The Left Behind series, and similar 'End Times' novels, have produced a widespread cultural acceptance of the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine, according to which God will remove His Church from the earth shortly before things get really out of hand here on our little blue dot in the infamous period known as the 'Tribulation'. This is held by many to be the definitive sign of the imminent appearance of the eschatological Antichrist.
Countless sermons have been preached of late about the escalating darkness on the earth and the seemingly imminent beginning of those final events that will lead on the one hand to our great hope, the return of our King to establish everlasting peace on earth, but on the other hand be preceded by chaos and unprecedented suffering on the earth. Many of those sermons encourage us with words something like 'but don't worry, we won't be here for that! God is not a wife beater, His judgments are not for His bride'.
Some great theologians and teachers have held this view, including: John F. Walvoord, J. Dwight Pentecost, John Feinberg, Paul Feinberg, Herman Hoyt, Charles Ryrie, Rene Pache, Henry C. Thiessen, Leon Wood, Hal Lindsey, Alva McClain, John A. Sproul, Richard Mayhue.
It is of course comforting to think our children would escape the worst period in human history. But is it true that they will do so by way of a pre-tribulation rapture? Is this the definitive sign of the imminent appearance of the eschatological Antichrist that many believe it is?
The answer is an emphatic no. Here are 10 reasons we don't believe in a pre-tribulation rapture:
Lets unpack...
1. THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE IS NOT TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE
It can be inferred (e.g. from Rev 4:1 - 'Come up here'; or from types and shadows in the Old Testament, e.g. Noah getting on the ark to escape the judgment, or Enoch being taken up). But nowhere is it directly stated as an event that will take place before the tribulation
Rev 3:10 is often used to support a pre-trib rapture. There, the Lord promises the faithful at the church at Philadelphia…
Re 3:10 | Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
Could this be speaking of a pre-tribulation rapture of the global church? Lets explore...
Firstly, note that this passage is part of a letter addressed to an actual first century church living in Pergamum in John's day. If Rev 3:10 refers to their circumstances, what is this 'hour of trial that is coming on the whole world'? It seems to refer specifically to 'the great tribulation' (alluding to 'the time of trouble' in Dan 12:1). And it is true that this original audience was certainly spared the coming great tribulation simply by dying long before the great tribulation.
Of course, we expect this passage means more than that, since it seems to refer specifically to the time of the great tribulation. How could the 1st century church be promised deliverance from a trial >1900 years later? It seems clear that this promise is intended to have broader application to the church of the final generation of this age who will be alive at the time of the great tribulation - 'the hour of trial coming on the whole world'? So could this mean that every Christian of that final generation will be spared the great tribulation through a secret rapture prior to the great tribulation? 3 observations are worth making before answering this question:
Firstly, the passage itself does not speak of a rapture as the mechanism of deliverance. While this possibility is not excluded, it is not indicated so we can't assume it means that. We must look for evidence of what it means in the text.
Second, the book of Revelation draws heavily on Old Testament types (pictures, patterns), and there is a particular 'pattern' that the storyline of Revelation consistently utilizes and transforms to a global end times Christian context: the Exodus of Israel (plagues <> seals and trumpets and bowls; pharaoh <> antichrist; God's people the Hebrews <> God's people the church; God's people delivered from Egypt into the Promised Land <> God's people delivered from this world into God's eternal Kingdom; etc). And the pattern in the story of Exodus was not for the Israelites to be 'kept from the hour of trial' by being removed to the Promised Land before the plagues were sent on Egypt, but for the Israelites to be protected and shielded in Goshen, Egypt, while the plagues were unleashed on Egypt. 'Kept from' the hour of trial could simply mean being sheltered in places of refuge under special protection.
The phrase 'keep you from' could have similar meaning to the similar phrase in the gospel of John: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)
In summary: since there is no evidence here that this passage refers to a rapture as the mechanism of 'keeping from', and since there are clear precedents in both the Old and New Testaments of the Lord keeping His people from trouble while being in the midst of it, it is best to interpret this passage as a promise to provide supernatural protection to protect believers from the judgments befalling the world around them.
