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The 'Rapture Question'
Does the rapture occur before the seven years, in the middle or at the end?
One might think, because such a variety of understandings on the 'timing' of the rapture, that perhaps scripture is just not all that clear. And since it is not all that clear, maybe is really doesn't make much of a difference what we believe about it.
I have found that the bible is actually quite clear and that it is important to understand what the scriptures teach about it.
So ... what are some of the main variations?
I will begin by stating the obvious: There is not one single verse of scripture in the entire bible that states that there will be a rapture before the tribulation period. The key point to what I just stated: not a SINGLE verse. But there are MULTIPLE verses that can be put together to form a basis for this teaching.
Three reasons in favor of a Pre-trib rapture:
And number 2 above: Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour … be ready. (Mt 24:36, Mt 25.13, Mk 13.21, God has not appointed us to wrath (1Th 5.9, Rev 3.10) so He will take us out before it all happens.
And number 3 above: The church and Israel are to remain forever separate, and the tribulation period is really a time for God to 'shape up' the Jews, and since the church is already 'shaped up', the church has to be gone. In support of this belief, all 'second coming' scriptures become adjusted to fit properly.
Further argument in favor of Pre-Trib: God loves us so much he would never allow His children to undergo and experience a time said to be the worst in all of history. He has not appointed us to wrath, and the tribulation period is a time known as 'the Wrath of God'. And that final seven years is a time for God to deal with Israel who has been unfaithful in the past, so He punishes her to the point of causing her to come back to Him. The church age and the age of law are two different things. So at the end of the church age God takes us up and leaves the Jews here for 7 more years of the law age.
While I could have chosen from any number different websites to get a good 'list of reasons' for a pre-trib teaching, I have chosen from just one. From the Lion and the Lamb ministries I have copied 11 main reasons for a pre-trib rapture
1) The Bible describes the Rapture and Second Coming as different events.
This reason is quite valid. It speaks against Post-trib which has no separation of time between the rapture (going up to heaven) and the return down to earth. Post-trib does not teach that believers are taken up to heaven, but only caught up into the air to meet the Lord and then proceed with him in his descent to earth. Pre-trib makes the separation between the rapture and the coming as being seven years. As we will see in scripture, this separation between the rapture and the descent will be much shorter than seven years.
2) The Rapture is described as occurring at any time without warning
For reason No. 2), I will list scriptures:
Mt 24:42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (hour: translated hour (89 times) , as time (11 times), as season (3 times)
Mt 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Mt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
There are many other scriptures that talk about expecting the Lord and being ready, but these verses are some of the main ones that cause us to think “Jesus could return at any moment!”
But look at them for a moment … All of these verses come from a setting. Let's look at it.
At the beginning of Matthew 24 some disciples asked Jesus privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
As you scan down the chapter, noticing that Jesus is answering them, please try to spot some hint of a rapture. If there was a pre-trib rapture Jesus missed it.
Jesus does describe the rapture, but it is not at the beginning: Mt 24:31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This description by Jesus mentions a trumpet and a gathering. 1 Thessalonians 4 mentions a trumpet and a meeting in the air. 2 Thessalonians mentions the rapture and calls it a gathering: 2:1 ¶ Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ….
So Jesus mentions a rapture. But it is near the end of the tribulation. Just two verses BEFORE the rapture verse He says .. Mt 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And then in verse 32-34 he tells us to notice when it is getting close: Mt 24:32 ¶ “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors! 34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
So all of the verses that mention that we do not know the 'day or the hour ' …. or the 'time and the season' … are in a setting that says … At the point that the terrible tribulation is occurring on earth, believers will know that the coming is near … but even then, they will not know the day nor the hour.
In other words … Matthew 24 fails to mention a pre-trib rapture, …but it does mention a 'Gathering in the air' at the end of the tribulation, but no one knows the day nor the hour when it will happen.
Most pre-tribulation advocates will make a statement like this .. “Christians are called to look for the Lord’s return rather than look for signs …” But Matthew 24 is totally a chapter of 'signs' that Jesus gives and then He says 'Watch'. So Jesus seems to teach that looking for His coming includes keeping our eyes open to what is going on.
3) The Rapture and the removal of the “Restrainer” occur at the same time
This statement is based on 2 Thessalonians
2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day (the rapture) will not come, unless (1) the rebellion comes first, and (2) the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
Here is the 'Pretrib' take on the above verses: The Antichrist cannot come onto the scene because something is 'restraining' him from appearing. That something is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will remove Himself (from the earth) … that is, He came down on Pentecost, has been here ever since … and will go back up to heaven at the appointed time, thereby allowing the Anti-Christ to proceed 'unrestrained'. The next part of the Pre-trib reasoning goes like this: The Holy Spirit came to be the 'comforter of the church' and since Jesus made a promise to the church when He left, saying that He would not leave us comfortless … when the Holy Spirit goes back up … if He goes up without us, that would leave us comfortless ...therefore the church is going up with Him.
So that is what point 3) is based on – the rapture and the restrainer happens at the same time. But is this 'clear' teaching? What I read is that the rapture cannot occur at any moment because a 'great falling away', rebellion, apostasy … must happen first. (This alone does away with the teaching that the rapture of believers was to be expected 'at any moment' in history, starting from the day He ascended into heaven.)
