One of the most compelling, yet often misunderstood, arguments for pretribulationism relates to the Holy Spirit’s role to the church and the tribulation period. Most holding to the pre-trib position believe that 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 refers to the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit through the agency of the Church. Thus, when the church is raptured before the tribulation, that ministry of the Holy Spirit will be removed as well. If this interpretation is correct, then it is a strong argument for pretribulationism...
The Bible is totally unique when compared with all other “holy books” of the world’s religions. One of the unique aspects of the Bible is the fact that it is the only religious source rooted in past history that also predicts future history. All other religions of the world, unless they rely on the Bible at some point, do not rise or fall on whether they are historically true. All other religions are based upon a philosophy or ethical a way of life and do not stand or fall on whether they are historically accurate...
Recently after speaking at a church on a prophecy topic a young college-age girl ask me a great question. She wanted to know “what is the greatest obstacle when talking with a fellow Christian who does not agree with our view of Bible prophecy?” Since we had been talking about hermeneutics, I told her, “Other than one’s approach to biblical interpretation, the thing that they who disagree with our views is that they do not factor in the role of the mystery doctrines taught by Jesus and Paul...
I am looking at the use of “mystery” in the Old Testament in preparation for looking at how it will be used in the New Testament. All but one use of “mystery” in the Old Testament is found in Daniel, at least based upon a search of the New American Standard translation of the Bible. Job in his reply to Zophar says, “He reveals mysteries from the darkness, and brings the deep darkness into light” (Job 12:22). This usage is similar to what we saw in Deuteronomy. The passage speaks of God as the one who reveals hidden or secret things. It is important that we see the paramount role that God’s revelation of Himself and His plan for history should play in the life of a believer...
The book of Daniel contains a great deal of emphasis upon the concept of mystery or secrets. To understand the significance mystery in Daniel, it is good to learn about the context in which God reveals mysteries to Daniel. Daniel is the first book in the Hebrew canon that provides wisdom for how a devout Jew should live outside the land. The previous books relate to living in the land. Daniel is unique among the prophets in that it is a mixture of wisdom stories and prophecy...