The following three juxtapositions speak for themselves. Feinberg’s statements are from Three Views on the Rapture: Pre-, Mid-, or Post-tribulation (Zondervan, 1996).
Feinberg: “In each of the Rapture passages there is no mention of trial before the event.” p. 81
The Apostle Paul: “Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. (5) This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering– (6) since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, (7) and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels (8) in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (9) They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, (10) when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.” –2 Thess 1:4-10
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Feinberg: “There is no clear, indisputable reference to the Rapture in any Second Advent passage.” p. 81
The Apostle Paul: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (14) For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (15) For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming (parousia) of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore encourage one another with these words.” –1 Thess 4:13-18
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Feinberg: “There is no clear, indisputable mention of the resurrection of the church at the Second Advent.” p. 82
The Apostle Paul: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming (parousia) those who belong to Christ.” –1 Cor 15:20-23
Cooper explains the nature of the Great Tribulation in this two-part series. This event is a future event that will be associated with Antichrist’s persecution against the Church—contra preterism. And the Great Tribulation is not to be confused with the Day of the Lord’s wrath—contra pretribulationism.
For further explanation of the Great Tribulation, Charles Cooper provides an exegesis in his book, God’s Elect And The Great Tribulation: An Interpretation of Matthew 24:1-31 and Daniel 9. You can purchase it here.
Pretribulational pastors take heed! The following short film is a refreshing alternative to the Left Behind movies. The story is about a pretribulational pastor who finds himself in the midst of the Great Tribulation and consequently he realizes his teaching was false — but it’s too late. The pastor is confronted by an individual who’s faith was destroyed by the pastor’s previous pretribulational preaching. This short film was written and directed by John Burcham. There are two back-to-back segments to this film.
(You can also view both parts of the film in High Definition here and here.)
At the 2008 Prewrath Conference in Orlando, Charles Cooper explicated Matthew’s purpose in his account of the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24, distinguishing it from Mark and Luke’s account and purpose.
Matthew 24 is applicable to the Church, contra Preterism and Pretribulationism. Preterists commit a fundamental fallacy of assuming that the question and purpose in Mark and Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse is the same as that in Matthew’s, thus flattening the respective purposes for each. But Matthew is not concerned with the question asked in Mark and Luke’s account, but rather he takes the teaching of Jesus and expands on it to serve a larger (eschatological) purpose — this important point is repeatedly missed by preterists. With any discussion or debate with a preterist, this point is fundamental and primary to all other subsequent discussions.
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