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Comments on: Sunday Night Reflections… http://www.southsideblog.com/2008/11/16/sunday-night-reflections-13/ Blog by Matt Walls & Billy Andrews Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:14:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: jyoung http://www.southsideblog.com/2008/11/16/sunday-night-reflections-13/#comment-286 jyoung Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:53:31 +0000 http://www.southsideblog.com/2008/11/16/sunday-night-reflections-13/#comment-286 I have to confess that this was a very hard Sunday for me. I'm not trying to communicate that there is anything wrong in my life or anything ailing me. This week was a challenge to me because I'm no longer a pretribunlational thinker. Before I go any further, I want to preference this whole post by saying that I have a deep respect for the Pre-Tribulational Rapture teaching, and there is nothing that would keep me from breaking faith from my brothers and sisters who espouse the teaching. Far from it! While this week was difficult for me, it has also led to some good discussion amongst those in my small group and with others. It has challenged me to seek humility, challenged me to learn to ask better questions of the Bible, and challenged me to verbalize my understanding of the scripture in a manner that is faithful to Biblical exegesis. Here are several reasons why I'm thankful for the series even though I disagree with the timeline that was taught in the first sermon: 1) Longing for Christ's return is a huge part of what it means to be a Christian. Therefore, we shouldn't treat the Biblical prophecies of Christ's return as if they are weird or as if they are only for those given to paranoia. These passages are meant for our encouragement, enjoyment, and blessing. 2) No matter what your interpretation is of the scripture regarding WHEN Christ will return (timeline wise; not day, minute, hour guessing foolishness), these prophetic pieces of scripture are clear that the Lord is soveriegn over the entire span of human history, including the part that is to come. This serves not only as a great encouragment for believers, but also stands as a merciful warning for those who need to repent. 3) Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not PROPHECY in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'" This statement serves as a reminder that we need to seek the fullness of God's truth, and commit our lives to the Lordship of Christ. When we live our normal every day lives, we often prophecy to others more than we realize. Therefore, we should embrace the prophetic scripture passages rather than hide from them. God has gracefully given them to us, and I'm glad to be a part of a church that humbly seeks to understand and communicate these prophecies. I could go on, but this is getting a little long for the blog. However, I wanted to share this opinion with others as encouragement to stick with this series even if you don't understand why it is being taught or even if you are like me and disagree with the interpretation taught. For those of you who have stuck with me this far and want to know where I'm coming from, I'll now mention that I have slowly become a Post-Tribulation, Historical Pre-millenialist (if you understand, or even care what that means :) ). Anyway, I hope to be back on the blog a little later this week to throw out some of the questions I have for my Pre-Trib friends. But for now its getting late... Maranatha! I have to confess that this was a very hard Sunday for me. I’m not trying to communicate that there is anything wrong in my life or anything ailing me. This week was a challenge to me because I’m no longer a pretribunlational thinker. Before I go any further, I want to preference this whole post by saying that I have a deep respect for the Pre-Tribulational Rapture teaching, and there is nothing that would keep me from breaking faith from my brothers and sisters who espouse the teaching. Far from it! While this week was difficult for me, it has also led to some good discussion amongst those in my small group and with others. It has challenged me to seek humility, challenged me to learn to ask better questions of the Bible, and challenged me to verbalize my understanding of the scripture in a manner that is faithful to Biblical exegesis. Here are several reasons why I’m thankful for the series even though I disagree with the timeline that was taught in the first sermon:

1) Longing for Christ’s return is a huge part of what it means to be a Christian. Therefore, we shouldn’t treat the Biblical prophecies of Christ’s return as if they are weird or as if they are only for those given to paranoia. These passages are meant for our encouragement, enjoyment, and blessing.

2) No matter what your interpretation is of the scripture regarding WHEN Christ will return (timeline wise; not day, minute, hour guessing foolishness), these prophetic pieces of scripture are clear that the Lord is soveriegn over the entire span of human history, including the part that is to come. This serves not only as a great encouragment for believers, but also stands as a merciful warning for those who need to repent.

3) Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not PROPHECY in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’” This statement serves as a reminder that we need to seek the fullness of God’s truth, and commit our lives to the Lordship of Christ. When we live our normal every day lives, we often prophecy to others more than we realize. Therefore, we should embrace the prophetic scripture passages rather than hide from them. God has gracefully given them to us, and I’m glad to be a part of a church that humbly seeks to understand and communicate these prophecies.

I could go on, but this is getting a little long for the blog. However, I wanted to share this opinion with others as encouragement to stick with this series even if you don’t understand why it is being taught or even if you are like me and disagree with the interpretation taught. For those of you who have stuck with me this far and want to know where I’m coming from, I’ll now mention that I have slowly become a Post-Tribulation, Historical Pre-millenialist (if you understand, or even care what that means :) ). Anyway, I hope to be back on the blog a little later this week to throw out some of the questions I have for my Pre-Trib friends. But for now its getting late…

Maranatha!

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