2. EVERY PASSAGE THAT DIRECTLY SPEAKS ABOUT THE RAPTURE CLEARLY TEACHES THAT IT COINCIDES WITH JESUS' SECOND COMING TO JUDGE HIS ENEMIES
There are however passages that do speak directly about the rapture, including clear timing indicators. These we should give primacy, over inferences from types and shadows which are ambiguous and debatable - which is one of the reasons there is so much debate about this! There are precisely 4 passages that speak of the rapture directly, and all 4 speak of the rapture taking place at the time of Jesus' coming, after the tribulation. They speak clearly about the coincidence of Jesus return to inflict vengeance on His enemies, with His gathering of the saints up to Him in the air (the rapture).
(I) Mt 24:29–31: The coming of the Lord after the great tribulation, and the gathering to Him of His saints
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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 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.
IMPLICATIONS: The 'gathering' of 'his elect' takes place when Jesus returns, 'immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days' - which is the great tribulation (v21) described in vs 15-28, following the abomination of desolation.
(II) 2 Th 2:1–12: The timing of the coming of the Lord and our being gathered to Him: after the man of lawlessness is revealed
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 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. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 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. 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. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
IMPLICATIONS:
"The Day of the Lord" in this passage refers to 'the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ', and 'our being gathered together to him' is considered part and parcel of the same series of 'Day of the Lord' events.
"That day" / "the Day of the Lord" takes place after the revealing of the lawless one (v8), and Jesus will end the reign of the lawless one at His coming.
The reign of the lawless one corresponds to the reign of terror of the 2 beasts of Revelation Ch 13, the Abomination of Desolation quoted in Mt 24:15-28, citing from Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11.
IN SUMMARY: Christians will be gathered to the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His coming, on The Day of the Lord.
(III) 1 Th 4:15–18: What happens to those who die in Christ before He returns? They will be resurrected together with those alive when Christ returns
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thes 4:13-18 is certainly a rapture passage. the main question is WHEN does it say the rapture will happen? Is there evidence of a pretribulation rapture, or of a post tribulation rapture in this text?
Pre-trib rapture proponents insist that 1 Thes 4:13-18 speaks of a pre-tribulation rapture, and 1 Thes 5 speaks separately of a later 'Day of the Lord'. But does the text itself support that view? Ch 5:1-11 focuses on the Day of the Lord (5:2) that will come like a thief and talks about the sudden coming of 'destruction'. Since the language is much Like Mt 24 (labour pains, sudden coming of destruction), and is called 'the Day of the Lord' it must be talking about the final tribulation (5v3). Paul then encourages believers that even though the arrival of this sudden destruction / the Day of the Lord will surprise those in darkness, it should not surprise believers because we should not be asleep (5v4-6), implying the people Paul spoke to, if still alive, would be present when the 'Day of the Lord' arrives. So then we must read 1Thes 4:13-18 continuously with 1 Thes 5:1-11 as a single unit (after all, there were no chapter divisions originally) and Ch4v4 (we who are alive ... left until His coming) and Ch5v4 (you are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you, referring to the Day of the Lord in v2, which speaks of the tribulation in v3) refer to the same generation of believers alive at that time. So 1 Thes 4:13-18 seems to have in view that believers will be around when the tribulation arrives, and so Paul cannot intend us to understand the rapture as a pre-tribulation event.
IMPLICATIONS: The Lord's saints will be on earth when the tribulation arrives (1 Thes 5:4-6), therefore the timing of the rapture described in 1 Thes 4:11-18 must not be a pre-tribulation event. Instead, 4:11-18 should be read continuously with 5:1-11 as a single unit.
(IV) 1 Co 15:50–54: The saints receiving their glorified, imperishable, resurrection body at the sound of the last trumpet
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
IMPLICATIONS: Both groups of Christians - those who have died, and those still alive at the time of Christ's return - shall receive their glorified bodies at the same time: at the sound of the Last trumpet. Since this trumpet call in 1 Cor 15:52 is the LAST TRUMPET, it is obvious it does not come before the trumpet referred to in 1 Thes 4:16, and Mt 24:31. Logically, it is the same trumpet call as in the passages above, and therefore the events take place at the same time those passages speak of. Ergo, 'the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed… in a moment' 'at the last trumpet', which is at the same time as when 'the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet' (1 Thes 4:16), and the same time as 'they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect ' (Mt 24:31).