I read also that the Holy Spirit is restraining the great increase in lawlessness. And next I read that He steps back out of the way and just 'let's it go'. It does not say that he goes back up to heaven. That is an assumption. The words are until he is out of the way. So point 3) above is based on an assumption, and not based on a clear statement of scripture.
We will look at no. 4) The Tribulation is for Israel’s redemption
The scripture used to support this point is Jeremiah 30:7 - Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.
The teaching is based on the statement, it is a time of distress for Jacob (Israel). The assumption is that this is the only purpose of the tribulation. This point assumes that God can only do one thing at a time. It is a statement of Pretrib logic that the church would not be here … that they would only be in the way.
Assuming that God can do more than one thing at a time, and that He is able to accomplish His purposes in His own way, lets look at what is missing from the above Pretrib statement.
The apostle Paul points out that God has a second purpose for the Jews. This second purpose it to weld together the Jews and the church. This assumes saved, born again Jews joined together with the church. Here is some of Paul's teaching in Romans 11. 'Blindness' has happened to Israel, and comparing them to branches of an olive tree, they were broken off. Wild branches, Gentiles, were grafted into to the tame olive tree. And then Paul gives a long-term prediction that they Jews will be grafted in again. Paul does not say that the Jews will replace the gentiles. That would be the case if the rapture were Pretrib. But in Paul's analogy, at some point in the future both Gentiles and Jews will in the tree together.
And then Paul states this even more clearly in Ephesians.
Eph 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
In the Pretribulational view, the church (gentiles) and Jews are going to be dealt with separately in the tribulation and even in the millennial reign of Jesus, and some say, even in eternity. But Paul would have us to understand that we (both Jews and Church) will be all one body.
That is not happening now. Blindness has been put onto Israel. At some point in the future the blinders will be removed and some of Israel will accept Jesus and become a part of the church. When we read through the book of Revelation that is exactly what we see happening. We see about 1/3 of the Jews run to a place of hiding. They do not become Christians at that time, but neither do they accept Anti-Christ. So they are given a place of protection in that last 3 ½ year period. These will accept Jesus AFTER the rapture at the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes back down at Armageddon.
We also read about 144,000 Jews that DO accept Jesus during the tribulation. These would be a part of the church. Why? The pre-tribulationists would say that there is no church for them to be a part of. But the Bible teaches that God, from the new Testament era and onward would ONLY receive glory through the church.
Eph 3:21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
This verse excludes the possibility that Jesus will receive glory through Israel in a future generation.
So the tribulation is a time when God will bring Israel back to Himself and make her a part of the church.
This answers also 5) The Tribulation is not for the Church.
6) God’s wrath involves the whole 7-Year Tribulation
This quite a bold statement. There are no verses to support this statement. It is easy to see in the book of Revelation that the wrath of Satan is occurring during the tribulation.
Re 12:12 ¶ … woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"
Satan's wrath in the Revelation is clearly against Israel and against believers.
Re 12:13 And when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman (Israel) who had given birth to the male child (Jesus). 14 But the woman (Israel) was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (3 ½ years) .
17 Then the dragon (Satan) became furious with the woman (Israel) and went off to make war (for the next 3 ½ years) on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Christians).
So none of this is the wrath of God. God protects Israel and does not use Satan to whip them into shape. But God permits Satan to vent his wrath during this 3 ½ years. And Satan's wrath certainly affects believers.
But God has not appointed believers to be recipients of wrath … that is, not recipients of HIS wrath.
1Th 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Most pre-tribulationists focus on the word 'us'. We … the church are not destined to wrath … therefore we will be removed. Two very important things to point out … If God has not appointed US to wrath … and therefore takes us out … it follows that God HAS appointed all new believers to wrath. That is, if the rapture should take at the beginning of the tribulation, all believers are taken up … some of the left-behind people become new believers … and discover that God has appointed them to wrath. And these new believers are not previous Christ-rejectors as we are told by Paul that they cannot be saved … God blinds them. These would only be new believers who have never heard or rejected the gospel. But according to this teaching … they are appointed to God's wrath for some reason.
God DOES have wrath, and He DOES pour it out onto the earth during the tribulation period. But He does NOT ever pour His wrath on His own children.
Re 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl (of God's wrath) on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish.
The book of Revelation mentions that 7 bowls of God's wrath are going to be poured onto this earth during the last part of the tribulation. As mentioned in the verse above, the angel is NOT pouring it out onto the children of God, but onto the Beast and his kingdom.
So regarding the statement of point 6), there is no biblical support for calling the tribulation period 'The Wrath of God'. This seven year period contains evil world leaders battling it out and killing many people, it includes the wrath of Satan as he institutes terrible requirements of self-worship that will result in the death of many believers, and it includes direct bowls of God's wrath being poured out on non-believers only.
7) The Old Testament and Revelation leave the Church out of the Tribulation
The Pre-tribulational view on this point is based on (1), old Testament prophecies regarding end-times, which make no mention of the church, and (2), the book of Revelation making no mention of the church between chapters 4 – 18. However the range of chapters could be extended right to the end of the book, because the word 'church' is not there either.
