Pretrib talk-show host Derek Gilbert had pretrib Pastor Billy Crone on his show to discuss his pretrib book, ironically titled The Rapture: Don’t Be Deceived.
Crone’s book is same old, same old pretrib argumentation. One particular topic he brought up is his allegorical interpretation of the “Jewish Wedding.” And a few minutes later Gilbert and Crone said that we should not allegorize Scripture!
Crone completely assumes that the Jewish wedding teaches imminence, because the bride he says does not know when his groom is coming! Moreover, they read wholesale their pretrib system of theology of a Jewish tradition that is not even in the Bible! Crone even admits this that he gets this from outside of the Bible and so he forces his preconceived conclusion of imminence upon Scripture by finding scattered parallels in the Bible. He and Gilbert then conclude that this must teach imminence!
As I have said many times, they have to do this because imminence is not found in the Bible. Incidentally, I have a section in my forthcoming book that comprehensively critiques imminence debunking this point of the “Jewish Wedding” argument that some pretribs use.
One last point on this. If a pretribber ever tries to draw from the separation event of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, simply point out that is a parable to illustrate the separation event at Jesus’ return in Matthew 24:31—an event that occurs after the Antichrist’s great tribulation. They conveniently ignore that fact, for obvious reasons.
Next, Crone also misrepresented the prewrath rapture by saying it teaches the rapture will happen “three quarters” into the seven-year period. The moment you hear pretribs say we believe this, don’t believe anything else they say because they are lazy or dishonest, it’s one of those two.
Pretribbers are like the mainstream media of MSNBC and CNN where they have to distort and misrepresent the other side to promote their biased agenda. Gilbert knows that this is not true about the prewrath position and he should had corrected Crone, but he chose not to.
Crone also claimed that the early church fathers taught imminence (“tons of evidence”)—but he does not provide a single document that states that the rapture of the church will occur before the Antichrist. It is truly amazing how irresponsible these people are with doing church history.
Crone also disconnects the rapture from the second coming by selectively comparing apples with oranges. We have covered this ploy so many times and it is once again refuted in the forthcoming book critiquing imminence.
Billy Crone is long on assertions, and short on evidence. And that sums up pretribulationism.
Don’t be deceived by Crone’s man-made teaching on the rapture.
