Question: A friend doesn’t seem to buy the premil [pre-millennium] position yet. [She believes] ...

Question: A friend doesn’t seem to buy the premil [pre-millennium] position yet. After reading Whatever Happened to Heaven? she comments, “Hunt asserts that the predominant position of the early church was premil....The fact is that all the eschatological positions develop over the course of history.” We have read little by the so-called church fathers....We have only gotten interested in eschatology since our bombardment years back with many Christians in our prior church who were frantic that we call legislators and sign petitions, and vote for “moral” Mormon candidates, etc. We just couldn’t find any justification for that activity in the New Testament. Please comment.

Response: Obviously there is something wrong with “eschatological positions [which] develop over the course of history.” The Bible doesn’t change, so why should eschatology change? To bolster their position, Catholics and Reconstructionists like to quote selectively from the church fathers. However, to know what the early church was taught by the Apostles and what it believed and practiced, we don’t turn to alleged church fathers but to the New Testament itself.

The elders of the church at Ephesus were personally trained by Paul over a period of three years. Yet he said to them, “...of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts:20:29-30 [29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. [30] Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
See All...). If elders whom Paul had trained went astray, so could other early church leaders. The only valid guide is Scripture itself.

As for the Rapture, Christ told His disciples that He was going to the Father’s house, from whence He would return to take them there to be with Him eternally (Jn:14:1-6 [1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. [4] And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. [5] Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? [6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
See All...). Paul told the Thessalonians that Christ himself would “descend from heaven” to resurrect the dead believers and to catch them up with those still alive to take them to heaven (1 Thes:4:13-18 [13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. [15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. [16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [18] Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
See All...). Paul reminded the Philippians that their focus was heaven and that they should be constantly looking to heaven for the return of their Savior and the transformation of their earthly bodies to heavenly (Phil:3:20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
See All...- 21). He commended the Thessalonians for waiting expectantly for Christ to deliver them from God’s coming wrath (1 Thes:1:9For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
See All...- 10; 2 Thes:1:7-10 [7] And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, [8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: [9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; [10] When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
See All...). The writer to the Hebrews said, “unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time” (Heb:9:28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
See All...).

From these scriptures it is clear that the early church was taught to look for Christ’s return. That expectancy would not be appropriate if any event such as the revelation of Antichrist, the Great Tribulation or Millennium had to come first. Such verses teach imminency: that Christ could come at any moment. A post-anything rapture is not consistent with the attitude of the early church and was obviously developed later.

It also follows that the Rapture (Christ catching the church up to heaven) is distinct from and precedes the Second Coming (Christ returning to earth to rescue Israel at Armageddon). The former could occur at any moment but the latter cannot occur until Antichrist takes over the world. A major purpose of the Second Coming is to destroy Antichrist and his kingdom.

As for social or political action, it is very clear from the biblical record that in spite of political corruption and rampant injustice, neither Christ, His apostles nor the early church ever engaged in it. For us to do so today is to stray from both the teaching of Scripture and the example of Christ and the first Christians. We are not called to improve the world but to call people out of the world to heavenly citizenship through repentance and the new birth in Jesus Christ.

It is not only a waste of effort to attempt to persuade the unsaved to live moral lives, but it is counterproductive: it implies that God is pleased with outward behavior without an inner change of heart. In fact, the more righteous a person believes his behavior is, the less likely he is to realize that he is a sinner in need of a Savior. Christ said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:32). That is our task as His followers.