SPELLING EDITED J-21. Part 1 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-TRIBULATION Rapture!
This is part 1 of a six-part series of in-depth Bible studies on the subject of the “rapture” of the church concerning WHEN the catching up of the church will take place. In other words, here are 250 reasons WHY there will NOT be a PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE and WHY the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches a POST-tribulation rapture of the church! The purpose of this study in God's word is to take a close look at these 250 reasons that are presented by another author as her proof that God's word teaches a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church in order to see if they are SOUND BIBLICAL reasons or to see if they CONTRADICT other verses in the Bible. We will also take a brief look at the three main viewpoints for the timing of the RAPTURE or catching up of the church as it is taught to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and in 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 just in case some of my readers are unaware of these three different teachings of when the rapture of the church will occur. The first of the three main views we will be looking at is the PRE tribulation viewpoint, which teaches that the rapture of the church will occur BEFORE the time of great tribulation begins. Then the second viewpoint is the MID tribulation rapture which teaches that the rapture will occur in the MIDDLE or MIDST of the tribulation. Now, in both of these first two viewpoints, the PRE and MID tribulation teachings, it is taught by most Christians who teach these points of view that the time of great tribulation is 7 years in length. They teach that the first 3 1/2 years is called the time of sorrows, which will mostly be filled with earthquakes, floods, famines, disease, wars, and rumors of wars. And THEN in the middle or midst of this 7 year period of tribulation, the Antichrist shall appear and usher in the last half the seven years of tribulation which they call the GREAT tribulation which is also 3 1/2 years, or 42 months, or 1260 days. Then lastly, we will look at the POST tribulation viewpoint which teaches that the time of the great tribulation is 3 1/2 years in length rather than 7 years in length. The post-tribulation Christians teach that the rapture of the church will not occur until immediately AFTER the time of the great tribulation. Post tribulation Christians believe and teach that the rapture of the church will take place AT the time of the SECOND coming of Jesus. In other words, many Christians who teach a POST tribulation rapture do NOT teach a SEVEN-year great tribulation. But rather, they teach that the great tribulation is 3 1/2 years, or 42 months, or 1260 days in length just as the Bible clearly and plainly teaches. And the revealing of the antichrist BEGINS the time of 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. At the end of this study, I give you the information from the websites that teach the pre-tribulation viewpoint which is where I found the 250 reasons for a pre-tribulation rapture. We will look at each reason given by those who teach a PRE-tribulation rapture one at a time and compare it in the light of the whole word of God. Each of the reasons will be numbered using the number symbol in the parentheses (#) which does NOT mean “hash-tag”. And every reason that argues why there will be a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church will be in a DIFFERENT font style so you can easily see what I teach from what the PRE-tribulation Christians teach. I implore you to read the whole study before you draw any conclusions. I will do my best to explain WHY that I myself can NO LONGER believe in the PRE-tribulation rapture doctrine. What IF I am right and those who teach a PRE-tribulation rapture are wrong? What if you find yourself in the middle of the great tribulation? Will you simply change your belief to the post-tribulation teaching? Or will you panic and wrongly think that you missed the PRE-tribulation rapture? Will your faith fail you? Or will you cast away your faith saying that they lied about the pre-tribulation so how can I trust anything they say? Let us begin this study in God’s word by me saying that when I was reading over these 250 reasons FOR a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church, I began to notice that some of these reasons were repeated. In other words, many of the points that are numbered as individual “SEPARATE” reasons but in truth, many of those other numbered reasons actually needed to be combined together in order to form just ONE understandable argument. So then, to ME, in reality, there are far less than 250 actual different individual reasons. With that being said let us begin this study in God's word to learn the TRUTH of WHEN the RAPTURE of the church will occur. I will place the PRE-tribulation arguments in a different font style so that it will be easy to distinguish what I believe and teach from the PRE-tribulation view. There are five sections in part 1 of this study.
SECTION TWO
THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE’S MESSAGE OF IMMINENCE.
#1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the ONLY position that MAINTAINS IMMINENCE. Other positions REQUIRE that certain prophecies be fulfilled FIRST.
Yes, I agree with this statement as being a yes with qualifying reasons only. You see dear children of God, the pre-tribulation is indeed the ONLY position that does NOT require certain prophecies or SIGNS to be fulfilled BEFORE the return of Jesus where he raptures or catches up his church to himself. However, this simple statement of the PRE-tribulation teaching being the ONLY teaching that teaches that the coming of Jesus is IMMINENT does NOT prove without a doubt that the rapture of the church occurs BEFORE the time of great tribulation because one must first PROVE that the rapture is indeed IMMINENT in the WAY that the PRE-tribulation Christians DEFINE the word imminent! So then, first of all, to answer this question what does imminence TRULY mean, we must first understand what those who teach the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture mean by the IMMINENT return of our Lord. In other words, HOW do the Christians that hold to the PRE-tribulation view actually DEFINE the word “IMMINENT”? Now, according to the pre-tribulation doctrine, the word “IMMINENT” is defined as an event that will most certainly take place but it is UNCERTAIN as to WHEN it will take place. In other words, based on THEIR definition of the word “IMMINENT” they make the CLAIM that there are absolutely NO SIGNS that need to be fulfilled FIRST before the rapture can occur. To say this another way, according to the PRE-tribulation definition of the word imminent, the rapture of the church can occur at any time WITHOUT any warning. The rapture could occur in the next few seconds, according to the PRE-trib meaning of the word imminent. BUT is this CLAIM that there are NO SIGNS that will take place BEFORE the COMING of Jesus a SOUND BIBLICAL claim? We will look at this question in a moment, but first I want to point out that I searched the meaning of the word “IMMINENT” from several sources and most every unbiased source and dictionary that I researched defined the word “IMMINENT” as something that projects over or towards, to hang above or over, to threaten. And a more modern use of this word “IMMINENT” means that something is about to occur, or is impending. Now the word “IMPENDING” means to hang above or over, as in, to hover over menacingly, about to take place, to overhang. Now, for ME, I myself find nothing in the ACTUAL TRUE definition of this word “IMMINENT” from unbiased sources to even remotely suggest that there is absolutely NO need for any SIGNS to be fulfilled before the return of our Lord to rapture his church to himself. However, I do find the actual meaning of this word accurately describes the SECOND COMING of Jesus as being an “IMPENDING” event which simply means that the coming of Jesus WILL take place. So then, the word “IMMINENT”, to me, means that the rapture of the church is an event that WILL absolutely for certain take place. Therefore, the true sound Biblical meaning of imminent is that the rapture and second coming of Jesus are indeed IMPENDING events. The second coming of Jesus is IMPENDING and it will happen, without fail. And the rapture of the church is IMPENDING and it will happen, without fail. And in some ways, even we as Christians, at times, want the return of Jesus to wait until all our family and friends are saved, but it WILL happen and no one can STOP the return of Jesus or the rapture of the church from happening. And that is the true sound Biblical meaning of the word “IMMINENT”. Both events are IMPENDING! BUT, do they HAVE to be SEPARATED by 7-years or 3 1/2-years? What is preventing both events to happen only seconds apart from each other? As you read through this entire study in God's word it will become quite clear to you that the SECOND COMING of Jesus is indeed IMMINENT according to the TRUE actual definition of the word “IMMINENCY”. Let me at least begin to explain what I myself and the Bible ITSELF means by this event of the SECOND coming of Jesus wherein the RAPTURE of the CHURCH does indeed take place. But at the same time, it is IMPENDING to some Christians that will be affected is not in a good way by the coming of Jesus. Here are two Scriptures to read and closely consider that even SOME believers do not want this event or the SECOND coming of Jesus to occur, but know that it must be so because it is IMMINENT! Please read Revelation 22:20, that says, EVEN SO, come, Lord Jesus, which gives us the idea that if there is no other way, then AMEN. EVEN SO, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20.