CONCLUSION: Every one of the 4 passages that directly speak about the rapture (or 'catching up', 'gathering') of the saints tells us this will happen when Christ returns visibly in the sky at His second coming, not before the tribulation.
3. THE WORD PROMISES HIS PEOPLE RELIEF FROM SUFFERING AND PERSECUTION WHEN THE LORD APPEARS AT THE TIME HE WILL COME TO INFLICT JUDGMENT ON HIS ENEMIES, NOT WHEN WE ARE RAPTURED.
2 Th 1:6–8 | since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
The language here does NOT encourage them to hope to escape before tribulation begins, but to look forward to His coming to inflict vengeance on His enemies (i.e. the 'Second coming' of Revelation Ch 19) and the relief that will accompany His coming. The same emphasis is given everywhere else in the New Testament, which is why 'our blessed hope' is 'the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ' (Tit 2:12-13), not the time of our rapture.
4. THE NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGES THAT SPEAK MOST CLEARLY ON THE GREAT TRIBULATION CLEARLY INCLUDE CHRISTIANS AS BEING PRESENT ON EARTH, SUFFERING AND BEING MARTYRED DURING THOSE TIMES
The passages that speak most clearly about the tribulation period clearly indicate the presence and persecution of Christians as a prominent theme. Nowhere in these passages is there mention of this group as a 'second class' of 'Johnny come lately' Christians that missed the rapture.
In the Book of Revelation
Rev 7:9-14 - Martyred saints before God's throne, having come out of the great tribulation
Rev 9:4 - the locust demons torment earth dwellers, all those without the seal of God (i.e. those sealed with the Holy Spirit, by definition Christians, are not to be harmed by these creatures. Ergo, they must be present on earth)
Rev 12:9-13:7 - the dragon, cast to the earth, goes forth with the motive to wage war against Christians. He raises the beast and false prophet up for the 42 month reign of terror / great tribulation on earth, with the direct result that the beast wages war on and conquers the saints (13:7). The saints overcome not by escaping before all this takes place, but by not loving their lives, even unto death (12:11). Saints are called to endure through that time (13:10. 14:12-13), and a special blessing is spoke over those who are martyred during that time (14:13).
Rev 14:14-20 - The great harvest of souls is taking place during that time, i.e. people are being saved in masses, and entering the presence of God, probably to persecution and many to death.
Rev 19:6-8 - The Bride of Christ is declared 'ready' only at the time of His second coming for Judgment on the earth (19:11-21)
Rev 20:4-6 - The Millennium - Special mention is made of the reward of the saints who overcame the persecution of the Beast and the mark of the beast by being martyred for Christ's name
In Matthew Ch 24-25
Mt 24:9-14 - Christians will be persecuted and killed, during dark days on the earth, while the gospel is preached to all nations, and then the end will come
Mt 24:15-27 - The abomination of desolation will inaugurate the great tribulation. When christians see it, we must flee immediately. But for the sake of Christians ('the elect'), those days will be cut short.
Mt 24:29-31 - Jesus will appear in the sky, and then His angels will gather his elect from the four winds
Mt 24:33-34 - 'when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates' (Christians must be present, to see all these things; and all these things are the events of the tribulation and Christ's second coming thereafter, described just before in v15-31).
Proponents of a pre-trib rapture often teach that these are 'tribulation saints' - saved during the tribulation after the rapture. But there are many problems with this view:
Scripture nowhere speaks of 'tribulation saints.'
The book of Revelation does not indicate in any way that the saints living through the tribulation were saved after a rapture, were saved during the tribulation, or are living through the tribulation because they rejected Christ until after the rapture. Any such thoughts are entirely absent. Instead, saints during the tribulation are presented as normative and representative of the Body of Christ.
One of the most forceful arguments supporting this view of the saints being raptured is the assumption that they must be removed before the 'man of sin' may be revealed, since 2 Thes. 2 v6-7 indicates he and the 'mystery of lawlessness' are being restrained right now, until 'the restrainer' is removed. It is assumed 'the restrainer' is the Holy Spirit present in believers and that when believers and the Holy Spirit are removed, the man of sin will no longer be restrained and can come forth. But note:
'The Restrainer' is not defined or explained. It is an assumption unsupported by biblical evidence that this is the Holy Spirit and / or / in believers.
