Nail #15

Evidence and proof of the Pre-wrath Rapture

I’ve written more than a dozen posts describing why the Bible does not support either the “Pre-tribulation rapture” or why the Bible does not support all 7 years of Daniel’s 70th week being the wrath of God. Well how about a little “comparing Scripture with Scripture” to not only prove the Pre-trib rapture is a myth, but also to support the idea of the “Pre-Wrath Rapture,” or that the church WILL go into and through the Beginning of Sorrows and the Great Tribulation but be removed before God’s wrath begins?

Let us start with a passage which every Christian who believes the church will be raptured agrees is the rapture:

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. 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: 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.
~1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

In this beautiful and well-known rapture passage I want to point out four truths about this event that are indisputable. The first is the Greek word for “coming” in verse 15 is parousia (Strong's G3952) and it is clearly referring to the 2nd coming of our Lord, the future visible return from Heaven of Jesus. As I’ve written in earlier “Nails,” parousia is a noun and it is referring to an event. An event at which our Lord will come and go more than once - but there is ONLY one event, only one parousia, only one second coming.

Second, His coming (parousia) will be announced “with a trumpet of God” (v16). Third, this passage teaches that at the coming (parousia) of Christ, the Lord will come “in the clouds” (v17). Please remember two angels told the men of Galilee at His ascension into Heaven His return will be “in like manner” as they just saw when a cloud received Him out of their sight (Acts 1:9-11). The fourth truth is implied by Paul’s passive phrase “shall be caught up together.” Because believers will be “caught up … to meet the Lord in the air” it is implied that someone or someones will “catch us up” and carry us to Him. Obviously we aren’t going to be gathering ourselves.

Certainly if the rapture is spoken of anywhere else in Scripture similar truths would also be mentioned. Well, they are mentioned, and in fact they are clearly stated by the Lord Himself in the Olivet Discourse where He is teaching the apostles about His return:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
~Matthew 24:30-31

First, the context of these two verses is clearly Christ’s coming, His parousia (see vv 3, 27). Please notice in His reply to the apostles’ questions that He has not yet come. Specifically in verse 6 He says “but the end is not yet” plainly implying that when He comes it will be the end. Then in verse 13 Jesus says those who endure to the end will be saved - again the implication is His return and the end have not yet come.

Second, His coming (parousia) will be associated with “the clouds” (see v30).

Third, His coming will be associated with “a great sound of a trumpet” (see v31).

Fourth, His coming will involve “His angels” who will gather “His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (see v31). 2 Thessalonians 2:1 also speaks of our being “gathered together” unto Him at the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus and not before.

So you see, the rapture of the Church IS taught by Christ Himself in the Olivet discourse, both in Matthew 24 above and Mark 13:26-27.

Jesus also touches upon it in Luke 21:27-28 where He actually tells us to “look up, lift up your heads; for your redemption [apolytrosis, or deliverance, Strong's G629] draweth nigh.” The context of the passage is the same as it is in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 so it begs the question, deliverance from what? The answer is deliverance from the Great Tribulation!

This is why most believers who yearn for the Pre-trib rapture theory to be correct ignore this passage in the Olivet Discourse. They ignore it because it is AFTER the Beginning of Sorrows and AFTER the Great Tribulation. But not to worry, Jesus tells us He will cut the days of the Great Tribulation short for His Elect (Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20) and how will He do it? Answer - He will cut the days short by THE RAPTURE! We are taken off this planet before God’s wrath begins, also known as the Day of the Lord. Jesus taught similarly about His return being like the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-30). The day they were delivered, the same day God’s wrath came.

Remember, there are five compromising churches whom the Lord Jesus told John to write - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Laodicea - and only one faithful church, Philadelphia. This should tell you that most believers will be a part of one of the compromising churches and a relative few will be a part of the faithful church which is protected during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 3:10), see Nail #11.

So please, have the courage to accept the truth established by Scripture and no longer be a part of the compromising church believing in unsubstantiated theories and incorrect conclusions. Join the church at Philadelphia and obtain Providential protection.

Nail #14

Proof the entirety of Daniel’s 70th week is not God’s Wrath

Revelation 14:9-12
9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Here we have the third angel warning all the inhabitants of the earth about the Antichrist forcing everyone to worship him and to take his mark in their forehead or their hand.  This occurs right around the middle of Daniel’s 70th week.  We are all warned that if we worship the beast, or if we take his mark, that we will “…drink of the wine of the wrath of God…”

Does this not tell us that the wrath of God has not yet started?