“He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen (Or so be it). EVEN SO, come, Lord Jesus.”
We know that when Jesus returns that he will execute the WRATH of God upon the world. And we also know that some of our family and friends are not yet saved. So while we want to be raptured out of this fallen world we do NOT want our UNSAVED family and friends to suffer the WRATH of God. But when we see that the coming of Jesus is at the door we must say, EVEN SO, COME Lord Jesus. Then, in Revelation 1:7, we read almost the same exact words, where we see those of the nations WAILING, because of his COMING.
Revelation 1:7.
“Behold, he COMES with clouds; and EVERY eye shall SEE him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindred of the earth shall WAIL because of him. EVEN SO, Amen.”
Again, we see the words “EVEN SO” or so be it. Even Almighty God himself does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, and we should also take no pleasure in the death of the wicked people. But we know that it must be in order to put an end to wickedness. And that means that there will be many good people who are unsaved that may be killed during the wrath of God because they rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only God knows their hearts. Only God knows when not one more sinner will repent. So then, you can see how this event, that is known as the second coming or the return of Jesus, can be embraced and desired by some but at the same time, it can seem like a menacing overhanging event that causes others to WAIL when THEY SEE it COMING upon them. Now, what else does the Bible say about this event called the COMING of our Lord to rapture or catch up his saints to himself? Is the PRE-tribulation CLAIM that the COMING of Jesus to RAPTURE his CHURCH is an IMMINENT event stand FIRM in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God? What does the BIBLE say about the SIGNS of the COMING of the Son of man? Of course, there are NO SIGNS of a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church because the word of TRUTH does NOT teach a PRE-tribulation rapture. However, the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, does, in fact, teach that this event of the COMING of Jesus is definitely PRECEDED by SIGNS that WE, the CHURCH are to be LOOKING for in order to be sure to keep our lives pure and without sin. Now IF SO BE that the PRE-tribulation teaching was true, then WHY are WE, the church, taught to LOOK for the approaching day of our Lord's coming? I mean HOW would we know WHEN Jesus will return if there were NO SIGNS to watch for the return of our Lord? Please read Hebrews 10:13-25, which teaches us that WHEN we SEE that day of our Lord's COMING APPROACHING or drawing near, then we should be even more diligent in provoking one another to love and good works.
Hebrews 10:23-25.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and SO MUCH THE MORE, as you SEE the day APPROACHING.”
Now ask yourself the question, “HOW are we going to SEE the COMING day of our Lord APPROACHING, IF there are absolutely NO SIGNS that PRECEDE the coming of our Lord to rapture his church to himself?” The word “APPROACHING” here means drawing near or as we SEE that day of our Lord's COMING being AT HAND, or DRAWING NEAR, then we are the SO MUCH MORE to prepare ourselves for his coming. Here is what Romans 13:9-14 says on this same subject of coming to KNOW the TIME of our Lord's COMING is AT HAND.
Romans 13:9-14.
“For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Thou shall not covet; and if there be any other commandments, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 10. Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11. And that, KNOWING the TIME, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for our salvation is now NEARER than when we first believed. 12. The night is far spent, the day is AT HAND: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
Now, ask yourself the question “HOW did these believers in the early church KNOW that the TIME of the DAY of our Lord's COMING was AT HAND IF they were not LOOKING and WATCHING for the SIGNS of our Lord's COMING?” The TRUTH of the matter is the Bible is filled with the teachings of Jesus and the early disciples WARNING us, the CHURCH, to WATCH and PRAY that we are accounted worthy or accepted at the time of his COMING. The Scriptures make it PLAIN and quite evident that the early church knew this TRUTH of WATCHING for the SIGNS of the COMING of Jesus. The word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, in 2 Peter 3:1-12 CLEARLY teaches us that the early church was most definitely WATCHING for the SIGNS of the COMING of Jesus.
2 Peter 3:1-12.
“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2. That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior: 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days, scoffers (Or those mocking the false teachers of the pre-tribulation rapture), walking after their own lusts, 4. And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (In other words, WHERE are all these SIGNS that are supposed to take place BEFORE the COMING of Jesus? Be patient, the signs are coming just as Jesus said they will come) 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise (Speaking of the PROMISE of his COMING), as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10. But the DAY of the Lord WILL COME as a THIEF in the night; in the which (Or at which TIME) the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. LOOKING FOR and hasting unto the coming of the DAY of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”
So then, according to the Scriptures, WHAT was the early church LOOKING FOR? Well, to ME, it is made perfectly CLEAR that they were LOOKING FOR the DAY of God or the DAY of the Lord where Jesus will be COMING as a THIEF in the night in a FLAMING FIRE taking vengeance upon those who have persecuted the church and God's people Israel. Please notice again that verse 12 PLAINLY states that the early church was LOOKING FOR or keeping WATCH for the DAY of God, WHEREIN the heavens being on FIRE shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nowhere in the word of God do I find that we are told clearly and plainly that we are to LOOK for a SECRET RAPTURE of the church with NO SIGNS to even let us know when believers are to be CAUGHT UP to meet Jesus in the air to RETURN with Jesus. I do not find any verse of Scripture that teaches us that we will be taken to heaven with Jesus and remain there in heaven for 7 years in order to ESCAPE 7 years of great tribulation that shall be on the Earth and then we return to the Earth to be united with the REST of the bride of Jesus Christ. To me, that sounds like half the bride of Jesus escapes the great tribulation while the other half of the bride of Jesus suffers the great tribulation. I do not find that in the Scriptures. However, we are CLEARLY and PLAINLY told that the early CHURCH was indeed LOOKING for the DAY of the Lord COMING as a THIEF in the night WHEREIN or at which TIME the heavens would be on FIRE. But the word of God does not stop here but goes on to teach us in the following verses that we are NOT to FEAR the things coming upon the world. For you see, we also have a PROMISE that God will create the NEW heaven and a NEW Earth. And God has promised us DELIVERANCE from his coming WRATH. We are not to fear whether we live or die because we know that we will inherit ETERNAL LIFE. So then, the simple and obvious question now arises, IF we are NOT going to be HERE when all these FEARFUL SIGNS begin to appear, as the doctrine of the pre and mid-tribulation teaches, then WHY are WE, the CHURCH, told NOT to FEAR, when we SEE these things come to PASS? In other words, IF we are not here then how can we SEE the SIGNS? And IF we are not going to SEE the SIGNS then WHY did Jesus teach us to WATCH FOR the SIGNS?
Please read 2 Peter 3:13-18.
