Jesse Johnson is the Teaching Pastor at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA. He represents the John MacArthur/The Master’s Seminary wing of the pretribulational camp.
He has made recent pretrib claims about the book of Revelation that cannot be supported by Scripture. They are your typical assumptions that pretribs make about elements in Revelation.
One claim in particular is that the first six seals depicted in Revelation 6 is part of the day of the Lord’s wrath. This question, of course, is a pivotal issue between the pretrib and prewrath debate. I do not believe Johnson can support his claim that Revelation 6 represents the day of the Lord’s wrath. Scripture is clear that the first six seals will unfold before the day of the Lord that will begin with the opening of the seventh seal.
Accordingly, I am inviting Jesse Johnson to a public moderated debate. I propose the following debate thesis:
The Six Seals in Revelation 6 Will Occur Before the Day of the Lord
I will take the affirmative, and Jesse Johnson will take the denial. We can have a three hour debate with openings, rebuttals, cross-examination, and closings.
I am willing to be accommodating to Johnson and drive down myself from New Jersey to Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia where we can have the debate.
With this format the audience will benefit from actual dialogues and not just monologues since it often brings out more substantive discussions. And an experienced moderator is preferred.
I believe debates are a God-glorifying medium of interaction for truth-lovers. Meaningful interaction is a good thing and is beneficial for God’s people, holding Christians accountable for their theological claims.
“The first to state his case seems right, until his opponent begins to cross-examine him” (Proverbs 18:17).
This was the case with my debate with Thomas Ice last year. We had a civil, Christ-honoring debate with two brothers getting together and having a beneficial engagement that Christians continue to find useful.
Pastor Johnson, this will be an opportunity for you to defend publicly your pretribulational claims in front of your people and the larger viewing audience for years to come. I am willing to put my prewrath claims under your cross-examination. I hope you are willing to do the same with your pretrib claims.
I would like to see this debate happen since I am confident that when the pretribulational and prewrath views are presented side-by-side for others to evaluate, the prewrath position is seen to be the most viable, biblical position.
May this event take place for the faith-building of the people of God and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Warm regards,
Alan E. Kurschner