Why do the pre-tribulationists say that the church is not found in the chapters between 4 and 18? Why not go right to the end of the book? Because chapter 19 is the chapter that mentions a celebration supper up in heaven with Jesus and His bride. So everyone, pre-tribulationists and others alike, see the bride as being the church. And I agree, the bride is the church. But to be fair and strict about it … the word church is not there. A different word is used … the word bride, and we say … that's the church. But throughout the revelation 'different' words are used. The phrase 'those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ' is used. Do you and I not have the testimony of Jesus Christ? The word 'Saint' is used through the book. Are Christians not called 'saints' throughout the whole New Testament. When Paul writes to 'The saints which are at Rome' … is he not referring to the church? The word 'elect' is used to refer to those in the tribulation period … are you and I not called God's elect?
So this argument 'The Old Testament and Revelation leave the Church out of the Tribulation' is very weak and non-specific.
8) The Church is busy elsewhere during the Tribulation
This point addresses two activities that happen in heaven. It is assumed that they are happening during the seven years. But that is the problem. No where does it say that these two things take up the whole seven years. What are the two events? (1) The Judgment Seat of Christ, and (2) the marriage celebration of Jesus with His bride.
Here is what the Bible DOES say. It says that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) And it says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
And is says blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:9)
Let's study these for a moment:
The bible clearly talks about a rapture which takes the people of God up to heaven. And it talks about the judgment seat of Christ which takes place immediately after the rapture. The bible teaches that there is a great marriage feast in heaven, after which the Lord and his 'bride' descend to earth. At that time Jesus engages the anti-Christ and the anti-christ's mighty army, plus armies from the east in what is called 'The Battle of Armageddon'. After this Jesus sets up his rule in Jerusalem and reigns for a thousand years on this earth.
This is the logical sequence. After we pass on (die) we find ourselves in heaven. Whether we believe that we 'sleep' literally until the resurrection or not does not make any difference to the sequence. The first 'event' that is mentioned is the judgment. And scripture only mentions two judgments: The Judgment Seat of Christ, and The Great White Throne Judgment. The first is before the Millennial Reign, the second is after the thousand years. (Revelation 20:11)
At the first Judgment, all believers from Adam to the Judgment Seat of Christ will be judged and rewarded. As the millennial reign takes place we need to make note that:
About 1/3 of the Jews had rejected Anti-Christ, ran for lives and were protected for 3 ½ years. These Jews miss the rapture because they are not yet believers in Jesus. So when Jesus comes down to earth with his bride, everyone has glorified eternal bodies … except for these Jews. They, for the most part, believe in Him when they see Him arrive. But because they missed the rapture and resurrection, they enter the 1000 year reign with normal bodies. This means that they have also missed the Judgment seat of Christ. They will marry and raise families during the millennial reign. This means all of their children have never stood before any judgment seat. But all of the above will have to be judged sometime.
There will be no death for the millennium and therefore the population will grow incredibly. Every individual born during the millennial reign will be faced with the choice of accepting Jesus as Savior or not.
We discover that many do not accept Jesus. Satan has been bound for a thousand years and is released at the end of it. He influences a great number … as many as the sand of the sea, is the expression, to follow him in one last attempt to destroy Jesus.
Fire drops down out of heaven and destroys him and all the unbelievers that he has gathered up. And immediately after this is the last judgment. This judgment will be for all unbelievers from Adam … right to the last one left alive at the end of the millennial. This judgment will also include all believers from Armageddon to the end of the millennium.
All of the above is clear in scripture. So what is the controversy? It has to do with whether the rapture happens before the seven years or not.
Every scripture that mentions a rapture – says nothing about it being before the tribulation. However, many scriptures talk about a rapture that happens 'after' the tribulation.
So those of us who believe it happens before the tribulation must admit that there will be two raptures.
Let's look at scripture.
This would be rapture No 1: 1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
There is no 'timing' mentioned here, but many take this to be 'Pre-Trib'.
1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
This one does mention a time. The trumpet is referred to as the last one. But many take this to be rapture No. 1, Pre-Trib.
2Th 2:1 ¶ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, (raptured) we ask you, brothers, This is taken to mean Rapture No. 1.
Rapture No. 2: Mt 24:31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. There is no 'timing' mentioned in this verse, but two verses earlier it does give a time frame: Immediately after the tribulation of those days …
Re 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet …. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth. This would also be Rapture No. 2 because this takes place at the sounding of Trumpet number 7
The biggest problem with accepting the previous verse as a second rapture is this: It also mentions a judgment. The judgment seat of Christ would already be over at this point (in the Pre-trib view), so now we have two judgments … that would make three in all. Along with that is another problem: At the pre-trib rapture is also a resurrection … the dead in Christ rise first. Then at trumpet 7 is a resurrection and a judgment. And then at the end of the 1000 years is a resurrection and the White Throne Judgment. That makes three resurrections in all.
What does the Bible say about this?
Re 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived (a resurrection) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.Re 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Re 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
It is very important to note that those who died during the tribulation will be resurrected. When it happens, it is not called the second resurrection … it is called the first resurrection. But according to pre-tribulationists they would have missed the first resurrection.
So, two raptures or one?
Those who teach a pre-trib rapture have to do some explaining here. If we read the scripture as it is … there will be a first resurrection … and it will be after the tribulation. We know this because of who are raised … tribulation martyrs. I suppose those who believe pre-trib would have to say that the resurrection at the beginning of the seven years and the one at the end of the seven years are both called 'the First resurrection', but it happens in two phases. This is what I would call be a biblical 'gymnast'. Fancy moves so that we can go on believing pre-trib.