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, LOOK FOR (Or we also are to look for) new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. (As in, our FOCUS is NOT upon the destruction that is coming but rather on the promises of God for the NEW heaven and Earth. The Millennial reign of Jesus will end after the 1000 years of the world to come and THEN God himself will create a new earth and the new heaven after all the wicked are destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of the 1000 year reign of Jesus) 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you LOOK FOR such things, (Speaking of EVERYTHING that Peter spoke about in the above verses of Scripture, INCLUDING the church LOOKING FOR the COMING DAY of God or the COMING of Jesus as a THIEF in the night just as the apostle Paul wrote to us about in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 CONTINUING through chapter 5 verses 1 through 11, which are the principal verses used to teach the PRE- tribulation rapture of the church. WHEREFORE, or for this reason, SEEING that YOU LOOK FOR such THINGS) be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him has written unto you; 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17. You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. 18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”
Jesus HIMSELF taught us, the CHURCH, to WATCH and PRAY and WHEN we shall SEE all these THINGS that are COMING upon the Earth, we are to LOOK UP, because THEN, and ONLY THEN we will KNOW that our REDEMPTION is DRAWING NIGH or is AT HAND. Please read Luke 21:6-36, which teaches us that WE, the church, are to LOOK FOR some SPECIFIC SIGNS that will PRECEDE the COMING of Jesus as a THIEF in the night as the apostle Paul clearly teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-23 through chapter 5:1-11 which we will take a CLOSE look at further on in this study of God's word. But for now, let us read what SIGNS Jesus told us, his CHURCH, to WATCH for in order to KNOW the TIME of his COMING is AT HAND.
Please read Luke 21:6-36.
“As for these things which you behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 7. And they asked him, saying, Master, but WHEN shall these things be? And WHAT SIGN will there be when these things shall come to pass? (In this same account in Matthew 24:3 you can see that the disciples asked Jesus THREE separate questions. “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”) 8. And he said, TAKE HEED that you be NOT deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the TIME DRAWS NEAR: go you not therefore after them. 9. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be NOT terrified: for these things must FIRST come to pass; but the end is not by and by. (Please understand that there will be an end to the PRESENT world, then there will be the world to come called the 1000 year reign of Jesus or the Millennial reign of Jesus. And THEN comes the END of the world after the Millennial reign of Jesus. Also, understand that many signs must be fulfilled before the rapture of the church at the second coming of Jesus, right BEFORE the Millennial reign of Jesus. And we are to NOT be afraid of those signs that will usher in the wrath of God because we are not appointed to the wrath of God unless you are living in a lifestyle of sin) 10. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: (Possibly meaning racial wars or possibly meaning BOTH racial riots and also wars between countries) 11. And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and GREAT SIGNS shall there be from heaven. 12. But BEFORE all these, (Possibly meaning ALL the signs or possibly meaning just the GREAT signs at the very end of this present world. OR possibly meaning BOTH, as in, all the persecution that started in the first-century church all the way through to right BEFORE the GREATS signs from heaven shall appear there will be another wave, so to speak, of great persecution of God’s people, the Jews, and the Christians) they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 13. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. 14. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15. For, I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16. And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17. And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18. But there shall not a hair of your head perish. 19. In your patience possess you your souls. 20. And when YOU shall SEE Jerusalem compassed with armies, then KNOW that the desolation thereof is nigh. (To ME, when the Islamic Muslim armies surround Jerusalem to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth IS the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel) 21. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. (Mountains could mean the literal mountains or they could be symbolic for fleeing to other countries such as the United States of America) 22. For these be the DAYS of VENGEANCE, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land, and WRATH upon these people. (Satan’s wrath will last 3 ½ years which IS the great tribulation. Then the rapture of the church will occur. And then Jesus will execute the first half of the WRATH of Almighty God upon the world and upon the children of Israel for rejecting their Messiah) 24. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, UNTIL the TIMES of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Meaning that the remnant of Israel will not call upon the name of the Lord to deliver them until the second coming of Jesus when all the Gentiles in this PRESENT world who will be saved are saved. There will come a time when ONLY God himself knows that not one more Gentile will be saved in this PRESENT world. That does NOT mean that no Gentiles will be saved in the world to come during the Millennial reign of Jesus. For you see, there will be both a remnant of the Jews AND a remnant of the Gentile nations saved alive in their mortal bodies that will enter into the 1000 year reign of Jesus to be taught of the Lord) 25. And there shall be SIGNS in the SUN, and in the MOON, and in the STARS; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26. Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are COMING on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (To me, people will not have heart attacks when they see meteor shows. And we all know that literal stars cannot fall from heaven. So to me, these great signs from heaven are not normal events such as solar and lunar eclipses. But what IF the stars are symbolic of the fallen angels being cast down to the ground during the WAR in heaven described in Revelation chapter 12? What IF this war in heaven looks like an alien invasion. Please read the studies, “THE WAR IN HEAVEN-REVELATION 12!” And “WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT UFOs?”) 27. And THEN shall they SEE the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28. And WHEN these things (Speaking of the SIGNS in the SUN and in the MOON and in the STARS and the POWERS of heaven being SHAKEN) BEGIN to come to pass, then LOOK UP, and lift up YOUR heads; (WHY?) FOR (Or BECAUSE when you SEE these SIGNS, then KNOW that) YOUR redemption DRAWS NIGH. (The rapture of the church or our REDEMPTION can occur ONLY AFTER ALL these SIGNS. We will NOT ESCAPE seeing these SIGNS that will occur BEFORE the WRATH of God, but we WILL ESCAPE the WRATH of God. The great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God. The great tribulation is the wrath of Satan. Please read the study “THE WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!”) 29. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30. When they now shoot forth, you SEE and KNOW of your own selves that summer is now NIGH AT HAND. 31. So LIKEWISE YOU, when YOU SEE these things come to pass, KNOW you that the kingdom of God is NIGH AT HAND. (Not just coming in the near future but coming to PASS, as in actually happening right before our eyes then we will KNOW that Jesus is just about to split the eastern skies over Jerusalem) 32. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. (Speaking of the generation that sees these SIGNS, and a generation is 70 to 80 years. PLUS 15 more years can be added to a generation which means that a generation could be as long as 95 years. Israel became a nation in 1947 and therefore, many prophecy teachers use the year 1947 as the starting year of the final generation. So 1947 plus 70 years equals 2017 which is already past. And 1947 plus 80 years is 2027. And 1947+95 equals the year 2042. And the year Jesus was resurrected plus 2000 years equals the possible years between 2027 through 2034. And I am leaning towards the fall of the year 2031 or 2032 which are the best possible years of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. BUT Jesus said this generation shall not pass away which means that our Lord's coming can occur anytime WITHIN the last generation. The pre-tribulation rapture teaching used 40 years for a generation. And thus, books were written that Jesus would return by 1988. And now, the 70-year generation has come and gone. And that I why I have included the 2000 years from the year our Lord was crucified in 31AD as being the best possible year in my opinion. So again. I am leaning toward the fall of 2031 as being a possible year to be watching for the signs in the sun, moon, and stars) 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (Again, Jesus is coming in a flaming fire but God’s WRATH will be lifted for 1000 years. So the END of heavens and the earth will not be until the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus in the world to come) 34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time YOUR hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that DAY come upon YOU UNAWARE. 35. For as a snare shall it come on all THEM that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36. WATCH YOU, therefore, and PRAY always, that YOU may be accounted WORTHY to ESCAPE all these things that SHALL COME to pass (Speaking of the WRATH of God that is COMING UPON the world right AFTER we, the church, SEE these SIGNS in the SUN and in the MOON and in the STARS and the POWERS of heaven being SHAKEN), and to stand before the Son of man.”