This view is self-defeating. If believers and the Holy Spirit must be removed for the mystery of lawlessness and the Antichrist to be revealed, therefore proving the saints during the tribulation must be tribulation saints, then how do these tribulation saints get saved without the presence of the Holy Spirit? And do they not have the Holy Spirit? And are they Christians who are not salt and light? So the 'tribulation saints' would have the same restraining effect on the Antichrist and the mystery of lawlessness as Christians in all ages and a rapture does not explain the removal of restraint on the Antichrist. Instead, the simple explanation that God restrains (through whatever agency, unknown to us) the Antichrist because it is not yet His time does better to explain 2 Thes 2:6-7, without any contradictions.
5. UNSURPRISINGLY THEREFORE, THE MESSAGE OF 'ESCAPE' IS NOT FOUND IN ANY OF JESUS' PREPARATORY WARNINGS ABOUT THE GENERATION OF THOSE WHO WILL LIVE THROUGH THE TRIBULATION
Jesus' preparatory teaching focused on endurance and engagement in faithful and fruitful ministry until the end, not on escaping from suffering.
In the Book of Revelation
Rev 7:9-14 - Emphasis on the reward of those saints martyred during the great tribulation, having overcome through death
Rev 12:9-13:7 - The dragon will wage war on and conquer God's people during the 42m reign of the beast and false prophet (13:7). The saints overcome not by escaping before all this takes place, but by not loving their lives, even unto death (12:11). Saints are Saints are called to endure through that time (13:10. 14:12-13), and a special blessing is spoke over those who are martyred during that time (14:13).
Many other passages call on believers to be faithful and to endure even unto death (Rev 14:12-13; 7:14-17; 12:10-11; 20:6)
In Matthew Ch 24-25
Mt 24:9-14 - Christians will be persecuted and killed during dark days on the earth, but those who endure until the end will be saved (esp. v13)
Mt 24:15-27 - The abomination of desolation will inaugurate the great tribulation. When Christians see it, we must flee immediately, not anticipate a rapture. In fact it is for the sake of Christians ('the elect') that those days will be cut short.
Jesus' preparatory teaching focused on encouraging faith to endure and be victorious despite the persecutions of the end times, not on hoping for escape from the suffering.
6. THERE ARE 5 MAIN ARGUMENTS UNDERPINNING A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE DOCTRINE. ALL 5 ARGUMENTS ARE FLAWED
The 5 main arguments used to support a pre-tribulation rapture position are:
(1) NOT ORDAINED UNTO WRATH: the doctrine that because believers are ‘not ordained unto wrath’ (1 Thess. 1:10), we must be removed from earth before The Tribulation rather than living through it, since that is God's wrath;
(2) IMMANENCE: the doctrine of imminence, according to which Christ could return at any moment (Titus 2:13), without any necessary precursors (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1-3), which by implication means there cannot be any prophesied events (like the tribulation) which must precede His coming to rapture Christians.
(3) JACOB’s TROUBLE: the Dispensational doctrine that the 7 year tribulation is the last ‘week’ of Israel’s ’70 weeks’ (Dan Ch 9), known as ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer 30:7) – not the time of the Church’s trouble, and that before God re-starts His dealings with Israel for this final 7 year period, He will remove the Church from the earth through the rapture. (4) REMOVED RESTRAINER: According to 2 Thes 2:6-7, ‘the restrainer’ currently prevents the Antichrist from coming on the scene, and will do so until ‘he’ is removed. Some interpreters believe: (i) ‘the restrainer’ must be the Holy Spirit; (ii) He must be removed from the earth through believers being removed from the earth, which indicates a rapture event before the Antichrist arrives on the scene.
(5) CHURCH NOT MENTIONED IN REV CH 6-19: According to this view, there is no mention of 'the church' from Revelation CH 6 through end Ch 19, which supports the view that believers have been raptured before the commencing of the events of Ch 6.
All are flawed and / or based on misunderstandings of the scripture.
