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Maranatha Our Lord, Come!: A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church
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Average Rating:  out of 11 Reviews
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Price: $11.95
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Sale: $4.98
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Manufacturer: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780915540228
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Renald E. Showers
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Publisher: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
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Dewey Decimal Number: 236.9
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Publication Date: 1995-01
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Reading Level: 288
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Description: MARANATHA: OUR LORD, COME! A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the ChurchThis book is an in-depth study of matters related to the Rapture of the church. It addresses such issues as the birth-pang concept in the Bible and ancient Judaism, the biblical concept of the Day of the Lord, the relationship of the Day of the Lord to the Time of Jacobs Trouble and the Great Tribulation, the identification of the sealed scroll of Revelation 5, the significance of the seals, the imminent coming of Christ, the analogy of John 14:2-3, the relationship of the Rapture to the coming of Christ with His holy angels, the relationship of church saints to the wrath of God, the significance of 2 Thessalonians 2, the implications of both the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9 and the references to Israel and the church in the Book of the Revelation, the meaning of the last trump, and why the timing of the Rapture has practical implications for daily living and ministry.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Outstanding and Definitive! |
Date: 2009-01-06 |
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Details: Yes, the book certainly deserves the title of definitive. Some may complain that Dr Showers goes into too much detail but he is methodical, logical and thorough, leaving no Scriptural stone unturned. He is clinical in his analysis and impersonal when discussing other viewpoints - something that I greatly appreciate.
One other thing that I was impressed with was his willingness to discuss possible objections to the pretribulational view. Each objection is dealt with competently and there are no assertions in his approach.
I bought this book last year and I'm still going through it. This is not the sort of book that one reads like a novel. Have a Bible and related resources on hand and be prepared to diligently study.
Well done, Dr Showers!
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Review Summary: Biblical Imminency! |
Date: 2008-05-30 |
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Details: Along side his other definitive work comparing dispensationalism and covenant theology There Really Is a Difference!: A Comparison of Covenant and Dispensational Theology, Dr. Showers has rendered us a great service with "Maranatha--Our Lord, Come!". His biblical and scholarly work will continue to set the standard in defending the premillennial, pre-tribulational rapture of the Church for a long time to come.
As stated in the Foreword, "With over one-third of the Bible devoted to the subject of prophecy, the essence of which is the Lord's return, we can ill afford to be uninformed or confused about a hope so basic to our lives...Indispensable to any comprehensive work on the Lord's coming is and examination of the question of Imminency--the "any moment" return of Christ."
Although "Maranatha" is a deeply rich and encompassing study of the Rapture of the Church, I only have time and space enough to mention the following quotes from Dr. Showers. These should be enough to show how important this matter is and what is at stake in our churches. It also serves as a reminder of the expectant living every believer needs each day to fulfill our Lord's Great Commission to every tribe, nation, tongue, and people.
In his chapter on Imminency, Dr. Showers states:
"The concept of the imminent coming of Christ is a significant inference for the Pretribulation Rapture of the church. To understand this concept, we must examine the meaning of the term "imminent."
The English word "imminent" comes from the Latin verb "immineo, imminere," which means to "overhang" or "project". In light of this, the English word "imminent" means "hanging over one's head, ready to befall or overtake one; close at hand in its incidence." Thus, an imminent event is one that is always hanging overhead, is constantly ready to befall or overtake a person, is always close at hand in the sense that it could happen at any moment. Other things may happen before the imminent event, but nothing else must take place before it happens. If something else must take place before an event can happen, that event is not imminent. The necessity of something else taking place first destroys the concept of Imminency."
Dr. Showers point here is very important. For example, this failing is seen clearly in the premillennial covenant (post-trib) position coming out of schools related to the EFCA that believes the Antichrist MUST be revealed first, and the Church MUST go through the Great Tribulation, BEFORE Christ can return. Since certain things MUST happen before the rapture can occur, this position does not allow for the, any moment, imminent return of Christ that is so often repeated in Scripture. Nowhere do we find that "imminent" equals "sometime soon"...and I have not been able to find anywhere in Scripture where the believer is to find his future hope an expectant living in looking for the Antichrist.