Now, of course, to those that teach the PRE and MID tribulation and who refuse to let go of the ESCAPE the great tribulation false teaching, then all these verses that CLEARLY say YOU , as in, referring to us, the CHURCH, the faithful FOLLOWERS of Jesus, are said to be speaking of the so-called tribulation saints who will go through the great tribulation and be raptured at the SECOND coming of Jesus. In other words, they CLAIM that the pronoun YOU in these verses are NOT referring to Christians who will take part in the SECRET rapture of the church that occurs BEFORE the great tribulation. In other words, some Christians are holding fast to this FALSE teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture and remain steadfast in their CLAIM that the YOU in all these verses DO NOT refer to us, the CHURCH, but rather they CLAIM that these verses refer to Israel and the so-called tribulation saints who are NOT part of the CHURCH. And YET, they will quote verse 36 as one of their main verses to try and PROVE a PRE-tribulation rapture, because Jesus promises that the CHURCH would ESCAPE all these things. I want you to follow all the pronoun usage all the way through Luke 21:6-36 to see for yourself that the pronoun YOU is always referring to the church. Let us read verse 36 again.
Luke 21:36.
“WATCH YOU, therefore, and PRAY always, that YOU may be accounted WORTHY to ESCAPE all these things that SHALL COME to pass (Speaking of the WRATH of God that is COMING UPON the world right AFTER we, the church, SEE these SIGNS in the SUN and in the MOON and in the STARS and the POWERS of heaven being SHAKEN, which immediately precede the SIGN of the COMING of the Son of man as we are taught in Matthew 24:29-31), and to stand before the Son of man.”
Now, HOW can anyone, in all honesty, make the CLAIM that the pronoun “YOU” in this passage of Scripture is speaking of Israel and the so-called tribulation saints that are NOT part of the church and then in the last verse suddenly CHANGE the very SAME pronoun “YOU” to mean the CHURCH? You see, the ONLY reason that those who teach the doctrine of a PRE-trib escape, the time of great tribulation rapture, is to supposedly HARMONIZE the Scriptures. Pre-trib Christians sincerely believe that the great tribulation IS the WRATH of God and since we are NOT appointed to the wrath of God then that proves that the church will not go through the period of the great tribulation. So then under their false assumption that the great tribulation IS the WRATH of God then they are FORCED to make such a CLAIM that the pronoun “YOU” refers to the church in some verses and in other verses it refers to Israel. They INSIST that the ONLY way to HARMONIZE the APPARENT contradictions in God's word, that we are NOT appointed to the WRATH of God, is to DIVIDE the SECOND coming of Jesus into TWO separate and distinctly different comings. And consequently, such a division in the second coming of Jesus would require that there must be TWO separate RAPTURES. And even further consequently require that there must also be TWO separate FIRST RESURRECTIONS of the SAINTS of God. Can you not see how just ONE wrong or incorrect ASSUMPTION or INTERPRETATION can lead to being forced to make needless explanations of other Scriptures throughout the word of God? Anyway, here is HOW they try to explain all this so-called absolute need for there to be TWO separate comings of Jesus as being the ONLY way to HARMONIZE the Scriptures. But, in TRUTH, the sound Biblical way to harmonize the Scriptures is to understand and know that the period of the great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God. Again, please read the study “THE WRATH VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!” Now, the writer of these so-called 250 reasons for a pre-tribulation rapture begins her argument by using her so-called DIFFERENT reasons numbering them from reason 2 through reason 10 in section three to try and explain that there is a DIFFERENCE between the KNOWN and the UNKNOWN day and hour of our Lord's coming. Now, to ME, I only see ONE argument being presented in these so-called 10 DIFFERENT reasons. In other words, to ME, I only see these 10 different statements as being just ONE reason for argument number 1, the IMMINENT return of Jesus. So again, there are far less than 250 reasons for a pre-tribulation rapture. And the Bible ITSELF proves them ALL to be incorrect interpretations of the Scriptures. Anyway, here are her reasons that she numbers as 2-10 for a pre-tribulation rapture of the church with my comments following each of her statements that she claims are 10 different reasons but I myself only really see as ONE reason stated 10 different ways. First of ALL, those that teach the pre-tribulation point of view make the CLAIM of the IMMINENT return of Jesus and they feel that some post-tribulation Christians spend too much time looking for the SIGNS of the coming of Jesus. Now, what I see is that it is the PRE-tribulation prophecy teachers who are constantly watching for the SIGNS of the second coming of Jesus so that they can subtract seven years of the great tribulation to know the approximate time of the PRE-tribulation rapture of the church. I myself do not find very many POST-tribulation prophecy teachers who are constantly watching for the signs of the coming of Jesus. I myself have just ONE major sign that I am listening to hear in the news. And that is an all-out Islamic Muslim invasion of the land of Israel to completely wipe Israel off the face of the earth. And it does not look to be that much further in the future before this war begins. I believe that it must begin in the SPRING of the year so that the END of that 3 ½ year war will END in the FALL of the year which is when I believe that Jesus will return on one of the three remaining fall feast days. Anyway, here are the next so-called ten arguments FOR a PRE-tribulation rapture. Keep in mind that her ONE argument is that there is a KNOWN day and an UNKNOWN day. And according to the PRE-tribulation view, the ONLY WAY to harmonize the known day with the unknown day is for there to be TWO SEPARATE days. But WHY? Why can there not be just ONE day, concerning which, right NOW, we do not know the day or the hour of the return of Jesus but AFTER we begin SEEING the SIGNS of his return, THEN we WILL KNOW the day and the hour of the return of Jesus? EVEN the PRE-tribulation rapture doctrine teaches that the tribulation saints will be able to discern the day of our Lord's return. So then, the coming of Jesus is ONLY hidden from knowing until we SEE the SIGNS of his coming and THEN we WILL know the day is at hand. There is nothing in the Scriptures that says we will ever know the EXACT day and HOUR of his coming. But we will know that day of his return within a month or two. Maybe even in a day or two. SECTION THREE
The first 10 PRE-tribulation arguments for a rapture BEFORE the great tribulation. We already covered number one in section two called THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE’S MESSAGE OF IMMINENCE.
#1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the ONLY position that MAINTAINS IMMINENCE. Other positions REQUIRE that certain prophecies be fulfilled FIRST.
#2. Instead of watching for Jesus to come in the air, instead of anticipating His arrival with joy, people watch for the APPEARANCE of the ANTICHRIST, for SIGNS, for wars, and for the unfolding of many other prophecies FIRST. This DESTROYS imminence.
