Thru the Bible - Questions & Answers

Announcer: Do you know when the rapture will occur? Some theologians say that it will be after the great tribulation. Others say it will occur during the tribulation. However, the Bible seems to give us some very definite clues to the timing of this next event in the program of God. Stay with us to learn more about this issue along with many others.

We want to welcome you to another edition of the Question and Answer program of the Thru the Bible Radio Network with our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee. We hope that you'll be able to pull up a chair and open your Bible and have an open heart as we listen to the wit and wisdom Dr. McGee brings to answering the questions of his listeners.

Now our first question for today comes from a listener in Richmond, Virginia. She writes: "I attend a great soul-winning church here in Richmond which makes strong altar appeals. I never go forward to confess sin or rededication, not that I don't need to, but I don't understand how going forward would add to my experience. I can understand if you needed counseling or prayer. Could you please explain your view on these altar appeals?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: May I say first of all that going forward in a church apparently was begun by Dwight L. Moody, which was very successful for him. I doubt whether it has been highly successful for any other person. I think it was God's way of using Dwight L. Moody, but literally thousands have copied it, including the one that's speaking right now. I've used it and used it in my church and used it what the average member would tell you very successfully.

But I've always felt that asking people to come forward means that you get some folk, but there are a group of people today that we have alienated and they do not come to church at all. They resist and maybe rightly so. I have talked to many of them and the reason I think at the present moment that many of our good churches are experiencing a letdown in attendance is because of this ceaseless haranguing on this question of coming forward, coming forward. It's pushed to the very limit by some today.

And I must say that if you feel led to use that method, which very candidly I felt on many occasions and have done it with some success, but I've never felt that that was really the only way to do it. Now that's the first thing I'd like to say to you as a preliminary.

Now the second thing that we would like to say to you is that this is a custom that has prevailed in my Southland. I was raised in the South. I can remember as a little boy that they went forward when I was 10 years old under a brush arbor in Springer, Oklahoma, back of an unpainted Methodist church. They put this brush arbor every summer. They grew cane in that field and I sat with several other little boys about my age and we'd pull a stalk of cane down and twist it and suck on it to get the sweet. And we'd just sit there and really listen to the sermon there and I guess they permitted us to do it because we at least kept quiet.

Well, I went forward and I was never dealt with personally. A man knelt down across from me and started groaning and when a friend of mine, a playmate, he came forward and his mother was a shouting Methodist and she hit the sawdust trail and she came down shouting and of course her little son, he started crying and when he started crying, I started crying and this man across from me jumped up and he said, "He's prayed through." I don't know what he meant by that, to be honest with you, but whatever it was, I didn't do it.

And I've always thought just to get somebody to come forward and kneel at an altar for anything unless there is something that takes place that is spiritual, that is constructive, that registers a decision, that's an intelligent decision, I see no point in it for anything. And I felt like that that night. It'd been wonderful if somebody had taken a little towheaded boy who was as ignorant as he could be, who didn't really know why he came forward. The man said to come forward and accept Jesus. I wanted to accept him. I didn't know how to do it and nobody explained it to me and I know that when the benediction was pronounced that I was forgotten in the crowd. Nobody even put their hand on my head and said anything to me.

So I have never felt that getting people to come forward and as a believer, I think that you and I ought not to wait until Sunday to go forward to ask God to forgive us our sin. I think when we commit them at that time keep our fellowship sweet with him and we're not going to have fellowship until we do confess. And then this idea of a deeper dedication. Now I did that for several years and I found out that during our missionary conference that we asked the full commitment, the dedication of the congregation.

Well, do you know that half of the congregation came forward? Well, that was no good because very frankly it didn't change anything the next Sunday or the rest of the year. It was just a step they took which I think actually was quite meaningless. I'm sure it might have meant something to some, but certainly they were in the minority. A few came that went to the mission field, but the larger number never even got to the border. They never intended to go to begin with.

Now I've spent some time with this because this party has raised I think one of the most important questions for the average church service today.

Announcer: Our next question comes from a listener in Kansas City, Missouri, who says: "Would you please explain Psalm 22 verse 21?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And Psalm 22:21 reads: "Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." This is a messianic Psalm and it depicts the crucifixion of Christ long before he was crucified. It has tremendous meaning. Now the Roman Empire was known in that day as the lion. That was the symbol of it and the lion's mouth was certainly save him from being crucified or falling in the hands of the Roman authorities. "For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns."

Now a unicorn has one horn. Now the Lord Jesus was crucified on a cross and that cross probably didn't have an upright or a crossbar on it. It was just an upright and this is one of the most accurate pictures of crucifixion that you can possibly have and it actually is referring to the cross of Christ. I think this makes this one of the greatest of the Psalms because it sets before us Christ on the cross. In fact, as we've called it, an x-ray of the cross.