We have been discussing reason No 8), above. The Church is busy elsewhere during the Tribulation.
In the 'one rapture' view, here is the sequence:
Christians will hear of the seven year agreement that the King of the North makes with Israel. They will drastically increase their prayer focus and intensity:
Re 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
But in the Two rapture view (Pre-Tribulation view) we are all in heaven, perhaps able to look down and think, “I'm sure glad I'm not down there.” In the Pre-Tribulation view, somehow thousands of Saints appear and are praying desperately, just BEFORE the seven trumpets sound. BEFORE the Antichrist begins to persecute believers. BEFORE 144,000 Jews are sealed by God and begin any ministry. If the rapture has already happened … who is this 'praying group of people? Who lead them to salvation … just before the persecution begins? (Daniel 11:33) All who had heard and refused the gospel … are hardened and blinded.(2Thess 2:11,12) They are not evangelists.
No, there has been no Pre-tribulational rapture at this point. The saints who are praying desperately is the church, those who know what is about to happen next! They have just heard about the Man of Sin sitting in the temple claiming to be God. They have read their bibles. They know that tribulation like the world has never seen is about to begin. The church is not busy elsewhere … they are busy right here on earth, praying and sharing the gospel with those who have never heard.
Number 9 from the list above … 9)There needs to be sheep to separate from the goats
This argument is given to disprove a POST-TRIB rapture. The Post-trib belief is that Jesus comes down to earth at the very end to destroy the Anti-Christ … as He gets near the earth, believers are transformed and rise to meet Him in the air .. and then go immediately with Him to Jerusalem. But the problem is, when Jesus gets to Jerusalem, He will judge the nations that are remaining and separate the 'sheep from the goats'. If Post-trib is true, then there are no 'sheep' left to judge on earth because they all are transformed already. So this argument is a valid one against Post-trib.
And then number 10) The Bible shows God rescues the righteous from His wrath
I think I have already addressed this point … The whole tribulation period is NOT called the wrath of God in the bible. This is a term that has been supposed by the Pre-tribulational teachers. The period of time is known as the tribulation, not as the wrath of God. During the tribulation there will be exhibited both the wrath of the Devil and the wrath of God. The Devil is against Christians and Jews, God is against the Devil and his team. God's wrath is ONLY on unbelievers.
And finally number 11) The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is not too new to discount
The Pre-Tribulation rapture teaching began in the1830's.
John N. Darby is considered the Father of Dispensationalism. He was a preacher and founded the group called the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren. In his dispensational method of interpreting scripture, he separated Israel from the church and taught that Jews and Christians will be forever separate in heaven. This reasoning lead to his teaching that the church will be removed before the tribulation, leaving that time for Jews alone.
Darby attended many meetings lead by a man by the name of Edward Irving. Irving taught that there was a separation between the rapture and the coming of Jesus, but he taught that the separation was only a few days, not seven years.
A young woman by the name of Margaret Macdonald prophesied the same thing … just a few days between the rapture and the coming.
Darby took this in, but as he developed his doctrine of Dispensationalism, he understood the gap to be seven years between the rapture and the coming.
Later he came to America and met C.I. Schofield. Schofield adopted Dispensationalism, wrote the famous Schofield Study Bible which became one of the most widely used study bibles during the 20th century. Because of this, Dispensationalism and the Pre-tribulational rapture doctrines became widespread in the Evangelical Christian world.
Shortly after this a novel was written by Sydney Watson entitled 'In the Twinkling of an Eye'. This Pre-tribulational novel became a best seller, convincing millions that Christ could return at any moment.
So point 11) is a little odd, in that the Lion & Lamb ministries would even include it. Relatively speaking the Pre-tribulational Rapture view is quite new.
What we have attempted to accomplish in this study is to make plain the reasons behind the teaching that Christ could return at any moment. They are based upon teachings such as the previous eleven points which we have examined.
If Jesus could return tonight, then we must ask this question … has it always been true that Jesus could return at any moment? It was not true during the time of the book of Acts. Jesus had said that Peter would be martyred at a very old age. Obviously Jesus could not have returned prior to Peter's death. So His return was not 'at any moment' for the years covered in the book of Acts. There were many other things that were predicted to take place before Jesus' return … for example, The Day of Pentecost. And for another, Jesus command to preach in Jerusalem, then Judea and then Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. If Jesus can now return at any moment … we wonder when that first became true.
In the next study I hope to present the biblical evidence for Jesus return … that it is not Pre-Tribulational … it is
“Something Else”.
Does the rapture occur before the seven years, in the middle or at the end?
One might think, because such a variety of understandings on the 'timing' of the rapture, that perhaps scripture is just not all that clear. And since it is not all that clear, maybe is really doesn't make much of a difference what we believe about it.
I have found that the bible is actually quite clear and that it is important to understand what the scriptures teach about it.
So ... what are some of the main variations?
- Jesus can return at any moment and rapture the church (dead and alive) up to heaven. This is known as 'Pre-trib'.
- Jesus will not return at any moment but will rapture the church after the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation period. This is usually called 'Pre-wrath Rapture'.