Yes, the WATCHING for SIGNS certainly does DESTROY the IMMINENCE point of view as DEFINED according to the PRE-tribulation definition of the word imminence which I must point out, again, as just being an ASSUMPTION that was drawn from an INCORRECT conclusion made upon an APPARENT contradiction in God's word. Please remember that the TRUE definition of the word “IMMINENT” simply means IMPENDING or it is CERTAIN to take place and has nothing whatsoever to do with being UNKNOWN. Now, for ME, the looking for the SIGNS of my Lord's COMING does NOT lessen my anticipating his return with JOY! To ME, I rejoice all the MORE as I SEE more and more SIGNS being fulfilled. For you see, I KNOW that his coming is drawing nearer and nearer! You see, while the flesh may not want to be persecuted, the regenerated spirit does not fear persecution because we know that great is our reward in heaven! So again, this is NOT a valid Biblical argument that proves a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church but rather shows me that those who teach the FALSE pre-tribulation teaching are FEARFUL of the great tribulation. I do not believe that PRE-tribulation Christians are ready for the coming days of the great tribulation. And whether they like it or not, they WILL go through it because the word of TRUTH does NOT teach a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church.
#3. Scripture declares that no one KNOWS the day or the hour of Jesus’ appearance. This HAS TO MEAN the Rapture of His Church is BEFORE the great tribulation! If it were meant for the time AFTER the tribulation, it does NOT make sense. The days and hours of the tribulation CAN BE COUNTED and KNOWN, according to the prophecy of Daniel 9:27! EXACT years, months and days are GIVEN--and anyone WHO SEES the antichrist making the “peace covenant” with Israel can BEGIN counting--ARRIVING at the year, month, and day when Jesus’ feet will touch the earth. Should the Church be required to enter the tribulation, we’d calculate the day and the hour--which is the opposite of NOT KNOWING the day and the hour! The scriptures MUST show TWO DIFFERENT events in order to HARMONIZE this CONTRADICTION in God's word!
But yet, there is NO contradiction when BOTH the rapture and the second coming of Jesus occur on the SAME day which is not known NOW but will be known AFTER we see the SIGNS of his coming to let us know. So then, just because the ASSUMPTION is made that supposedly the ONLY way to reconcile this APPARENT contradiction of a KNOWN day and an apparent UNKNOWN day does NOT make this ASSUMPTION that the ONLY WAY to reconcile this APPARENT CONTRADICTION is to DIVIDED the SECOND coming of Jesus into TWO SEPARATE and DISTINCT comings. You see, JUST making this ASSUMPTION does NOT make it be the TRUTH of God's word. I will explain what I mean by this a little later on in this study. But for now, just know that dividing the one and ONLY SECOND coming into TWO comings rather than the ONE SECOND coming that the Bible clearly teaches is NOT the ONLY solution to this APPARENT contradiction of knowing and not knowing the day and the hour. First of all, the word SECOND means the very NEXT coming of Jesus. The FIRST coming of Jesus was to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and the Bible only speaks of his SECOND coming. In other words, nowhere in God's word of TRUTH are we taught of the THIRD coming of Jesus, but the MAN-MADE doctrine of a PRE-trib rapture must have a THIRD coming of Jesus, his SECOND coming BEFORE the time of great tribulation and his THIRD coming AFTER the time of great tribulation. To ME this is ADDING to the clear plain and simple word of Almighty God.
#4. We see many instances where Jesus exhorted His people to watch, emphasizing NOT KNOWING the day or the hour. In Matthew 24:42-47, the Goodman of the house is to be WATCHING.
ABSOLUTELY yes, of course, we see that Jesus exhorted his followers to WATCH because they did NOT KNOW the time of his coming. So CLEARLY Jesus warns us to WATCH so that one day when we SEE the SIGNS of his COMING, then we WILL KNOW the day and the hour of his COMING. I see these things that Jesus said more so as WARNINGS for us, his CHURCH, to WATCH in order that WE WILL KNOW the DAY and HOUR of his return, rather than we can NEVER know the day and the hour of his return. I mean think about it for a moment, what other reason would there be for us to WATCH for his coming IF SO BE that it was to NOT EVER be possible to one day KNOW the TIME of his COMING. So you see dear children of God when we begin to SEE these SIGNS that Jesus WARNED us, the church, to WATCH for it is so that or in order that we may KNOW the time of his coming? Please read Revelation 3:3, which CLEARLY teaches us, the CHURCH, that IF we WATCH, then we WILL KNOW the HOUR in which Jesus COMES as a THIEF.
Revelation 3:3.
“Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. IF therefore you shall NOT WATCH, I WILL come UPON YOU as a THIEF, and you will NOT KNOW what HOUR I will COME upon you.”
Now, CLEARLY, the OPPOSITE of what Jesus said is EQUALLY as TRUE which is that IF we DO WATCH, then we WILL KNOW the HOUR that Jesus COMES as a THIEF! So then, if we watch NOT, we know NOT the day or hour of his return. BUT if we DO watch, then we WILL, WITHOUT FAIL, KNOW the day and the hour of our Lord's return. Even those who teach the PRE-trib rapture clearly and plainly teach that during the time of great tribulation believers WILL KNOW the day and the hour of the coming of Jesus. We do not know as yet, but in the fullness of time, we WILL perceive and KNOW the day and the hour of the one and the ONLY SINGLE ONE TIME SECOND coming of Jesus.
#5. In Mark 13:28-37, the parable of the fig tree (the rebirth of Israel) is given, showing a general time and season. Jesus again exhorted His people to be ready and WATCHING, because they do NOT know the day or the hour when He will come.
Again, yes, at the time that Jesus spoke these words it was absolutely true that NO man, no not the angels in heaven and no not even Jesus KNEW that day or the hour of his return. But again this is the very reason of WHY we are WARNED to WATCH and PRAY in order that one day WHEN we SEE these SIGNS of his coming being FULFILLED, THEN we WILL KNOW the day and hour of his return is AT HAND. So again this is not a valid argument that proves nor supports a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church, because it is only ASSUMED or INTERPRETED that the passage of Scripture in Matthew 24:42-47 of NOT knowing the day nor hour is to, without fail, means that NO MAN will NEVER EVER be able to KNOW the day or the hour, which is OBVIOUSLY not the case, because ONE DAY those who ARE WATCHING and praying WILL KNOW the HOUR, AMEN!
#6. In Luke 21:29-36, the parable of the fig tree is repeated, with a parallel warning, to be ready and WATCHING, because no one KNOWS the day or hour when Jesus will appear to Rapture His true Church.
Again, the same response to the same argument is that we WATCH in order TO KNOW that the TIME is drawing near or is at hand. If we do NOT watch we will NOT know the day or the hour of the coming of Jesus. And if you just go by what OTHERS, who are watching teach, then you will have to flip a coin because everyone teaches something different as to when is the best possible year of the return of Jesus. For ME, it is too early to tell. More SIGNS are needed to be fulfilled.
#7. In Matt 24:48-51, the evil servant did NOT watch. He said, “the Lord DELAYS His coming.” Thinking there’s plenty of time BEFORE the Lord appears, the evil servant began beating his fellow servants and fulfilling the LUSTS of his flesh, eating and drinking with the drunken. Jesus will come when that evil servant is NOT looking for him, NOT expecting His imminent arrival, in an hour when the servant is NOT AWARE--NOT WATCHING! The Lord will cut that servant asunder--in judgment. People who do NOT EXPECT the Lord’s IMMINENT coming GROW LAX in keeping guard over their lives, and are NOT ready--because they think there’s still plenty of time.