The Practical Effect of Imminency
Dr. Showers goes on to state, "The imminent coming of Christ should have an incredible practical effect on the lives of individual Christians and the church as a whole. The fact that the glorified, holy Son of God could step through the door of heaven at any moment is intended by God to be the most pressing, incessant motivation for holy living and aggressive ministry (including missions, evangelism, and Bible teaching) and the greatest cure for lethargy and apathy. It should make a difference in every Christian's values, actions, priorities, and goals...In addition, in 1 John 3:2-3 the apostle emphasized the impact that the truth of Christ's coming should have on Christians living now: "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."
Finally, with the biblical doctrine of Imminency under siege in some denominations like the EFCA, Dr. Shower's excellent discussion in Chapter 7 is vitally important to us today. Along with that we are seeing inroads being made against the consistent use of a single normative hermeneutic by "new" systems with misleading labels such as "Progressive" and "Historic" forms of premillennialism. If you scratch below the surface you will see that both of these are little more than Covenant Theology dressed up in sheep's clothing. These views also have a weaken view on the inspiration of Scripture and use a "complementary" hermeneutic. Pastors, church leaders, and pastoral search committees can no longer afford to be complacent or uninformed and assume that being "premillennial" or even "dispensational" means normative dispensational.
The Bible in Revelation 22 closes by saying, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely...He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
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Review Summary: The Rapture Explained and Clarified |
Date: 2007-07-25 |
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Details: Renald Showers is a very careful Bible expositor, and he does a great job with this study on the pretribulational rapture of the church. He has a very strong chapter on the imminency of Christ's return. He also makes it clear that the entire seven year tribulation period is a time where God's wrath is poured out on the earth, and that you cannot confine the time of wrath to the last portion of the period.
I was a bit confused by Showers' distinction between the broad day of the Lord which starts shortly after the rapture and lasts all the way through the 1000 year reign of Christ, and the short day of the Lord, which refers to the day of Christ's second coming. To me, the day of the Lord is time of divine judgment and wrath that lasts from the Rapture to the end of the tribulation period, but ceases at the start of the Millennium.
2 Thessalonians 2 is a tough passage for the pretribulational position, but I think that Showers did a good job expounding this text.
He also shows that the coming of Christ for His saints in John 14 and 1 Thessalonians 4 is different and distinct from the coming of Christ WITH His saints in Revelation 19.
He argues cogently for a two stage coming of Christ, the first stage being the rapture of the church into heaven, an event that can occur at any time, and the second stage being the coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation to set up His millennial kingdom.
This book is a bit stodgy and repetitive. Showers is not the most engaging writer in the world. But I feel that he has established a strong exegetical case for the pretribulational rapture of the church. |
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Review Summary: Indispensable to study of the return of our Lord |
Date: 2007-03-06 |
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Details: Dr. Showers has presented the most solid defense of the pre-trib rapture. So often the discussion of the rapture is focused solely on the event itself, but Dr. Showers' work is key, in that he places the rapture within it's biblical context, by specifically addressing the Day of the Lord. Without the preliminary concerns which he addresses, the placement of the rapture is much more of a case of inference, but when laid out in the context of the broader prophetic scheme, the placement at once becomes obvious. I would recommend this book to any and all who are studying the rapture. |
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Review Summary: Packed With Scholarship--Best Rapture Book, By Far |
Date: 2006-04-29 |
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Details: Subtitle's right, this is a "definitive" rapture study. Far more than the typical Daniel, Revelation, Thessalonians, I Corinthians stuff here. Hundreds (thousands?) of verses are cited as Showers scrutinizes the entire Word of God for inferences supporting his view that the rapture will be before the 7-year tribulation. Detailed analysis of the various birth pangs references, the Day of the Lord (narrow and broad), use of the word tribulation, significance of the Revelation 5 scroll...and that's all preliminary to getting to Part II! I'm unaware of any scripture stones Shower's left unturned to present both the big picture and the details. By far the best of the many rapture books I've read, 'Maranatha' is for the serious student, but so well-organized that even one not so familiar with the Bible can benefit. |
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