YES! That is correct! The wrath of God has not yet started!  So far, the world has witnessed the events surrounding the opening of the first 4 seals.  The 5th seal has not yet been opened.  Because of the warning of the third angel, there will be many people who refuse to worship the Antichrist or his image - including Christians. They will immediately be executed for their “insolence.”  And because of the warning of the third angel, there will be many people who refuse to take the mark in their forehead or their hand.  Either through execution or starvation when they will not be able to buy or sell, many will perish at the hand of the Antichrist.

But the point is, the Trumpet and Bowl judgments of the wrath of God have not started. The people who worship the Antichrist, and those who take his mark in their forehead or in their hand will “…drink of the wine of the wrath of God…”

The wrath of God has not yet started.  The church is still here - look once more at verses 12 & 13:
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. … Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:

This is the characteristic of the Christians who are suffering through the Great Tribulation: we patiently endure, we keep the commandments, and maintain our faith in the face of persecution and death.  In order to tell us that God knows our suffering John is told to write, to tell us: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from henceforth: !!! And under whose hand will those in the Lord die?  It isn’t God’s hand, but at Satan’s hand, under his wrath. (Revelation 12:12)

God’s wrath has not yet started and the church is still present on the earth.

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.

Nail #12

Proof the entirety of Daniel's 70th week is not God's Wrath

Revelation 6:9-11

9   And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

This is simply more proof that the entire seven years of Daniel’s 70th week is not the wrath or Judgment of God.

When Jesus opens the fifth seal and reveals to John the souls under the altar, the souls of those who have been slain as the result of the Great Tribulation having started, they ask a very important question. Read verse 10 again:

How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

They ask how much longer they will have to wait before God judges those who murdered them. Obviously they ask this question because God has not yet started judging the earth and them that dwell on it.

There is no question that Daniel’s 70th week commences with the opening of the first seal and the emergence of the rider on the white horse. Now here we are up to the fifth seal!

If the entire seven years of Daniel’s 70th Week is the wrath of God, it cannot have started yet, given the question of the martyrs. Their question states that God has refrained and is refraining from judging and taking vengeance on the wicked. Notice the Lord's answer, “they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until their fellow servants and brethren who were to be killed would be completed also.”  

The wrath of God against the wicked who are alive on the earth and who were responsible for the deaths of these martyrs has not yet started. Plain and simple.

Nail #11

Rebuttal to Pre-Tribulation Rapture proof points

Revelation 3:10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Every Pre-trib rapture teacher I know uses Revelation 3:10 as proof that the church will be kept from the “Tribulation Period” by the rapture. This is wrong on several counts. The first and simplest is that he was speaking to the church of Philadelphia. Are not the other Churches in Chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation also going to be raptured? The answer is of course, yes. There is only one rapture and it affects every Christian. A couple of churches are questionable (Sardis, Laodicea) but regardless, at the very least there are Christians in the other churches who will also be raptured. The point is ALL Christians will be raptured, the carnal Christians as well as the strong believers. So this promise for protection for the church in Philadelphia (and denied the other 6 churches) is not the rapture.

Second, the Greek Phrase “tereo ek” that is translated as “keep thee from” in Revelation 3:10 is the same Greek phrase the same author (John) uses in John 17:15 where Christ actually says the exact opposite in His high priestly prayer to the Father! My prayer is NOT that you take them out of the world but that you “protect them from” [tereo ek] the evil one. So the Pre-trib rapturists believe “keep thee from” in Revelation 3:10 means “to be taken out of the world” and when Jesus uses the same phrase it is in the context of asking the Father NOT to take them out of the world! Sorry, that is illogical.

I don’t want to belabor my point but in John 17:15 Jesus asks His Father NOT to take them out of the world but to protect (guard) them while still IN the world from Satan. Why would God need to guard or protect us if we WERE taken off the world? We need protection because we are still here...

The meaning of “protect them from” [tereo ek] in John 17:15 means the same thing as “keep thee from” in Revelation 3:10. Because you have been faithful to me, I will keep you from, protect you from, the hour of testing. With no Scriptural support Pre-trib rapturists simply assume that He will protect us from, or keep us from, the hour of testing by taking us off the planet. I don’t see how “guard” or “protect” can be used in John 17:15 (which is the clear context of the passage) and NOT be used in the same context in Revelation 3:10.