First of all, to me, no true born again believer who IS indeed WATCHING and PRAYING will grow lax or cold in his or her relationship with the Lord. But RATHER, Christians who ARE watching and praying will be even MORE fervent in our faith to stay close to the Lord and OBEY his commandments because we SEE the day and the hour of our Lord's return APPROACHING! So then, it is just as Jesus said those servants who do NOT WATCH for his coming will grow cold and fall back into sin and therefore will NOT be READY when he comes again. No true believer who is WATCHING and PRAYING would ever turn away from the Lord by saying there is plenty of time. ONLY those who are NOT WATCHING and PRAYING would ever think of going back into the deceivableness of sin. The TRUTH of the matter is that I myself am WATCHING and the signs that I am seeing are clearly showing me that the day of our Lord's return is close at hand and this KNOWING of the nearness of his COMING has compelled ME to be all the more diligent to get SIN totally and completely out of my life.
#8. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church is IMMINENT, and it’s an INCENTIVE for a holy living! 1John 3:2-3.
Yes, perhaps for some Christians, the NOT knowing of the exact day and hour maybe an incentive to live a holy life, if so be that every day at every moment that believer is TRULY EXPECTING Jesus to come at any second. But looking at Christians as a whole that do, indeed, believe and teach the PRE-tribulation rapture, I myself do NOT see believers living this holy life so evidently. So to ME, the not knowing the day is, obviously, not enough INCENTIVE for Christians to live holy. The TRUE INCENTIVE should be that you LOVE the Lord and that you BELIEVE the PROMISE of your reward of ETERNAL LIFE if you are found to be a good and faithful servant unto the end, and then WATCHING for the SIGNS of his coming. Now in truth, the KNOWING or NOT KNOWING the exact TIME or DAY of his return should not change how you are living. If it does, then I would question your love for God, more so than caring when the rapture will occur. The TRUTH of the matter is that the word of God teaches us, the CHURCH, that WHEN we SEE the DAY of our Lord's COMING APPROACHING or DRAWING NEAR, then we are SO MUCH THE MORE to exhort one another to do good works and get SIN out of our lives. We should be doing this anyway because unfortunately, some Christians will die before the coming of Jesus and if they are living in sin when they die, they will not receive eternal life in the world to come. Please read the study “IS ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED BIBLICAL?” And for a deeper understanding that without holiness no man shall see the kingdom of God please read the study “WITHOUT HOLINESS NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD!” But for now, HOW would we KNOW when the DAY of his coming is DRAWING NEAR if his coming again were truly an UNKNOWABLE day as pre-tribulation doctrine FALSELY teaches in my opinion? Clearly, the word of TRUTH teaches us that ONE DAY we WILL KNOW the HOUR of our Lord's return IF we are WATCHING and praying! Remember it is ONLY an ASSUMPTION that when Jesus said NO MAN KNOWS the day and the hour that Jesus INTENDED his words to mean, without fail, that no man would EVER know the day or the hour. That is what we call an INTERPRETATION of the word of God. Also, know that any INTERPRETATION of a verse of Scripture must AGREE with the rest of God's word. So if there is even one CONTRADICTION with what one concludes a verse to mean then that INTERPRETATION is NOT the CORRECT understanding of that verse of Scripture. You see dear children of God, even in this SAME passage of Scripture Jesus says, BUT KNOW THIS..., which to me teaches us that AT this TIME in history, when Jesus spoke these words, NO man including Jesus had PERCEIVED as YET the day of the hour. But Jesus was basically saying, BUT KNOW THIS... or BUT this much I have PERCEIVED so at least for now KNOW THIS...We will talk more about this later on in this study when we look at the meaning of the word “KNOW” in the original language.
#9. The EARLY CHURCH believed in the IMMINENCE of Jesus’ coming. EARLY WRITINGS have been discovered which SHOWS His coming was expected at ANY MOMENT. (A fact of history.) “The original ‘pre-millennial, pre-tribulation’ views can be traced throughout church history. The essentials of these views appear in the Epistle of Barnabas, (AD. 100) and other early writings: Irenaeus, in Against Heresies; Hippolytus, a disciple of Irenaeus (2nd century); and Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho. These views also show up in The Approaching Deliverance of the Church, by Peter Jurieu, 1687; Philip Doddridge’s Commentary on the New Testament, 1738; Dr. John Gill’s Commentary on the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.. 1748; James Macknight’s Commentary on the Apostolical Epistles, 1763; and Thomas Scott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible, 1792. The recent discovery of the writings of Ephraem the Syrian also confirms this view: Thomas D. Ice and Timothy J. Demy, Bibliothecra Sacra, July--September 1995.”
First of all, the early church writings show many FALSE teachings as well as many true teachings. So just to say that early church writings show that some Christians believed that the return of Jesus was at hand does NOT prove a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church, As I have already shown FROM the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible that the early church did not believe in an UNKNOWABLE day of our Lord's return. But RATHER, the early church and writers of the NEW Testament were WATCHING for the SIGNS that Jesus told them and us would take place BEFORE his coming. This is WHY that when the early church found themselves in great persecution that they THOUGHT that the DAY of the Lord coming as a THIEF in the night was NEAR AT HAND because Jesus told them and us that BEFORE these other SIGNS take place that there would be great persecution upon the CHURCH! But then we see Paul ASSURING them that the day of our gathering together to be with Jesus was NOT at hand as they THOUGHT because TWO things MUST happen FIRST. Please read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, which clearly and plainly teaches us that no less than TWO SIGNS must happen BEFORE the coming of Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, AND by our gathering together unto him, (Clearly showing us that the rapture of the church, which is our GATHERING TOGETHER unto Jesus is ONE and the SELF SAME EVENT as the COMING of our Lord) 2. That you are NOT SOON shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is AT HAND. (In other words, calm down dear saints of God you are TOO SOON in thinking that the day of our Lord is AT HAND.) 3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall NOT come, EXCEPT there come a falling away first, AND that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
In other words, no less than TWO things MUST, without fail, happen BEFORE the rapture of the church and our GATHERING TOGETHER to be with Jesus. And those two things are a great falling away which, to ME, speaks more than Christians falling away from the faith, but more so that the entire world seems to be turning away from God refusing to retain God in their knowledge. To ME this falling away will include people saying that there is NO God. And this is happening more and more. And the second sign is the ANTICHRIST himself. Please see the study “COULD ISLAM BE THE MARK OF THE BEAST?” Also, we all know that throughout church history and even in the writing of the New Testament we clearly see divisions and differences in what different believers BELIEVED. For example, some believed that the resurrection had passed, but those who taught the TRUTH held fast to the TRUTH of God's word that the resurrection is yet FUTURE. And we also know that BOTH sides could not be correct. So just because there has been found written factual historical evidence that different ones BELIEVED and wrote about, as what can be INTERPRETED as a teaching for a pre-tribulation rapture, does NOT mean that this evidence found in early church writings is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God because CLEARLY there are ACTUAL PHYSICAL writings and teachings of FALSE doctrines found in early church writings. So to ME, in light of the WHOLE word of God this so-called EVIDENCE is nothing more than the FALSE teaching of that day in history, nothing more and nothing less, because it does NOT AGREE with the WHOLE word of God.
In TRUTH, the only thing that TRULY matters is SOUND BIBLICAL doctrine in what the WHOLE word of Almighty God itself teaches as being the TRUTH. Therefore/ let Scripture alone interpret Scripture.
