

<p><img border="0" src="/images/Open_Letter_sm.jpg" align="left" width="150" height="179">
	<span class="title">Bereft and Blind</span></p>

<p>Dear Rapture Mongers,</p>
<p>Recently I met Tim, a midget and a professional wrestler. He is dispensationalist
  and a victim of your Gospel. In spite of his difficulties with speech, Tim
  was not shy to quickly engage me in things theological. <p>
  He spent some time turning through the pages of my Bible as he attempted to
  give a mutated argument of the oneness perspective on the Trinity. Someone
  of his denominational affiliation, however, might have used his verse to "prove" the
  perpetuity of apostolic gifts. Apparently he had forgotten the proof text for
  that other issue. I assured him that he was not making any sense and gave him
  a copy of the Shorter Catechism. When he finally gave up his effort to find
  any agreement between us, he went for what he believed would be a sure point
  of agreement&#151;the Rapture. "I'll tell you one thing for sure",
  said he "the Rapture is going to happen at any moment and Jesus is gonna
  rescue His church!" Tim had swallowed hook, line and sinker what you
  are hawking. <p>
  The destructive nature of your gospel can be seen when compared with the Gospel
  of the Bible. Your gospel is a gospel of unbelief, and a gospel in rebellion.
  And so, if only for the sake of Tim, I ask you to consider another Gospel.<p>
  The Bible teaches that the gospel will work slowly through the world and transform
  it from darkness to light. It will start small, like a mustard seed, like
  the river in Ezekiel's temple. But it will gain and grow in breadth,
  depth, and power as history progresses. (Matt. 13, Ezek. 47) It will accomplish
  this on the basis of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of
  the Holy Spirit on the nations. (1 Cor. 15, John 16:7, Acts 2) The Biblical
  gospel is a resurrection Gospel. <p>
  Where the Bible presents the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the
  monumental and pivotal act of history, the Rapture sees a failure. Christ is
  ruler of all the nations. He rules now at the right hand of the Father and
  will return after His kingdom has fully ripened. But for you, Jesus will return,
  not to receive the cumulative product of His completed kingdom, but to begin
  it. Your gospel at once denies the power of the resurrection and the outpouring
  of the Spirit. <p>
  The biblical Gospel teaches that all the promises of God find a yes in Christ
  (2 Cor. 1:27), that Jesus has ascended the throne of the ancient promise (Acts
  2:30&ndash;31), bound the strong man (Matt. 12:28, Rev. 20) and has been made
  ruler of all nations (Heb. 10:12&ndash;13 Acts 2:36). But yours teaches a postponement
  of all these things, and so encourages an impish fear while forcing an unnatural
  sense of defeat upon its victims.<p>
  Your gospel cannot accept the magnitude of what God, through Jesus Christ,
  has already done in history. Its focus, far from being the resurrection, is
  the great and imminent rescue of the losing Church. Its view to the future does
  not believe God's Word as it proclaims, "Behold the kingdoms of
  this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ". (Rev
  11:15)<p>
  Most important, your gospel is a rebellion against the Gospel. One of your
  own has rightly noted that dispensational eschatology is far more than a system
  of eschatology. He's right&#151;eschatology properly understood is part
  and parcel with the Gospel. When the "last days" are referred to,
  they are distinguished from other days. The Bible places the line of distinction
  between the earlier days and these "last days" at the resurrection
  of Jesus. The last days are different from any other time in history because
  of what happened at the resurrection. The Rapture heroes resemble the cast
  from a B-grade horror film; the resurrection Gospel is about the historic,
  public work of Jesus Christ and its God-blessed implications.<p>
  But just how did the world change as a result of Jesus' resurrection?  The
  old demonic order of things has been replaced by a Christocratic and gracious
  economy. The world that had been in bondage, groaning, has been set free. The
  people who had been in darkness, outside of Israel, have seen a great light.
  This was the message that Jesus commanded His apostles to deliver to the world. <p>
  After His death, Jesus' disciples were dismayed. They believed&#151;much
  like yourselves&#151;that all had been lost. The angel attending the Lord's
  tomb had a resurrection Gospel. "He is not here; for He is risen, as
  He said..." And on that basis the women were to "go quickly and
  tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead ..." (Matt. 28:7a).
  This was their message, "He is risen". The mourning and doubting
  disciples had need of a resurrection Gospel. And so also does the world today. <p>
  This was not only the message of the angel; Jesus predicates the giving of
  the Great Commission entirely on this fact. "Do not doubt." He
  said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go
  therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name
  of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19) In
  what power were they to accomplish this? Resurrection power. <p>
  Can you see how your gospel is at war with this message? Its focus, far from
  the power of the resurrection, is on the abortion of yet another failed attempt
  by God to have His will done.  It not only misunderstands the power of
  the resurrection, it fights it! Clearly this is not a biblical message. <p>
  Jesus has established His kingdom and He will subdue all the ends of the earth
  before His return. The only things He has left behind, like His Word and His
  Spirit, are for our advantage. If Christ is not risen, then our faith is in
  vain. But if He has risen then He has done so to rule. If it sounds strange
  to hear that Christ is now gloriously subduing His enemies it is because, sometimes,
  truth is stranger than fiction.<p>
  Gotta go! A lawnmower's running loose in the yard... weird!</p>
<p><em>Nik Chwastek</em></p>    </td>