- Jesus will not return at any moment but will come down to earth at the end of the seven years. Believers meet him in the air and immediately go with him to Jerusalem and rule with Him for a thousand years. This is known as 'Post-Trib'
- And then there is one more view.
I will begin by stating the obvious: There is not one single verse of scripture in the entire bible that states that there will be a rapture before the tribulation period. The key point to what I just stated: not a SINGLE verse. But there are MULTIPLE verses that can be put together to form a basis for this teaching.
Three reasons in favor of a Pre-trib rapture:
- We want the rapture to be Pre-trib
- We have understood certain scriptures to 'hint' at it.
- We have based our beliefs on a presupposition.
And number 2 above: Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour … be ready. (Mt 24:36, Mt 25.13, Mk 13.21, God has not appointed us to wrath (1Th 5.9, Rev 3.10) so He will take us out before it all happens.
And number 3 above: The church and Israel are to remain forever separate, and the tribulation period is really a time for God to 'shape up' the Jews, and since the church is already 'shaped up', the church has to be gone. In support of this belief, all 'second coming' scriptures become adjusted to fit properly.
Further argument in favor of Pre-Trib: God loves us so much he would never allow His children to undergo and experience a time said to be the worst in all of history. He has not appointed us to wrath, and the tribulation period is a time known as 'the Wrath of God'. And that final seven years is a time for God to deal with Israel who has been unfaithful in the past, so He punishes her to the point of causing her to come back to Him. The church age and the age of law are two different things. So at the end of the church age God takes us up and leaves the Jews here for 7 more years of the law age.
While I could have chosen from any number different websites to get a good 'list of reasons' for a pre-trib teaching, I have chosen from just one. From the Lion and the Lamb ministries I have copied 11 main reasons for a pre-trib rapture
- The Bible describes the Rapture and Second Coming as different events.
- The Rapture is described as occurring at any time without warning.
- The Rapture and the removal of the “Restrainer” occur at the same time
- The Tribulation is for Israel’s redemption
- The Tribulation is not for the Church.
- God’s wrath involves the whole 7-Year Tribulation
- The Old Testament and Revelation leave the Church out of the Tribulation
- The Church is busy elsewhere during the Tribulation.
- There needs to be sheep to separate from the goats
- The Bible shows God rescues the righteous from His wrath
- The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is not too new to discount.
1) The Bible describes the Rapture and Second Coming as different events.
This reason is quite valid. It speaks against Post-trib which has no separation of time between the rapture (going up to heaven) and the return down to earth. Post-trib does not teach that believers are taken up to heaven, but only caught up into the air to meet the Lord and then proceed with him in his descent to earth. Pre-trib makes the separation between the rapture and the coming as being seven years. As we will see in scripture, this separation between the rapture and the descent will be much shorter than seven years.
2) The Rapture is described as occurring at any time without warning
For reason No. 2), I will list scriptures:
Mt 24:42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (hour: translated hour (89 times) , as time (11 times), as season (3 times)
Mt 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Mt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
There are many other scriptures that talk about expecting the Lord and being ready, but these verses are some of the main ones that cause us to think “Jesus could return at any moment!”
But look at them for a moment … All of these verses come from a setting. Let's look at it.
At the beginning of Matthew 24 some disciples asked Jesus privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
As you scan down the chapter, noticing that Jesus is answering them, please try to spot some hint of a rapture. If there was a pre-trib rapture Jesus missed it.
Jesus does describe the rapture, but it is not at the beginning: Mt 24:31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This description by Jesus mentions a trumpet and a gathering. 1 Thessalonians 4 mentions a trumpet and a meeting in the air. 2 Thessalonians mentions the rapture and calls it a gathering: 2:1 ¶ Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ….
So Jesus mentions a rapture. But it is near the end of the tribulation. Just two verses BEFORE the rapture verse He says .. Mt 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And then in verse 32-34 he tells us to notice when it is getting close: Mt 24:32 ¶ “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors! 34 “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
So all of the verses that mention that we do not know the 'day or the hour ' …. or the 'time and the season' … are in a setting that says … At the point that the terrible tribulation is occurring on earth, believers will know that the coming is near … but even then, they will not know the day nor the hour.
In other words … Matthew 24 fails to mention a pre-trib rapture, …but it does mention a 'Gathering in the air' at the end of the tribulation, but no one knows the day nor the hour when it will happen.
Most pre-tribulation advocates will make a statement like this .. “Christians are called to look for the Lord’s return rather than look for signs …” But Matthew 24 is totally a chapter of 'signs' that Jesus gives and then He says 'Watch'. So Jesus seems to teach that looking for His coming includes keeping our eyes open to what is going on.
3) The Rapture and the removal of the “Restrainer” occur at the same time
This statement is based on 2 Thessalonians
2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day (the rapture) will not come, unless (1) the rebellion comes first, and (2) the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
Here is the 'Pretrib' take on the above verses: The Antichrist cannot come onto the scene because something is 'restraining' him from appearing. That something is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will remove Himself (from the earth) … that is, He came down on Pentecost, has been here ever since … and will go back up to heaven at the appointed time, thereby allowing the Anti-Christ to proceed 'unrestrained'. The next part of the Pre-trib reasoning goes like this: The Holy Spirit came to be the 'comforter of the church' and since Jesus made a promise to the church when He left, saying that He would not leave us comfortless … when the Holy Spirit goes back up … if He goes up without us, that would leave us comfortless ...therefore the church is going up with Him.