I could bring HISTORY into this argument as well and show how many fought AGAINST this NEW doctrine and how it took more than 100 years before it became popular teaching among SOME Christians. But again, just because a teaching is POPULAR does NOT make it be the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. Therefore HISTORICAL arguments do NOT make SOUND BIBLICAL teaching in my opinion.
#10. Following the early Church councils (where sound Christian doctrine was upheld), came a time of decline. Many doctrines that mainline denominations support are based on heresies proposed by Augustine--no millennium, the “spiritualization” and “allegorical” methods of interpretation. IMMINENCE was lost. And a Church which was NOT EXPECTING the Lord’s SOON RETURN became lax in sharing the Gospel and drifted into many areas of error. Another fact of history.
Yes, I personally agree that indeed heresies were introduced into the church by Augustine as well as others, such as the no millennium teaching mentioned above as well as other false teachings, which I cover in other studies that I have written. However, I seriously doubt that the lack of believing in the FALSE ASSUMPTION that the coming of our Lord is forever an UNKNOWABLE day, just because the day and hour were NOT KNOWN at the time that Jesus spoke those words is the reason for these early church fathers to drift into many areas of ERROR. I do agree that ONE WRONG ASSUMPTION can lead to many OTHER WRONG ASSUMPTIONS that will ultimately lead to FALSE teaching and a DISTORTION of the TRUTH of God's word. And THIS is WHY I am writing this study in God's word so that we all can come into a UNITY of faith and that we ALL speak the SAME TRUTH that does not confuse the PLAIN, CLEAR, and SIMPLE truth of the WHOLE word of God. The TRUTH does NOT need to try and explain away the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 24, where Jesus himself clearly and plainly teaches us, that his coming AND our gathering together unto him take place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation. So then, to summarize what we have learned thus far, we have covered the first 10 so-called DIFFERENT reasons used to support the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, but in reality, we have ONLY covered just ONE point, which is the false ASSUMPTION of an IMMINENT return of our Lord, based solely on the incorrect INTERPRETATION of the words of Jesus saying that no man KNOWS the day or the hour of the coming of Jesus as being as UNKNOWABLE day and hour of our Lord's COMING that can never be known. And this ASSUMPTION that dividing the SECOND coming into TWO distinct and SEPARATE comings is the ONLY way to HARMONIZE the Scriptures so that there is NO contradiction between the KNOWN days and the seemingly UNKNOWN day of the coming of Jesus as a THIEF in the night is in truth NOT the ONLY WAY to harmonize the Scriptures as you have just seen. The TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus taught us, the CHURCH, that at that particular time when Jesus spoke, those words that NO man KNOWS the DAY nor the HOUR, not even the Son of man, but the Father ONLY, he was in truth saying to us that NO man, not the ANGELS in heaven, nor even he himself has PERCEIVED as YET the TIME of his coming. The word “KNOWS” is in the PRESENT tense because AT the TIME Jesus SPOKE these words no man had not yet PERCEIVED the day or the hour of the coming of Jesus. But in the verses to follow Jesus said, BUT KNOW THIS, or in other words, BUT THIS MUCH I HAVE PERCEIVED. So for now, at least KNOW THIS MUCH that I have PERCEIVED at this time. Please read Matthew 24:36-44 which teaches us that while we do NOT KNOW that day or hour NOW, but IF we are faithful to WATCH and PRAY, then one day we WILL KNOW the time of our Lord's return.
Matthew 24:36-44.
“But of that day and hour knows NO man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father ONLY. (Now please pay close attention to what Jesus says immediately following these words that NO man knows the day or the hour) 37. BUT as the days of Noah were, so shall ALSO the coming of the Son of man be. (In other words, Jesus is giving us a SIGN to WATCH for so that we will one day KNOW that his coming is near at hand) 38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42. WATCH, therefore (WHY? Why WATCH?): FOR (Or BECAUSE) you know NOT (Or you know not as yet or you have not perceived as yet, because these SIGNS have not occurred as yet so THEREFORE WATCH so that you WILL KNOW) what hour your Lord does come. 43. BUT know this,(Or but for NOW at least know this much that I have perceived) that if the goodman of the house had KNOWN in what watch the thief would come, he would have WATCHED, and would NOT have suffered his house to be broken up. 44. Therefore, be you also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man comes.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, that Jesus was NOT teaching us that NO man could NEVER KNOW that day and hour of his coming? BUT RATHER Jesus was teaching us that at that particular TIME, that he spoke these words, that NO man knew the time of his coming and that not even he himself had PERCEIVED, as yet, the time of his own coming. But that which Jesus HAD PERCEIVED at that time, he wants us to KNOW so that WHEN we began to SEE these SIGNS that he WARNED us about, then we WOULD KNOW that his coming was nigh at hand. Now for ME, I also see a CLUE as to the WHEN our Lord will return in verse 44 which says, therefore be you ready, for IN such an hour or TIME when you THINK NOT that the Son of man will come it is in that very hour that the Son of man WILL COME. In other words when Christians start saying WHERE is the coming of the Lord, where is the PROMISE of his coming, wondering and being deceived that the promise is a lie and that Jesus is NOT coming as he said. When Christians begin to THINK that Jesus is NOT coming that is the hour of his coming again. Jesus said something about the DAY in which Almighty God will AVENGE his people that made me stop and THINK. Jesus made the statement that WHEN he COMES again he said, “WILL I FIND FAITH on the Earth when I COME?” Please read Luke 18:1-8, which says that we ought to pray and NOT faint.
Luke 18:1-8.
“And he spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to PRAY, and NOT to FAINT; 2. Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5. Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6. And the Lord said, HEAR what the unjust judge says. 7. And shall not God AVENGE his own elect, which cries day and night unto him, though He bears long with them? 8. I tell you that he will AVENGE them speedily. Nevertheless WHEN the Son of man COMES, shall he find FAITH on the earth?”
So then, for ME, I see that WHEN Jesus returns it will be in a time that some will begin to THINK NOT that he will ever return. The Bible teaches us that there will be SOME in the last days who will scoff and mock those of us who are holding fast to our belief that Jesus will still yet come and these scoffers will say to the true believers in the church, who are holding fast to his PROMISE, things like, where is the promise of his coming? You said that we would be OUT of here by now perhaps Jesus is NOT coming at all? Perhaps there is no God. After all, perhaps nothing you or the mainstream church taught us is true? You were WRONG about Jesus coming so that we would ESCAPE the time of great tribulation. So how do we know if Jesus will come again at all? Can you not see how FALSE teaching can lead people away from God, even though this FALSE teaching is SINCERELY BELIEVED by those that teach what they have merely heard and then simply repeat what they themselves have been taught, without going to the word of God for THEMSELVES in order to see if what they are being taught is the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. With that being said let us continue this study in God's word by looking at the next group of reasons or line of reasoning for the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, reasons 11-16 of which I agree with each one of them.
SECTION FOUR
This section is for the Christians who do NOT believe that they will be a RAPTURE of the church at ANY time, pre, mid or post-tribulation rapture because the WORD “rapture” is NOT found anywhere in the Bible itself. The following arguments #11 through #16 are just to prove that there will, INDEED BE, a rapture.