(1) NOT ORDAINED UNTO WRATH
This argument is based on the correct view that Christians 'are not ordained unto wrath' (1 Thes 5:9). However, advocates of this argument mistakenly infer that this must mean we will not be present during The Tribulation, since The Tribulation is God's wrath.
This argument is flawed for 4 main reasons:
As per point 8 above, countless multitudes of Christians escape God's wrath (in keeping with 1 Thes 5:9), despite being present during the great tribulation (Rev 7:9-14, 9:4, 12:9-13:7, 14:14-20, 20:4-6, etc). Even if one holds the view that those Christians are the unlucky 'tribulation saints' who weren't saved in time for the rapture, one must concede that they escape God's wrath in the sense 1 Thes 5:9 means, despite being present during the rapture. So clearly being present in the rapture does not conflict in any way with escaping God's wrath.
Inspired by point 1, a re-read of 1 Thes 5:9 makes clear the verse contrasts 2 fates, being suffering God's wrath vs. salvation, from which it is clear that ‘wrath’ refers to the future wrath of God the damned will face eternally (taught in Romans Ch 2), not the temporal wrath of God being poured out on sinners right now and at various times in history (taught in Romans 13:4 and Romans Ch 1).
It misses the fact that God is perfectly able to save His people from the direct consequences of His wrath being poured out on the antichrist's kingdom during the Great Tribulation, as He spared His people in Goshen during the 10 plagues of Egypt.
This point is less important and not necessary to make the case (the above 3 points are robust and sufficient). However, there is a strong case to be made that the wrath of God only commences after The Great Tribulation, and that in fact the Tribulation period is a time for God's final warnings to mankind to repent and be saved (trumpets as used in the context of the book of Revelation are after all best understood as warnings of imminent danger, a call to retreat to safety). The Great Tribulation is spoken of as Satan's wrath, not God's (Rev 12:12). One may object that God's wrath comes on the scene much earlier, at the 6th Seal - the first mention of God's wrath, on the basis of the cry of the earthdwellers for the rocks to hide them from the wrath of God and the Lamb (see Rev 6:12-17). However, this cry is best understood - to be consistent with how the many other hymns and proclamations in the book function - as proleptic (anticipating the ultimate end catalyzed by the present event), and functioning as cosmic commentary on the greater cosmic significance of the earthly events, and are as such not to be understood as descriptions of chronological events at all. Hence, God's wrath in fact only commences with the 7 bowls of wrath, after His warnings have been issued and all people have made their final decision in response to His final call to repent.
(2) IMMANENCE
We must wholeheartedly embrace the truth of Christ's soon return, as it is indisputably taught and emphasized in scripture and in the church teachings through the last 2000 years. Indeed, He is 'coming soon' (Rev 1:3, 3:11, 22:7,12,17,20). But is this the same proposition as **Imminence, i.e. that He could return at any moment, without a single event necessarily preceding His return? Or, does 'soon' simply mean 'it is near', without meaning to imply imminent?
In answering this question, we must make 3 points:
For starters admit that points 1-5 above make clear that, whatever the right interpretation and application of the doctrine of immanence is, it cannot mean that saints will be raptured before the great tribulation and long before Christ's second coming to judge the man of lawlessness and the wicked nations and to establish His physical throne and kingdom on the earth.
Second, what Christ means by 'soon', is the same thing He meant when He first said those words (e.g. in Rev 1:3), and since then it has already been 2000 years, without making that passage of scripture any less true. So ‘soon’ clearly does not mean what we think it means (‘any moment now’), but what God means by it (in His eternal scheme, it is 'next'). This is probably why Peter, with direct reference to the uncertain timing of Jesus' return, in the same breath and just before saying He will come like a thief, he highlights that God's timing is not the same as ours: 2 Pe 3:8–10 | But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Finally, while there are many passages cited in support of the Doctrine of Imminence (See Appendix 1 for a list of prominent passages), not one of those unambiguously supports the doctrine of Imminence (at least not **the version defined above). True, it seems the apostles and early church commonly held the belief that Jesus' return would be in their generation. But does scripture actually say, anywhere, that He could return literally in the next moment, without any preceding fulfilments of biblical prophecy? Not that I can see. Look for yourself…
In summary, deeper examination of this doctrine reveals lack of unambiguous scriptural support, and the use of the phrase ‘behold, I am coming soon’ in Revelation Ch 1 and 22 (>1900 years ago) and Peter’s qualification of ‘will come like a thief’ with the immediately preceding qualifier that makes clear that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” makes clear that the Lord’s soon coming does not mean what we think He means from our human frame of reference.