And as I wrote earlier, there ARE Christians in the other Churches who do not get this promise. They are NOT promised protection because they are carnal, or weak in faith, or that it is simply God’s purpose that they suffer - there’s nothing new there (Philippians 1:29), just as belief was given to us, so is suffering. When the rapture DOES occur, will they not also be raptured? YES, of course. But while going through the Great Tribulation BEFORE the rapture, they are NOT afforded Divine protection as the Church in Philadelphia is. There IS a difference between these Philadelphian Christians and their protection versus the Christians in the other churches, but the rapture will affect us ALL.

Bottom Line - Revelation 3:10 is NOT referring to the rapture as the method of “keeping us from” the hour of testing, it is assumed by some without any Biblical support whatsoever.

Nail #10

Evidence and proof negating the Pre-tribulation Rapture

Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Most Christians stop at the end of “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” But what does Jesus say then? He said that He will be with us always, even until the “end of the world.” Well, if we’re raptured off the planet before the Beginning of Sorrows and the Great Tribulation, we won’t even be here until the end of the world, right? Why would He say that He’ll be with us until the “end of the world” if He was going to gather us together to Him several years BEFORE the “end of the world?”

Answer - because we’ll still be here until that day, the day God’s wrath starts. God’s wrath, the events that will bring the world to an end, immediately follows the rapture. Jesus said His return (parousia) will be like it was in the days of Noah and Lot - the DAY they were “rescued” was the same DAY God poured out His wrath - the day the church is rescued (raptured) will be the same day God will pour out His wrath.

Don’t forget that the “end of the world” doesn’t occur until His coming (Greek - parousia). It doesn’t occur with or during the Beginning of Sorrows, and it doesn’t occur with or during the Great Tribulation.  The end of the world occurs at His coming (the event, noun) - remember this is what the apostles asked in Matthew 24:3 - And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Bottom Line - He will be with us EVEN UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD.  So we will be here until then.

THUS SAITH THE LORD!

Nail #9

Evidence and proof negating the Pre-tribulation Rapture

Another proof text I have for Daniel’s 70th week NOT being 7 years of God’s wrath, Isaiah 2:11 and 2:17 (below) both say that the Lord alone will be exalted in that day (Day of the Lord). This means that the antichrist can not come to power, raise himself up, set himself up in the temple as God and stop the sacrifice DURING the Day of the Lord.

Please consider this! During the Day of the Lord, i.e. the time in History when the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth, God alone will be exalted.  Now if the entire 7 years was the wrath of God (Day of the Lord), then the Antichrist could not come into power, and exalt himself, and cause all men to worship him.

Again, Christ said in Matthew 24, that there will be: 1) a Beginning of Sorrows, 2) a Great Tribulation, and then He doesn’t even mention the Wrath of God.  AFTER the Great Tribulation you see the SIGN of His appearing (Matthew 24:29-30).  But Christ tells John in Revelation that there will be the 7 seals (the first 3 seals are the Beginning of Sorrows; the 4th and 5th seals are the Great Tribulation; and Matthew 24:29-30 speaks of the 6th seal), 7 Trumpets, and 7 Vials - which the Trumpets and Vials are God’s wrath.  Revelation 15:1 says with the Vials, God’s wrath is completed, filled up, finished (depending on what version you have.  Looking at the KJV, in today’s English, it’s hard to understand that “filled up” means completed or finished).

Isaiah 2:6-22
6  Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7  Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8  Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9  And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
10  Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. (What Day?  The Day of the Lord)
12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
13  And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14  And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15  And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
16  And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
17  And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. (What Day?  The Day of the Lord)
18  And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19  And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20  In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21  To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22  Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?

Please notice something else - verses 19 and 21... it actually looks like Isaiah and John discussed with each other a few things, look at Revelation 6:12, specifically the great earthquake compared with Isaiah 2:19 & 21 above

12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And with the same two verses above (19 & 21), please compare with Revelation 6:15, specifically the part about hiding:

15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

Bottom Line for Nail #9 -  Since God alone will be exalted during the Day of the Lord, the Antichrist can NOT come into power and set himself up as God in the temple, and stop the sacrifice. Daniel’s 70th week is NOT 7 years of God’s wrath.  God’s wrath is comprised of a time period only at the end of the 7 years.

And to reinforce Nail #6, Jesus said His return (parousia) will be like it was in the days of Noah and Lot - the DAY they were “rescued” was the same DAY God poured out His wrath - the day the church is rescued (raptured) will be the same day God will pour out His wrath.  It sure doesn’t sound like the Pre-trib rapture theory, does it?