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Posts: 5945
Tue, 5-Jul-11 11:27:45
See Matthew 24:14 and Mark 13:10.Notes in the New American Bible, which I am using for my current study, emphasize that those for whom the Gospels were written saw themselves as living between the great tribulation and the rapture.The great tribulation had already occurred, in 70 C.E.Now the church lived with increasing anxiety over what the heck was delaying Christ's return and the rapture. Thus the stories about a master or bridegroom who goes away and then returns unexpectedly after an inexplicable delay. See, for example, Matthew 25:5-6.The verses cited first above provide a criterion for Christ's return, an excuse for the delay.Such a worldview would not have been present in the fourth century —— any more than it is today. Most traditional Christians now believe the great tribulation has not yet occurred, but that the rapture will occur first. They have the sequence reversed.
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