Monday, June 3, 2013

Nail #13


Rebuttal to Pre-tribulation Rapture proof points

Revelation 4:1
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

A lot of Christians who believe in the Pre-Trib Rapture theory have said, “Remember the first 3 chapters deal with the CHURCH AGE and its condition.  Then beginning with the 4th chapter a door is opened in Heaven and the Church is GONE and you do not see it mentioned again untill the 19th chapter.  John represents the church being raptured into Heaven.”

Sorry friends, that does not add up for the following reasons:
1 - Nowhere in the Bible does John ever represent the church as a whole.  If John represented the church and its rapture when he was called up to Heaven, you would find it supported elsewhere in the Bible - it isn’t.

2 - Please notice when John was called up to heaven it was a voice.  The voice of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But in all the classic rapture passages, it is the sound of a trumpet, the voice of the archangel that signals the rapture (Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16), never the Lord’s voice.

3 - The church is not mentioned again?  Maybe the word “church” is not used but the church is made up of believers in Jesus Christ, correct?  There are several passages that discuss Christians enduring persecution during the Great Tribulation:
   -  Revelation 12:17 clearly says that Satan (through the Antichrist) went after those that hold to the testimony of Jesus, i.e. Christians in the church.
   -  Revelation 13:7 - The antichrist was given power to make war with saints, i.e. the church. AND overcome them
   -  Revelation 13:10 - Saints, i.e. Christians in the church, are told to have patience even if it means we go to jail, or worse, if we are killed
   -  Revelation 14:12 - Saints, i.e. Christians in the church, are again demonstrating patience.  This is right after the 3 angels proclaim TO THE WHOLE WORLD - (1) the Gospel, (2) the News of “Babylon”, and (3) a warning not to worship the Antichrist or to take his mark.  In the sequence of events, this is about the same time the Antichrist is being revealed - between the points in time when the third and fourth seals are broken.
   -  Revelation 18:4 - John hears a voice from Heaven crying out to my people, i.e. Christians, to come out of the false church. Some may argue that “my people” refers to Jews. Sorry, there will be no Jews in the false “Christian” church.

So please do not rely on the theory that because the word “church” is not used between Chapter 4 and Chapter 19 of Revelation proves the Pre-trib Rapture.  I’m sure you will agree that when God refers to people “having the testimony of Jesus,” as “saints,” “those that have the faith of Jesus,” or “my people,”  the people spoken of are Christians - and Christians are the people who make up the church.

Before you claim, “But those are people who got saved after the rapture,” certainly you will concur there are not two raptures.  If there is a Pre-Trib rapture, and then people get saved during the “Beginning of Sorrows” or “Great Tribulation” (and they will), that means that there will be Christians on the earth DURING the Trumpet and Bowl Judgments (God’s wrath).  And the promise given us in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 5:9  that we would not suffer God’s wrath is a promise for EVERY Christian or God’s Word is a lie, correct?  I don’t read anywhere in the Bible that we will be delivered from the wrath to come, unless you get saved after the rapture.

Some will even say, “You’re looking for the Antichrist, I’m looking for Jesus Christ.” And? Just what is that supposed to mean? There are many signs that must be present before Christ returns in the clouds for His Bride. The rise of the Antichrist and his “revealing” MUST occur first as God’s Word clearly states in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (Nail #1). The revealing of the Antichrist is just one of the reasons Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 (Nail #2) that we will not be surprised when Christ returns. Let me say that again - Paul writes that we will not be surprised at His return. Sorry, things don’t add up.

Actually, nothing about the Pre-trib Rapture theory adds up.

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