short " (Van Kampen, The Sign, p. 259). It has to
change the wording of the biblical text to make the disturbances
of Matthew 24:29 correspond with its view of the sixth seal
disturbances.”
With Showers' comments in mind, here are my questions:
1. Matthew 24:29 begins "Immediately after the
tribulation of those days." Since the cosmic signs come after
the tribulation and the rapture comes after the sixth seal, how
can the tribulation be cut short by the rapture?
2. Why are the martyrs of the fifth seal given robes when they
do not have bodies to clothe?
If the answers to the above questions are in your excellent book
Before God's Wrath and I have somehow missed them, please
e-mail the page numbers to me.
A: While I respect Dr. Showers, in his book, he makes the
same two mistakes that most critics of prewrath make. These
critics…
* associate the prewrath view with ALL of the details of two
specific authors; and
* tie the rise and fall of the prewrath view to all of the
details of those authors' views.
Prewrath is not the views of Van Kampen, Rosenthal, me, or
anyone else. All of us differ on details and interpretation of
passages here and there. What we do not differ on is the core of
prewrath: that the rapture occurs after the sixth seal, with the
one and only bodily coming of the Lord, to rapture the Church
and bring His wrath during the Day of the Lord, which includes
the trumpets and the bowls.
That, in a nutshell, is prewrath. Writers who pick apart
details, citing Van Kampen or Rosenthal or anyone else on
tangents, claiming to be picking apart prewrath itself, are
creating a smoke screen, even if it is unintentional.
For example, whether or not it is the sixth seal that "cuts
short" the great tribulation is irrelevant to the prewrath view.
Something cuts it short - we are told that in scripture.
But whether it's the sixth seal, the coming of the Lord, or
something else is a detail that doesn't affect the timing of the
rapture. We can have a debate over what, exactly, does
cut short this time period, but the exact identification of the
event doesn't affect the view itself.
More relevant to the view is Showers' belief that the great
tribulation must last 3 1/2 years and that sixth seal and
Matthew 24:29 are not the same event.
The issue with the great tribulation goes back to Daniel, when
the prophet is told by the angel that "end of these wonders"
must continue for a time, times, and half a time. This is the
primary source of pretrib's belief that the Great Tribulatoin
must last 3 1/2 years. However, in this passage, we have many
different events being described, not just the great
tribulation. We have the rise of the Antichrist, the
resurrection of the dead, and many others.
The important part of the angel's response is that the "wonders"
lasting 3 1/2 years are plural. Not one wonder, not one
specific event, but multiple events. Thus, the angel appears to
be referring to all of the events that transpire during a larger
entire time period, not one individual event, the great
tribulation.
Everything on Showers' argument hinges on the great tribulation
being required to last 3 1/2 years, and I see no evidence
of this. I see that all of the events surrounding the revelation
of the Antichrist, including the resurrection of the dead and
many other events - that whole time period - must last 3 1/2
years. Since the Antichrist is revealed at the midpoint of the
70th Week, that time period does, in fact, last another 3 1/2
years to conclude at the end of the 70th Week. That is something
we are told explicitly in scripture, and that's what I go by.
Now to your specific questions:
1. Matthew 24:29 begins "Immediately after the
tribulation of those days." Since the cosmic signs come after
the tribulation; and the rapture comes after the sixth seal, how
can the tribulation be cut short by the rapture?
Maybe it isn't. I believe that I wrote that, myself, in
Before God's Wrath, but upon further examination over the
years, I don't think we can say that definitively. The text does
say that "after the tribulation of those days." How long after?
What cuts it short? I don't know, and I don't think we'll ever
be able to say for sure, at least not before the event itself
reveals the truth. There are some things in scripture that we
are not told, and I accept that. God had simply chosen not to
reveal everything.
2. Why are the martyrs of the fifth seal given robes when they
do not have bodies to clothe?
I don't know. What I DO know is that, in addition to being told
that the martyrs aren't given robes, they cry out for God's
justice, which tells us that His judgment on the earth has not
yet come. We are also told that their numbers are not complete
and that more will be killed as they were.
If God's judgment and retribution for their deaths has not yet
occurred at this point, then God's wrath has not yet come.
Pretrib holds that God's wrath begins at the start of the 70th
Week, so as much as prewrath "seems" to have a problem with the
robes, pretrib has an even greater problem in that believers
are still crying out for judgment at the beginning of the 70th
Week. Not only this, but if there will be more believers killed,
then it further cannot be God's wrath because He will not use
His wrath to kill His own children.
As for the robes, I can only speculate. Let's take Lazarus
looking down at the rich man. Were they naked? We weren't told
that they were. What prevents us from having some kind of
material substance that allows us to hold up robes until the
resurrection? Are all Old Testament saints and dead in Christ
walking around in the buff for thousands of years? Waiting for
bodies? I'm just speculating here, but I doubt it. There is
nothing contradictory about speculating that, while we will not
have bodies (like our mortal bodies or our future heavenly
bodies), we will have some kind of substance that allows us to
hold up clothes. After all, if we can be seen and recognized,
our spirit has some type of visible form. It's not a stretch to
suggest that this form has substance, even if it's not like what
we know today or will experience in eternity.
Great questions!
H. L.
STRONG TOWER PUBLISHING OFFERS PERMANENT DISCOUNT
Strong Tower Publishing has decided to make permanent a discount
on titles ordered by newsletter subscribers from the Strong
Tower Publishing website. Any orders of two titles or more,
placed as part of the same order (therefore shipped together),
are eligible for a 10% discount.
To take advantage of this discount, subscribers can either send
payment with PayPal to the strongtowerpubs@aol.com address or
send a check to Strong Tower Publishing, P. O. Box 973,
Milesburg, PA 16853. Please include the code NEWSDISCOUNT.
This discount is only available through direct PayPal
payments and by check. It will not be applied through the
regular purchase buttons.
Titles available from Strong Tower Publishing include:
* "The Hope of Christ's Second Coming: How Is It Taught in
Scripture? And Why?" by Samuel P. Tregelles, Ltd.
http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/Hope_Christ_Coming.htm
* "Know Therefore and Understand: A Biblical Explication of the
First 69 Weeks of Daniel 9," by T. T. Schlegel. http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/knowtherefore.htm
* "Prophecy's Architecture: How to Determine an End-Times
Doctrine," by Cameron Fultz. http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/architecture.htm
* "Who Will Be Left Behind and When?" by Dave Bussard. http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/leftbehind.htm
* "Before God's Wrath: The Bible's Answer to the Timing of the
Rapture," by H. L. Nigro. http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/before.htm
* "Antes de la Ira de Dios," the Spanish translation to "Before
God's Wrath," by. H. L. Nigro. http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/before-spanish.htm
* "Touching the Soul," a collection of poetry by R. g. Wallace.
http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/touchingsoul.htm
* "Do You Really Want to Self-Publish Your Book?" by H. L. Nigro.
http://www.strongtowerpublishing.com/self-publish.htm
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