Pretribulational John Walvoord writes: John Calvin, the great reformer, likewise looked for the imminent return of Christ. In commenting on 1 John 2:18, Calvin writes, “But the Apostle not only fortifies the faithful, lest they should falter, but turns the whole to a contrary purpose; for he reminds them that the last time had already [...]
Archive for the ‘Church History’ Category
Posted in 5 Views on the Antichrist to Avoid
January 15th, 2010 
Alan Kurschner Pretribulationism: The Antichrist is a literal future man, but this view sees the Church being raptured before his Revelation and persecution. Preterism: The Antichrist was fulfilled in the first century, so there is no future Antichrist. Historicism: The Antichrist is manifested in oppressive leaders throughout Church history, so there is no future Antichrist. Spiritualism: The [...]
Part 9 – A Response to “The Uncertainty of the Timing of the Rapture”
December 9th, 2009 Alan Kurschner I am continuing my response to Pastor Bob DeWaay. He devotes a brief time in talking about what the Early Church writers believed on eschatology. He rightly states that the Early Church was premillennial. But what was conspicuously absent from his discussion was any acknowledgment of the fact that Early Church writers believed that the [...]
The Rapture in Matthew 24:31
November 8th, 2009 Alan Kurschner Here are my slide presentation notes in pdf format on the rapture in Matthew 24:31. I very much enjoyed the fellowship at the conference. Pretribulationists believe that “gather his elect” is a reference to the regathering of Israel at the end of the 70th week of Daniel. Preterists, on the other hand, interpret it as [...]
Corrie’s Clues — Thoughts on Tribulation from a European Perspective
October 4th, 2009 Alan Kurschner Netherlands’ Pastor Ton Verdam gives a moving message on stories and theology by Corrie ten Boom (The Hiding Place) and Brother Andrew (God’s Smuggler). This is a session from the 2009 2nd Annual Prewrath Conference in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I encourage everyone to listen to this entire message—it is highly instructive and edifying for the [...]
The Teaching of the Early Church On the Second Coming of Christ
August 9th, 2009 Guest Contributors Guest Article by Gary Vaterlaus Many claims have been made by pretribulationists that the early Church believed that Christ would come before the events of the 70th Week of Daniel begin–that is, before the period of tribulation. Dwight D. Pentecost in his book Things to Come uses selected quotes from some of the early church [...]
Pseudo-Ephraem and the Didache
August 7th, 2009 Alan Kurschner Click here to download this excellent article explaining what these two Church historical documents say about the timing of the Second Coming.
What Did the Early Church Fathers Teach on the Timing of the Second Coming?
August 4th, 2009 Alan Kurschner This presentation on what the early church taught was given last October in O’Fallon Missouri at an eschatology forum. There are three speakers who had twenty minutes each to give their case: Steve Gregg (Preterist), Charles Cooper (Prewrath), Thomas Ice (Pretribulational). I have included Steve Gregg’s presentation because I want you to hear what a [...]
Pseudo-Ephraem and the Didache: Weighing the Evidence
June 5th, 2009 Alan Kurschner Click Here to Download.
A Significant Reason Why the Church Shifted to Amillennialism 300 Years After Christ
March 30th, 2009 Alan Kurschner There are a handful of historical reasons why after three hundred years the Church overall shifted away from premillennialism to amillennialism. Historian Richard Kyle encapsulates one of the most significant reasons: “The rejection of apocalyptic [pre]millennialism [by later church fathers] must be seen in its proper context. Constantine had been converted to Christianity in 312, [...]
