I could always identify with Timothy. Perhaps that's one reason the writings of the Apostle Paul have always had a special place for me. You see, Paul said things to young Timothy that he could have also said to me. For example, Paul told Timothy:

For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well ( 2 Timothy 1:5 New American Standard Bible).

I recall sitting on my grandmother's lap listening to her pray. She didn't pray the way the other adults prayed. She said things like, "sweet Jesus." And at night before going to bed she would first cover her head and go into her closet to pray alone.

And I could also relate when Paul advised Timothy:

But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:13-15). 

It may sound strange, but I think of myself as a full-blooded Mennonite. You see, the old Mennonites didn't just see themselves as a religion. They also saw themselves as a separate people who were avoiding worldliness and fleeing persecution. My father's Mennonite lineage can be traced back to 1741 in Prussia. And my mother's to Belgium where, in 1568, Jacob Dircks and his two sons were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church because of their faith.

I'm not telling you all this to make myself look extra spiritual or anything. My reason is, as you know, I've become concerned about some of today's popular teachings on Bible prophecy. And since I've been challenging them, you have the right to know who I am and where my views are coming from.

I'm a Baptist now. You see, the Mennonites and the Baptists have always been very close and at times have even worked together. In fact, a Baptist minister once told me the Baptists have the early Mennonites to thank for much of their doctrine. And the Mennonites have reason to thank the Baptists for many times coming to their aid in time of need..

However, I've become concerned about a view held by many Baptists called Dispensationalism. You see, Dispensationalism is the shelter we run under when defending our pre-tribulation rapture. That's because, Dispensationalism teaches God's plan for the Church and His prophetic dealing with Israel can't exist at the same time. So, since the tribulation period is the 70th week of Daniel and a time of God dealing with Israel, the Church has to be gone first -- thus a pre-tribulation rapture. 

The problem is, there are many problems with Dispensationalism. And this makes it dangerous to lean on it the way we do to support our views. For one thing, we see in history when God did deal with both the Church and Israel at the same time. And for another, Dispensationalism is a house built on assumptions. For example, it assumes the 70th week of Daniel is the same seven-year period as the tribulation -- thus creating a seven-year tribulation. Yet I believe Scripture may only teach a 3/12 year tribulation. 

And as of yet, I haven't had any response to my question why the throne room scene we find in Revelation chapter 4 is placed after the Antichrist appears in Daniel chapter 7. This is important because, most of us would agree Revelation 4 marks the beginning of the tribulation period. So, if Dispensationalism is right, why does Daniel place the tribulation beginning after the Antichrist appears -- not before?

These and other problems have caused me to shift away from Dispensationalism to Progressive Dispensationalism. In my view, Progressive Dispensationalism solves the problems. And under Progressive Dispensationalism, any view on the timing of the rapture is allowable. In other words, we can still believe in a pre-tibulation rapture if we wish.

However, the pre-tribulation view suddenly becomes harder to defend.

We can't just point to Dispensationalism anymore.