(3) ‘THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE’
According to this Dispensational doctrine, (i) God has 2 distinct historical programs for His 2 distinct people groups: Israel, and the Church; (ii) ‘the times of the gentiles’, began with Christ’s crucifixion, initiating the church age when God is dealing with His church and not with national Israel, and this era will close with the beginning of the 7 year tribulation, when God brings His program for the church in history to an end and recommences His program for Israel. (iii) That time will mark the last ‘week’ of Israel’s ’70 weeks’ (Dan Ch 9), known as ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer 30:7) – not the time of the Church’s trouble; (iv) before God re-starts His dealings with Israel for this final 7 year period, He will remove the Church from the earth through the rapture.
It is true that (according to Romans Ch 11, Zech 12, and many other Old Testament prophecies) God is not done with ethnic, national Israel and plans to bring the bulk of the nation to salvation more or less at the time of Christ’s return (Rom 11:25-27; Zech 12:10). And it is true that the final days preceding this will be ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer 30:7-24; Zech Ch 12; Dan 9:24-27; Dan 11:31-12:13). So it seems clear the Lord will indeed be working out His program of national salvation for national, ethnic Israel at that time. But God also has a salvation Program for a massive harvest of people in Uruguay. And Yemen, and Zambia. There is no reason God must work out these programs in series. He is perfectly able to work out His national salvation of Israel with His Church present on earth at the time. Nor does scripture tell us He will remove His church, in light of points 1-6 above.
(4) THE RESTRAINER REMOVED:
Regarding the interpretation of 2 Thes 2:6-7 which teaches ‘the restrainer’ currently preventing the Antichrist from coming on the scene must be the Holy Spirit in the Church, and that He must be removed from the earth at the rapture before the Antichrist arrives on the scene, we need only make 2 observations:
First, this is not a plausible interpretation. The book of Revelation clearly indicates that overcoming believers will be martyred throughout the great tribulation and enter into glory (Rev 7:14). Those who hold to a 'pre-trib rapture' view interpret these to be ‘tribulation saints’ who missed the rapture and were saved thereafter during the tribulation. But do these 'tribulation saints' not have the Holy Spirit? If not, how were they saved and how are they victorious? And what about the 144,000 Israelites saved in Revelation Ch 7 and present throughout the tribulation (Rev 14:1-5)? And the 2 witnesses prophesying from Jerusalem for 42 months (Rev 11)? Since all these clearly will have the Holy Spirit, ‘the restrainer’ clearly has not been removed at all?
Second, note that ‘the restrainer’ is not defined in 2 Thes 2. ‘He’ could simply be a specific angel tasked with restraining Abaddon in the abyss (Rev 9:11; 13:1; 17:8) until Christ permits him to be released to possess Antichrist and fill him with satan’s power for the Great Tribulation (Rev 13:1). Or some other spirit being acting under God’s command to prevent satan from commencing his end game until God’s appointed time. There is nothing in the text itself that requires 'the restrainer' to be the Holy Spirit, and no reason to believe in the departure of the Holy Spirit and a rapture prior to the Tribulation, based on 2 Thes 2.
So this passage does not give any support to the pre-tribulation rapture view.
(5) CHURCH NOT MENTIONED IN REV CH 6-19:
According to this view, there is no mention of 'the church' from Revelation CH 6 through end Ch 19, which supports the view that believers have been raptured before the commencing of the events of Ch 6.
This is a ridiculous claim, as Point 4 above makes clear. To the contrary, the book of Revelation quite clearly states that the saints will be present and being martyred throughout this period (Ch 7:9-14), be spared particular tribulations (Rev 9:4), be persecuted by the Beast (Rev 12:9-13:7), and be busy preaching the gospel (Rev 14:14-20). Pre-tribulation rapture proponents must explain these instances away as referring to 'tribulation saints', despite this being found or supported nowhere in the texts themselves, and despite that undermining their other arguments for the rapture (like the church being saved from God's wrath).
