With the passing of John Paul, an age is coming to a close and a new one is about to begin. And, as devout Catholics pray and ponder their future, we Bible believing evangelicals should be doing the same. I fear things are going to change for us too.

This morning, I read again the passage of Scripture that has become known as the "High Priestly Prayer." This is where Jesus knew that the time to return to His Father was at hand. This is what He prayed:

Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:1-3 New American Standard Bible). 

As I read these words, I was reminded of something else Jesus said. We call this passage of Scripture, "The Great Commission." After His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and said:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). 

For the most part, we evangelicals won't argue over what we've been commanded. We've got a job to do until the end of this age. In fact, we have even been given the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in order to get the job done. However, here is where we begin having our differences. You see, we all know that the "end of the age" that Jesus was referring to is this present Church age, the age of the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. But, we have many differing opinions about when this age will end.

Among these differing views, in my opinion, there are two that stand out. The first view is that the present age will end when the Church is raptured -- or caught up to be with Jesus -- before the Great Tribulation. The second view is that the Church will experience the Great Tribulation, but be raptured before God pours out His wrath on the Antichrist and his Christ rejecting world.

I was raised to believe the first way. But, I was also raised by the same people to understand the Bible prophecies. That's why I couldn't understand it when I found that the information I was trying to report was falling on so many deaf ears. There was a contradiction here that I couldn't understand. As a result, I began looking for the reason for the resistance. Here is what I found.

The issue isn't really the timing of the rapture as the majority may think. The real issue is dispensationalism. That's because, the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church doctrine isn't founded on any one Scripture. It's founded on the dispensational method of interpreting the Bible.

The most ironic thing about this for me is, if most people who believe in the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine really understood what the dispensationalists taught, they would immediately reject it. For example, most would be shocked to find that dispensationalism teaches that the teachings of Christ in the Gospels doesn't apply to us -- only to Israel. Why would they reject this idea? Because, if they adopt such an interpretation of the New Testament writings, they open a can of worms where they don't know what applies to them and what doesn't. And, worse yet, they become dependent on others for their interpretations. This is something the Bible clearly warns us not to do.

Now that I've shown why I don't totally accept dispensationalism, does that mean I also don't accept the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church? Like I've said many times before, I don't know when the rapture will occur. The only point I'm trying to make is, the arguments that the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine is based on are flawed. But, that doesn't necessarily make the doctrine false. Like I said, I was raise to believe in pre-tribulation rapture myself. So, it's hard to let it go.

This is why I've developed what I call "Plan A" and "Plan B." Under "Plan A," I'm ready to go and meet the Lord in the air at any moment. It is based on the dispensationalist's hope of being raptured out of here before the Great Tribulation begins.

Now, if I find myself entering into the Great Tribulation. I will immediately revert to "Plan B." That means, right now, while there is still time, I will start preparing myself for for that possibility. I'll begin learning what the Word of God has to say about enduring through persecution.

As I said earlier, with the passing of the pope, our world is entering into another age. And, we evangelical Christians will be entering into that new age too. No, we don't yet know what changes this new age will bring. But, Bible prophecy may provide us with a few clues.

For one thing, we already know that someday the world's religions will unite and turn against us. We also know, if our Lord doesn't take us out of here first, we will have the honor of being persecuted for His Name. Why? Because, in Jesus, we are the children of our Father who is in heaven. And, even after two thousand years, the world still hasn't come to know either the Father or the Son. 

Friends, as it did for our Lord, our hour may come.