So that is what point 3) is based on – the rapture and the restrainer happens at the same time. But is this 'clear' teaching? What I read is that the rapture cannot occur at any moment because a 'great falling away', rebellion, apostasy … must happen first. (This alone does away with the teaching that the rapture of believers was to be expected 'at any moment' in history, starting from the day He ascended into heaven.)
I read also that the Holy Spirit is restraining the great increase in lawlessness. And next I read that He steps back out of the way and just 'let's it go'. It does not say that he goes back up to heaven. That is an assumption. The words are until he is out of the way. So point 3) above is based on an assumption, and not based on a clear statement of scripture.
We will look at no. 4) The Tribulation is for Israel’s redemption
The scripture used to support this point is Jeremiah 30:7 - Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.
The teaching is based on the statement, it is a time of distress for Jacob (Israel). The assumption is that this is the only purpose of the tribulation. This point assumes that God can only do one thing at a time. It is a statement of Pretrib logic that the church would not be here … that they would only be in the way.
Assuming that God can do more than one thing at a time, and that He is able to accomplish His purposes in His own way, lets look at what is missing from the above Pretrib statement.
The apostle Paul points out that God has a second purpose for the Jews. This second purpose it to weld together the Jews and the church. This assumes saved, born again Jews joined together with the church. Here is some of Paul's teaching in Romans 11. 'Blindness' has happened to Israel, and comparing them to branches of an olive tree, they were broken off. Wild branches, Gentiles, were grafted into to the tame olive tree. And then Paul gives a long-term prediction that they Jews will be grafted in again. Paul does not say that the Jews will replace the gentiles. That would be the case if the rapture were Pretrib. But in Paul's analogy, at some point in the future both Gentiles and Jews will in the tree together.
And then Paul states this even more clearly in Ephesians.
Eph 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
In the Pretribulational view, the church (gentiles) and Jews are going to be dealt with separately in the tribulation and even in the millennial reign of Jesus, and some say, even in eternity. But Paul would have us to understand that we (both Jews and Church) will be all one body.
That is not happening now. Blindness has been put onto Israel. At some point in the future the blinders will be removed and some of Israel will accept Jesus and become a part of the church. When we read through the book of Revelation that is exactly what we see happening. We see about 1/3 of the Jews run to a place of hiding. They do not become Christians at that time, but neither do they accept Anti-Christ. So they are given a place of protection in that last 3 ½ year period. These will accept Jesus AFTER the rapture at the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes back down at Armageddon.
We also read about 144,000 Jews that DO accept Jesus during the tribulation. These would be a part of the church. Why? The pre-tribulationists would say that there is no church for them to be a part of. But the Bible teaches that God, from the new Testament era and onward would ONLY receive glory through the church.
Eph 3:21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
This verse excludes the possibility that Jesus will receive glory through Israel in a future generation.
So the tribulation is a time when God will bring Israel back to Himself and make her a part of the church.
This answers also 5) The Tribulation is not for the Church.
6) God’s wrath involves the whole 7-Year Tribulation
This quite a bold statement. There are no verses to support this statement. It is easy to see in the book of Revelation that the wrath of Satan is occurring during the tribulation.
Re 12:12 ¶ … woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"
Satan's wrath in the Revelation is clearly against Israel and against believers.
Re 12:13 And when the dragon (Satan) saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman (Israel) who had given birth to the male child (Jesus). 14 But the woman (Israel) was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time (3 ½ years) .
17 Then the dragon (Satan) became furious with the woman (Israel) and went off to make war (for the next 3 ½ years) on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Christians).
So none of this is the wrath of God. God protects Israel and does not use Satan to whip them into shape. But God permits Satan to vent his wrath during this 3 ½ years. And Satan's wrath certainly affects believers.
But God has not appointed believers to be recipients of wrath … that is, not recipients of HIS wrath.
1Th 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Most pre-tribulationists focus on the word 'us'. We … the church are not destined to wrath … therefore we will be removed. Two very important things to point out … If God has not appointed US to wrath … and therefore takes us out … it follows that God HAS appointed all new believers to wrath. That is, if the rapture should take at the beginning of the tribulation, all believers are taken up … some of the left-behind people become new believers … and discover that God has appointed them to wrath. And these new believers are not previous Christ-rejectors as we are told by Paul that they cannot be saved … God blinds them. These would only be new believers who have never heard or rejected the gospel. But according to this teaching … they are appointed to God's wrath for some reason.
God DOES have wrath, and He DOES pour it out onto the earth during the tribulation period. But He does NOT ever pour His wrath on His own children.
Re 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl (of God's wrath) on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish.
The book of Revelation mentions that 7 bowls of God's wrath are going to be poured onto this earth during the last part of the tribulation. As mentioned in the verse above, the angel is NOT pouring it out onto the children of God, but onto the Beast and his kingdom.
So regarding the statement of point 6), there is no biblical support for calling the tribulation period 'The Wrath of God'. This seven year period contains evil world leaders battling it out and killing many people, it includes the wrath of Satan as he institutes terrible requirements of self-worship that will result in the death of many believers, and it includes direct bowls of God's wrath being poured out on non-believers only.