In summary, all 5 of these arguments are flawed and none provides a compelling case for the pre-tribulation rapture.
7. THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE WAS NOT TAUGHT IN CHURCH HISTORY UNTIL THE 1830'S.
John Darby and CI Scofield popularised this doctrine after the 1830's, especially through the Scofield study bible, the most popular study bible of that generation. It was further popularised by the Left Behind film series in the 80's and 90's. Many o fthe world's leading bible scholars point out that there are no examples of this being taught in church history before the 1800's. True, the doctrine of the Lord’s soon return seems to be commonly held by early church Fathers, but as per point 6, this is not the same as the doctrine of Imminence, and certainly not the same as the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture.
8. THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE IS NOT TAUGHT OUTSIDE THE COMFORTABLE AND SAFE 'WESTERN CHURCH'
Most of the church (in China, India, the Middle-east, Indonesia, Nigeria, Communist nations, etc), are already persecuted and suffering. To them, the teaching to hope in a rapture to escape before the 'coming' persecution and suffering is non-sensical, as they already suffer unspeakable things for their faith. For them, 'the tribulation' begins at salvation and ends when we enter glory.
It is only comfortable Christians currently living more or less in safety in the world, free to practice their faith, and perhaps even finding their faith to be dominant in their culture, to whom normalised suffering for our faith is a foreign concept, a future dread, and something to hope to escape.
9. THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE MUST BE TAUGHT BY MAN
Almost nobody derives the Pre-tribulation rapture from simply reading the bible, because it is not given as a clear message anywhere in the bible. It must be taught by man, after which one is able to 'see' it in many passages (i.e. 'read it into' the text, rather than see it clearly stated in the text).
10. WE DON'T WANT OR NEED IT. WE WILL RISE AND SHINE
Jesus tells us that believers alive in the final generation will be amongst the most anointed, victorious believers in the history of the world.
Da 12:3 | And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Da 12:10 | Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.
Da 11:32 | the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Re 14:4–5 | It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes... in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
Indeed, it is in those fierce days that He will bring in the greatest harvest of souls in history (Rev 14:14-20), and it is the saints alive at that time that are born for the task of prospering in Christ's Great Commission despite the rage of Satan.
We do not need a rapture. We simply need to trust Him and walk with Him. We need to know that
'Christ in you, the hope of glory' (Col 1:27) is more than sufficient for all these things and more ( );
His empowering grace is more than enough to carry us through in victory (2 Cor 12:9);
Nothing can separate us from Fathers love in Christ (Rom 8);
'Greater is He in [me] than he that is in the world' (1 Jn 4:4);
“Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4).
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps 46:1)
God sits in the heavens a laughs at the nations raging (Psalm 2) because all their furious raging is less than the flapping of a blade of grass to the sovereign Creator of the universe.
And when we do, we can step into that glorious call for which we were born: to rise and shine in the midst of the thick darkness on the earth. Because Isa 60:1-3 tells us that there is a special purpose for God's people in the midst of darkness, and there will be no greater darkness in the history of the world (Mt 24:5-31), and therefore there will be no greater shining of His Bride in the history of the world.
Hear what the King says to His bride about all times of darkness, chiefly those to come:
Arise
Rise from your seat, position yourself for action
Shine
Turn on and turn up the light that is in you
Yes you have shone before, but your radiance in the days to come will make your light in the days gone by as darkness.
for your light has come
By Father's eternal will and through His might at work in you, you are appointed to be such a light as to be the light, the only light of the nations
And now, much more so than ever before, now your light has come.
SO: Believe. Trust. Arise. And shine.
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you
Because His glory shall rise upon you. He will increase His manifest Presence in your life, the wonder of Person in you and on you. And He in you will release the glory of His manifest person in your life. He will break in on you, and out from you, and His glory, the radiant splendour of His majestic Person, will shine out from you.
He will possess your heart and mind with His own self and the rays of His glorious self will touch and warm those around you
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth
For behold, in those days and at that time, the powers of darkness in the heavenly places will darken the understanding of men.