Announcer: The same listener has a second question. She says: "I have always thought that when Jesus died, his soul went to paradise, but I heard a pastor say that Jesus' soul went to a place of torment to suffer the flames of hell for us. Could you please explain?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: May I say to you that is a very dangerous thing to say and I would not have opened my mouth about it if it hadn't been for the fact that this man who is a rock-ribbed fundamentalist, but now he's leaning backwards and actually stating a heresy in the other direction. When the Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross and there he paid for the sins of the world. And let's put that down. And when he said on the cross, "It is finished," *tetelestai*, your salvation and mine was accomplished and when he gave up his spirit there, that ended the work of salvation for you and me and to say that he had to go down into hell and suffer there is without doubt one of the worst statements that I've heard recently. And that is a heresy in the opposite direction.

Now if you want to know, this all rests upon the statement that you have in 1 Peter 3 and I want to turn to that, 18 and 19. It says, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." Now that hasn't anything to do with the spirits that are in paradise or the spirits that are in torment. It has nothing to do with either one at all.

There is a time word there and we need to pay attention to it. "For Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh quickened by the spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." When? Will you listen? "Which sometime were disobedient." When? "Once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah." The spirit of Christ preached through Noah in the days of Noah and this is what he's talking about.

He's talking about that which has taken place in the past. He didn't go and preach to the spirits in torment or actually the spirits that are in paradise. The reference of Peter is to the days of Noah. That is the time word there and that time word is important. I feel very badly to hear that this very excellent, outstanding Bible teacher in his desire to emphasize the suffering of Christ would go to this extreme when the scripture makes it very clear that his death upon the cross was all that was necessary to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. And friends, let's keep it that way.

Announcer: We turn our attention now to a question from a listener in Pacifica, California, who writes: "Could you please give the meaning of the name of Boaz in the book of Ruth?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And frankly the name just simply means "in him is strength." And we read though in the little book of Ruth that Boaz was a kinsman of Naomi and he was a mighty man of war. And that also can mean mighty man of wealth, for he was a wealthy man and he was a mighty man of the law. He knew the Mosaic Law. So that it's a man of strength, a strong man.

I would say that Boaz is the ideal man. His name means that. He was the ideal man. He had that which every man wants, wants to have in order to be a man. He wants to be strong, a mighty man of war, a mighty man of wealth and a mighty man of law. He wants to be intellectual, he wants to be spiritual and he wants to be physical and he wants to exceed in all of these. Now Boaz was that type of a man.

Announcer: Columbia, South Carolina is where our next question comes from. The listener writes: "When will the rapture occur? Some have said before the tribulation and some say after. What is the scriptural basis for each view? Why are there so many different views of interpretation on this one doctrine?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: First of all, I would like to answer your last question first. The question that you have raised about why are there so many interpretations of one passage of scripture. May I say to you that obviously there is only one interpretation that is accurate. The others are due to human errors or human interpretations that are not those of the spirit of God. And you have this in all walks of life.

In law, for instance, today. There is a certain law that says a certain thing. One lawyer on one side of the case, he argues that it means this and the lawyer on the other side, he argues that it means that. And this and that are not the same. In fact, the opposites. And how could it be? Well, the fact of the matter is it may be that there was not clarity in stating the law. It may be that maybe it was stated so that you could take two interpretations or it may be that one is very fallacious.

Now I believe as far as the word of God is concerned that the fact that there are many interpretations of one passage of scripture just proves how frail and fallacious mankind really is. Now let's come to the question that you have in point and it has to do with the rapture of the church. And you say that there are those who believe that it takes place before the tribulation. There are some that believe that it takes place after the tribulation and to tell the truth, there are some that believe it takes place during the great tribulation, that is at the middle of the great tribulation period.

And may I say to you that since I hold one particular interpretation and I believe that since I know you want to be accurate and be right, I'm sure that you want to come along and agree with me. Now you ask me for the interpretation that the others give. Now those that have what is known as the mid-trib interpretation use actually the book of Revelation largely for their interpretation and since I do not hold that viewpoint, I feel like that you should ask somebody that holds that viewpoint because I would not make a very good case for them because I don't think they have a good case.

Now there are those that believe that Christ is coming at the end of the great tribulation period and they use several scriptures. They take as I see it several scriptures out of context altogether and as a result, they come up with the post-trib viewpoint. Now again, I would not be able to give you a good explanation of their viewpoint because I just really don't think they have one and I could not wholeheartedly even give you what they say and I'd like for them to say it because they say it with a great deal more zeal than I'd say it. I can certainly tell you that.

Therefore, let me present to you the correct viewpoint and that's the pre-trib viewpoint. By the way, may I say that there are many scriptures. They say that there is not any scriptures at all. I think that you could turn to several scriptures and show definitely that it teaches that. For instance, here's one that you do not hear mentioned at all. I've never seen it in any list that has been given and it shows that the church is not going through the great tribulation period.