7) The Old Testament and Revelation leave the Church out of the Tribulation
The Pre-tribulational view on this point is based on (1), old Testament prophecies regarding end-times, which make no mention of the church, and (2), the book of Revelation making no mention of the church between chapters 4 – 18. However the range of chapters could be extended right to the end of the book, because the word 'church' is not there either.
Why do the pre-tribulationists say that the church is not found in the chapters between 4 and 18? Why not go right to the end of the book? Because chapter 19 is the chapter that mentions a celebration supper up in heaven with Jesus and His bride. So everyone, pre-tribulationists and others alike, see the bride as being the church. And I agree, the bride is the church. But to be fair and strict about it … the word church is not there. A different word is used … the word bride, and we say … that's the church. But throughout the revelation 'different' words are used. The phrase 'those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ' is used. Do you and I not have the testimony of Jesus Christ? The word 'Saint' is used through the book. Are Christians not called 'saints' throughout the whole New Testament. When Paul writes to 'The saints which are at Rome' … is he not referring to the church? The word 'elect' is used to refer to those in the tribulation period … are you and I not called God's elect?
So this argument 'The Old Testament and Revelation leave the Church out of the Tribulation' is very weak and non-specific.
8) The Church is busy elsewhere during the Tribulation
This point addresses two activities that happen in heaven. It is assumed that they are happening during the seven years. But that is the problem. No where does it say that these two things take up the whole seven years. What are the two events? (1) The Judgment Seat of Christ, and (2) the marriage celebration of Jesus with His bride.
Here is what the Bible DOES say. It says that it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) And it says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
And is says blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:9)
Let's study these for a moment:
The bible clearly talks about a rapture which takes the people of God up to heaven. And it talks about the judgment seat of Christ which takes place immediately after the rapture. The bible teaches that there is a great marriage feast in heaven, after which the Lord and his 'bride' descend to earth. At that time Jesus engages the anti-Christ and the anti-christ's mighty army, plus armies from the east in what is called 'The Battle of Armageddon'. After this Jesus sets up his rule in Jerusalem and reigns for a thousand years on this earth.
This is the logical sequence. After we pass on (die) we find ourselves in heaven. Whether we believe that we 'sleep' literally until the resurrection or not does not make any difference to the sequence. The first 'event' that is mentioned is the judgment. And scripture only mentions two judgments: The Judgment Seat of Christ, and The Great White Throne Judgment. The first is before the Millennial Reign, the second is after the thousand years. (Revelation 20:11)
At the first Judgment, all believers from Adam to the Judgment Seat of Christ will be judged and rewarded. As the millennial reign takes place we need to make note that:
About 1/3 of the Jews had rejected Anti-Christ, ran for lives and were protected for 3 ½ years. These Jews miss the rapture because they are not yet believers in Jesus. So when Jesus comes down to earth with his bride, everyone has glorified eternal bodies … except for these Jews. They, for the most part, believe in Him when they see Him arrive. But because they missed the rapture and resurrection, they enter the 1000 year reign with normal bodies. This means that they have also missed the Judgment seat of Christ. They will marry and raise families during the millennial reign. This means all of their children have never stood before any judgment seat. But all of the above will have to be judged sometime.
There will be no death for the millennium and therefore the population will grow incredibly. Every individual born during the millennial reign will be faced with the choice of accepting Jesus as Savior or not.
We discover that many do not accept Jesus. Satan has been bound for a thousand years and is released at the end of it. He influences a great number … as many as the sand of the sea, is the expression, to follow him in one last attempt to destroy Jesus.
Fire drops down out of heaven and destroys him and all the unbelievers that he has gathered up. And immediately after this is the last judgment. This judgment will be for all unbelievers from Adam … right to the last one left alive at the end of the millennial. This judgment will also include all believers from Armageddon to the end of the millennium.
All of the above is clear in scripture. So what is the controversy? It has to do with whether the rapture happens before the seven years or not.
Every scripture that mentions a rapture – says nothing about it being before the tribulation. However, many scriptures talk about a rapture that happens 'after' the tribulation.
So those of us who believe it happens before the tribulation must admit that there will be two raptures.
Let's look at scripture.
This would be rapture No 1: 1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
There is no 'timing' mentioned here, but many take this to be 'Pre-Trib'.
1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
This one does mention a time. The trumpet is referred to as the last one. But many take this to be rapture No. 1, Pre-Trib.
2Th 2:1 ¶ Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, (raptured) we ask you, brothers, This is taken to mean Rapture No. 1.
Rapture No. 2: Mt 24:31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. There is no 'timing' mentioned in this verse, but two verses earlier it does give a time frame: Immediately after the tribulation of those days …
Re 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet …. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth. This would also be Rapture No. 2 because this takes place at the sounding of Trumpet number 7
The biggest problem with accepting the previous verse as a second rapture is this: It also mentions a judgment. The judgment seat of Christ would already be over at this point (in the Pre-trib view), so now we have two judgments … that would make three in all. Along with that is another problem: At the pre-trib rapture is also a resurrection … the dead in Christ rise first. Then at trumpet 7 is a resurrection and a judgment. And then at the end of the 1000 years is a resurrection and the White Throne Judgment. That makes three resurrections in all.