The great kings and rulers - being led by the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this present darkness - will pursue wicked schemes, the counsel of darkness that will be hidden from the minds of men.
They will ensnare and entrap the lesser kings and rulers until the powers of this Babylonian order work together to ensnare and entrap the rest of mankind, using the devices of darkness to capture their hearts and corrupt their minds.
They will turn the systems of this world into prisons, the institutions of this world into forced labour camps. The elite will become guards, and the strong will be enforcers.
And mankind will be in darkness
and thick darkness the peoples
So darkened will be the understanding of the kings and rulers that they will love and defend the very darkness that destroys them and persecute the light that is their hope, until thick darkness covers the people
but the Lord will arise upon you
BUT. The darkness will not cover you.
Because no matter where you are and no matter what darkness you are in, you are a child of light and the Father of light will shine in and on you.
And He will arise upon you in that day so that your latter light will make your former light as darkness. Your noon day of yesteryear will be as midnight because of the great shining of His glorious Person that will be in you in the latter days.
and his glory will be seen upon you
And His glory will be seen on you
His light will burst forth in dark places through all His sons and daughters of light
And nations shall come to your light
And people shall see and feel and know the light that gives life
And they will come.
More and more will come to your light, which is The Father of Light in you.
They will see, and they will come to you to receive Him.
First, people. Then, families. Then, tribes. Then, Nations shall come to your light
and kings to the brightness of your rising
And kings shall come.
By His Light in you, they will learn to hate the darkness and they will come to the brightness of your rising
And so the hope of the nations, even the kings of the nations, is that we, the sons and daughters of light, will be with them in the midst of the thick darkness
We are the wicks on which the fire of His majesty will burn
We are the carriers of His light
We must be in the darkness so He can shine and bring His Self to those who are trapped in darkness
We will be there. In the darkness. Wicks burning with His Presence. And His Light will be seen on us. We will bring Light to the nations in darkness. And to Him they will come.
APPENDIX 1: SCRIPTURES REFERENCED TO SUPPORT THE DOCTRINE OF IMMINENCE
Weak - absolutely no basis to support an unambiguous interpretation of imminence
1 Corinthians 1:7–“awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
1 Corinthians 16:22–“Maranatha.” “Mar” (“Lord”), “ana” (“our”), and “tha” (“come”), meaning “our Lord, come.” The Arabic greeting implies an eager expectation.
Philippians 3:20–“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” - 2 -
Philippians 4:5–“The Lord is near.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10–“to wait for His Son from heaven,”
1 Thessalonians 5:6–“so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
1 Timothy 6:14–“that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:13–“looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;”
Hebrews 9:28–“so Christ . . . shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
James 5:7-9–“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. . . . for the coming of the Lord is at hand. . . . behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”
1 Peter 1:13 –“fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Jude 21–“waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
Strong - 'sounds like' it means Jesus could come at any time, but upon examination that is not necessarily the case (every passage has at least one alternative explanation vs. imminence)
Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20–“‘I am coming quickly!’”
Revelation 22:17, 20–“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’” “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Rev 1:1 - 'things that must soon take place'
1 Thess. 5:2 - For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Mt 24:37–44 - For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matt. 24:50 - The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know.
Matt. 25:13 - Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Mark 13:32–33 - But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.
Mark 13:34–37 - It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
Luke 12:40 - You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
1 Peter 4:7 - The end of all things is at hand.
2 Peter 3:10 - But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
SOURCES
General
House, H. W. (2019). Charts of Christian theology and doctrine.
Brown, S. (1966). “The Hour of Trial” (Rev 3:10). Journal of Biblical Literature, 85(3), 308–314. https://doi.org/10.2307/3264244
For pre-trib rapture
Walvoord, J. F., & Recorded Books, Inc. (2010). The rapture question. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
Pentecost, J. D., Walvoord, J. F., & Toussaint, S. D. (1983). Prophecy: God's plan for human history. Dallas: Dallas Seminary Video Ministry.
For post-trib rapture
Gundry, R. H. (1977). The church and the tribulation: [a Biblical examination of posttribulationism]. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Grudem, W. (2020). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Second Edition, Chapter 54, p. 1343-1369). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.
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