Now Paul in the fifth chapter of Romans, he lists eight wonderful benefits that comes to a sinner when he's justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When he trusts Christ, there are certain present benefits that accrue to him. In fact of the matter is, there are eight of them. The seventh one is down in verse nine of Romans five and it says, "Much more then," in other words here's something extra that accrues to us, "being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

Now wrath and the scripture mentions the great day of wrath and the great day of wrath of course is the great tribulation period. The Lord Jesus called it that and said there's going to be nothing like it before or after and you couldn't call it the great day of wrath has come unless it would be that particular period. I think when you begin to piece together a lot of the scriptures and then you remember that Paul wrote a young preacher by the name of Titus and he said to him in Titus 2:13, "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ."

Well now, may I say to you, that's pre-trib. That means the imminent coming of Christ, that there's nothing between where we are now, it's tissue-thin between where we are now and the rapture of the church. Therefore, we're looking for that blessed hope. We're not looking for the great tribulation period. We have a blessed hope. We have a joy that our sins are forgiven. And after all, what is the rapture?

Now here again, I get really amused and bored when I keep hearing, well, the Bible doesn't teach three comings of Christ, a second and a third coming, because they interpret the rapture to be a second coming of Christ. Now actually, the rapture is not the second coming of Christ in any way whatsoever. If you want to know what the scripture says, why, it says this very clearly. Now I'm going to turn and read now 1 Thessalonians the fourth chapter verse 15.

Now listen to this very carefully because in this entire section, he's been talking about the Lord Jesus taking the church out of the world and he says this, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." That is those that died and their body was put to sleep down here, they're with the Lord Jesus and they're going to come with him when he comes. But is this a second coming? No.

I'm reading now verse 15, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." Now Paul puts an emphasis on this. He underlines this. Paul is saying, I want you to know that I'm talking by the word of the Lord. This is what God says now and don't listen to man. "That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, we shall not go before them which are asleep." Now let's see what it is, verse 16, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first."

Now that very clear, isn't it? Now notice verse 17, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds." Now that word "caught up," it can mean snatch up, it can mean lift up, it can mean rapture. Rapture's a good meaning. Now when anybody says the word rapture's not in the Bible, may I say to you, they don't know much about the Bible because here it is right here. "Caught up." And we're caught up, raptured, to meet the Lord in the clouds.

Now does that look like a second coming of Christ? Why no, he doesn't even come to the earth at all. We're caught up to meet him in the clouds. Now his second coming when he comes to the earth to establish his kingdom after the great tribulation period, we're told his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. Well, I want to tell you, we're told here we're caught up to meet him in the air. Now if he's coming to the Mount of Olives, we're going to miss him. We're going to pass him up there in space someplace if he's coming to the Mount of Olives. This is not the second coming of Christ, this is the rapture of the church.

Now it says we'll meet him in the air and that word for air is an unusual word. It means upper air. Our word for it today, space. We're going to meet him out yonder in space. How far out do you suppose it'll be? I don't know. I can guess. Would it be out as far as Jupiter? Will he come as far as Jupiter and we'll be caught up to meet him there? Could be. Nothing wrong in guessing that if you want to. I don't know.

How about Saturn? Those beautiful rings around Saturn. That would be a nice place to meet with all that color there and the beauty of it. That'd be a nice place to meet the Lord. Maybe it wouldn't be there. Maybe it's farther out. Maybe it's even beyond our solar system. Could be. Nothing wrong in that because we're caught up to meet the Lord in space. And that's not the second coming of Christ, is it? It's the second coming of Christ out in space and the going of the church. It's goodbye to this old world, friends, for the church.

Now that's the rapture of the church. Now that doesn't sound like his coming to the earth where he says in the Olivet Discourse he's going to send his angels to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth. That's something else. That's going to take place when he comes to establish his kingdom. But the other, why, we're caught up to meet him yonder in the air. So that's the reason that I hold the pre-trib viewpoint because that's what the Bible teaches from my viewpoint.

Announcer: Well, with that we need to bring today's program to a close. Maybe you've had your interest sparked by Dr. McGee's comments on the rapture and tribulation or any of the other answers he gave. If so, we'd like to let you know that we have several publications by Dr. McGee which cover the issues of the rapture, the tribulation and prophecy, not to mention many other topics as well. For instance, you may want to take a look at his hardback book, J. Vernon McGee on Prophecy, as just one suggestion.

The Bible Bus is rolling along each weekday on the Thru the Bible Radio program and we would encourage you to join us as Dr. McGee moves through the pages of scripture book by book and chapter by chapter. Notes and outlines are available without obligation when you call, write or download them for free online. For ordering information, to ask for a resource catalog or to receive the notes and outlines, call 1-800-65-BIBLE and leave a voicemail with your request.

To find us online, go to www.ttb.org. Or if you prefer, write to Questions & Answers, for those in the US, Box 7100, Pasadena, California 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario N6C 6B1. Until next time, may our God answer all your questions and solve all your problems.