What does the Bible say about this?
Re 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived (a resurrection) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.Re 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Re 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
It is very important to note that those who died during the tribulation will be resurrected. When it happens, it is not called the second resurrection … it is called the first resurrection. But according to pre-tribulationists they would have missed the first resurrection.
So, two raptures or one?
Those who teach a pre-trib rapture have to do some explaining here. If we read the scripture as it is … there will be a first resurrection … and it will be after the tribulation. We know this because of who are raised … tribulation martyrs. I suppose those who believe pre-trib would have to say that the resurrection at the beginning of the seven years and the one at the end of the seven years are both called 'the First resurrection', but it happens in two phases. This is what I would call be a biblical 'gymnast'. Fancy moves so that we can go on believing pre-trib.
We have been discussing reason No 8), above. The Church is busy elsewhere during the Tribulation.
In the 'one rapture' view, here is the sequence:
Christians will hear of the seven year agreement that the King of the North makes with Israel. They will drastically increase their prayer focus and intensity:
Re 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
But in the Two rapture view (Pre-Tribulation view) we are all in heaven, perhaps able to look down and think, “I'm sure glad I'm not down there.” In the Pre-Tribulation view, somehow thousands of Saints appear and are praying desperately, just BEFORE the seven trumpets sound. BEFORE the Antichrist begins to persecute believers. BEFORE 144,000 Jews are sealed by God and begin any ministry. If the rapture has already happened … who is this 'praying group of people? Who lead them to salvation … just before the persecution begins? (Daniel 11:33) All who had heard and refused the gospel … are hardened and blinded.(2Thess 2:11,12) They are not evangelists.
No, there has been no Pre-tribulational rapture at this point. The saints who are praying desperately is the church, those who know what is about to happen next! They have just heard about the Man of Sin sitting in the temple claiming to be God. They have read their bibles. They know that tribulation like the world has never seen is about to begin. The church is not busy elsewhere … they are busy right here on earth, praying and sharing the gospel with those who have never heard.
Number 9 from the list above … 9)There needs to be sheep to separate from the goats
This argument is given to disprove a POST-TRIB rapture. The Post-trib belief is that Jesus comes down to earth at the very end to destroy the Anti-Christ … as He gets near the earth, believers are transformed and rise to meet Him in the air .. and then go immediately with Him to Jerusalem. But the problem is, when Jesus gets to Jerusalem, He will judge the nations that are remaining and separate the 'sheep from the goats'. If Post-trib is true, then there are no 'sheep' left to judge on earth because they all are transformed already. So this argument is a valid one against Post-trib.
And then number 10) The Bible shows God rescues the righteous from His wrath
I think I have already addressed this point … The whole tribulation period is NOT called the wrath of God in the bible. This is a term that has been supposed by the Pre-tribulational teachers. The period of time is known as the tribulation, not as the wrath of God. During the tribulation there will be exhibited both the wrath of the Devil and the wrath of God. The Devil is against Christians and Jews, God is against the Devil and his team. God's wrath is ONLY on unbelievers.
And finally number 11) The Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is not too new to discount
The Pre-Tribulation rapture teaching began in the1830's.
John N. Darby is considered the Father of Dispensationalism. He was a preacher and founded the group called the Exclusive Plymouth Brethren. In his dispensational method of interpreting scripture, he separated Israel from the church and taught that Jews and Christians will be forever separate in heaven. This reasoning lead to his teaching that the church will be removed before the tribulation, leaving that time for Jews alone.
Darby attended many meetings lead by a man by the name of Edward Irving. Irving taught that there was a separation between the rapture and the coming of Jesus, but he taught that the separation was only a few days, not seven years.
A young woman by the name of Margaret Macdonald prophesied the same thing … just a few days between the rapture and the coming.
Darby took this in, but as he developed his doctrine of Dispensationalism, he understood the gap to be seven years between the rapture and the coming.
Later he came to America and met C.I. Schofield. Schofield adopted Dispensationalism, wrote the famous Schofield Study Bible which became one of the most widely used study bibles during the 20th century. Because of this, Dispensationalism and the Pre-tribulational rapture doctrines became widespread in the Evangelical Christian world.
Shortly after this a novel was written by Sydney Watson entitled 'In the Twinkling of an Eye'. This Pre-tribulational novel became a best seller, convincing millions that Christ could return at any moment.
So point 11) is a little odd, in that the Lion & Lamb ministries would even include it. Relatively speaking the Pre-tribulational Rapture view is quite new.
What we have attempted to accomplish in this study is to make plain the reasons behind the teaching that Christ could return at any moment. They are based upon teachings such as the previous eleven points which we have examined.
If Jesus could return tonight, then we must ask this question … has it always been true that Jesus could return at any moment? It was not true during the time of the book of Acts. Jesus had said that Peter would be martyred at a very old age. Obviously Jesus could not have returned prior to Peter's death. So His return was not 'at any moment' for the years covered in the book of Acts. There were many other things that were predicted to take place before Jesus' return … for example, The Day of Pentecost. And for another, Jesus command to preach in Jerusalem, then Judea and then Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth. If Jesus can now return at any moment … we wonder when that first became true.
In the next study I hope to present the biblical evidence for Jesus return … that it is not Pre-Tribulational … it is
“Something Else”.