POINT number 2 THE RAPTURE IS IN THE BIBLE
Again, this section is BASIC UNDERSTANDING of there being a rapture but I MUST include it because it is a part of the 250 reasons FOR a PRE-tribulation rapture which I am showing the errors of their interpretation. Again, some Christians DENY the Rapture of the church because the WORD “rapture” is not found in our English translations of the Bible. Here are the PRE-tribulation arguments.
#11. The argument that the Rapture isn’t found in the Bible is false.
I agree. Even though the actual WORD “RAPTURE” is NOT found in any English translation of the Bible this fact does NOT mean that this EVENT which has come to be called the RAPTURE of the church is not found in the Bible. For you see, this EVENT called the rapture of the church teaches that the FAITHFUL BELIEVERS are CHANGED in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye and then CAUGHT UP to meet our Lord in the air. And this EVENT of our CHANGE from mortal to immortality and our being CAUGHT UP into the AIR to meet Jesus is, INDEED, found in the Bible. So then, this fact that the word rapture is NOT found in the Bible does NOT prove that such an event is NOT taught in the Bible. Now, this simple truth of this event that is now called the rapture of the church being taught in the Scriptures does NOT prove a PRE-tribulation rapture. But rather, this truth only supports that the Bible does, indeed, teach an EVENT of being caught up to meet Jesus in the air that has come to be called the rapture of the church.
#12. Rapture is from the Latin “rapere” or “rapturo” which is INDEED found in the Latin Vulgate Version of the Bible. It’s from this Latin root that we get our English word “raptor.” A raptor (eagle, osprey, hawk, owl) swoops down from above to suddenly “snatch up” its dinner with force. In the rapture, Jesus will descend into the air and suddenly “snatch up” His Church to Himself with THE FORCE of His words, “Come up here” (which is seen in Revelation 4:1).
I have heard this before but I have not personally checked it all out to see if it is factual. However, I do agree that the true sense of the intended meaning of the word RAPTURE is being CAUGHT UP by FORCE. Now, if you really THINK about it, AT the time of the SECOND coming of Jesus there will be some saints in PRISON awaiting their execution or beheading for their faith in Jesus as the Son of God who died on the cross for their sins. So, in essence, they will need to be FORCEFULLY removed from the hands of their captures that seek to kill them. Also, keep in mind that Satan most likely will not want to give up any of mankind without a FIGHT. This again shows the need for a FORCEFUL removal of the saints. And as well, there will be a war against God's people. So some Christians will be in hiding. So a quick snatching away to the PROTECTION of the angels of God sent to gather us together to meet the Lord in the air can be seen with a POST-tribulation rapture of the church. But with a so-called SECRET rapture, I do not see the FIGHT of the ENEMY against the army of God like we do at the SECOND coming of Jesus. So to me, there is no need for FORCE to be used in a SECRET rapture. However, I do see that even MORE force might be needed at the SECOND coming other than just forceful WORDS, not that the words of Jesus will not be forceful, but rather there will be a WAR between Michael and his angels against Satan and his angels over the people of God. Jesus is coming to FIGHT for his people. In other words, with a PRE-tribulation rapture, there will be no ARMY of angels to fight for the saints to be delivered. Either way, this argument that the Bible does, indeed, teach the EVENT that has come to be called the rapture of the church does not prove a PRE-tribulation rapture because there will be a call by Jesus to come up in a POST tribulation rapture as well.
#13. The Greek word for the Rapture is “harpazo” which is translated as “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The literal definition of “harpazo” is to catch up and away, to pluck up, to take by force.
Absolutely agree. Look it up for yourself, but again this does not prove a PRE-tribulation rapture.
#14. While “the word” Rapture is not found in our English translations of the Bible, it is INDEED there as “caught up” and in THE ACTION displayed IN that event!
Again, I agree. As I said before the EVENT of being CAUGHT UP is definitely taught in the Bible. But the event of a rapture does not prove WHEN the rapture will occur.
#15. The famous Rapture scriptures are these: the promise of it in John 14:1-3, the Old Testament description of it in Isaiah 26:19-20, Paul’s teachings upon it in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, and in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8.
I agree with everything but John 14:1-3 as being a description of the rapture of the church. I will explain a little later on in this study WHY this particular verse was ADDED in order to try and prove a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church. In TRUTH, John 14:1-3 has nothing to do with the rapture and SUPPOSEDLY being taken up into heaven for 7 years in order to ESCAPE the time of great tribulation. For the true sound Biblical meaning of John 14:1-3 please read the study “THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER!”
#16. The ACTIONS shown in Revelation 4:1 is a TYPE of the Rapture, present in the DISPLAYED ACTION, and IN the SEQUENCE of events--(occurring AFTER the testimony of the SEVEN CHURCHES in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22). “After” is DECLARED TWICE in Revelation 4:1 --“After these things” and “hereafter.” AFTER what things? AFTER the ministry of the SEVEN CHURCHES. When the “plain sense” makes “perfect sense” seek “no other sense.”
I agree with the very first part of this statement which says, “The ACTIONS shown in Revelation 4:1 is a TYPE of the Rapture.” But I want YOU, the reader of this study and the seeker of the TRUTH, to KNOW ALSO that there are six MORE such TYPES or FIGURES of the RAPTURE of the church found in the book of Revelation. I will show you later in this study, teaching the POST tribulation rapture of the church, where you can find seven types or seven figures in the book of Revelation. I will also explain the TRUE meaning of Revelation 4:1, which will actually, in fact, prove a POST tribulation rapture when the CORRECT BIBLICAL meaning of the two Greeks words that are translated as “hereafter” is made clear to those who are truly seeking only the TRUTH. But for now, I want to stay focused on WHY the pre-tribulation point of view DEMANDS that the ONLY WAY to HARMONIZE the APPARENT contradiction is to DIVIDED the SECOND coming into TWO separate and distinct comings of Jesus is simply NOT the ONLY way to harmonize this apparent contradiction. With that being said let us continue examining the 250 reasons for a pre-tribulation rapture of the church by looking at reasons 17-28, which the PRE-trib view DEMANDS that there must be TWO DIFFERENT and completely separate comings of Jesus.
SECTION FIVE
TWO COMINGS OF JESUS? THE SECOND COMING IN STAGES.
Again, this is BASIC information about there actually being a rapture of the church. But since some Christians DO object to there being a SINGLE POST-tribulation rapture of the church based on the false premise that there are two comings of Jesus before the 1000 year reign of Jesus, then I will go over these PRE-tribulation arguments FOR the comings of Jesus to be DIVIDED into TWO separate comings that are separated by seven years. Here are the PRE-trib arguments #17 through #28.
#17. Israel, and the Jewish Pharisees, at the time of Jesus, did NOT recognize their promised Messiah when Jesus presented Himself to them. Why? They didn’t differentiate between their own prophecies which show the TWO COMINGS OF JESUS.
I agree with this statement that many of the Jews did NOT, in fact, recognize Jesus as their Messiah, because they did not discern the two-fold coming of Jesus as prophesied in Scripture. In other words, those that did NOT accept Jesus as their Messiah, was due to the fact that, they believed what they wanted to believe. However, this does NOT prove that the one and ONLY SECOND coming must, without fail, be DIVIDED into TWO separate and DISTINCT comings and therefore create or ADD a THIRD coming of Jesus. The word “SECOND” means the very NEXT one the takes place. So the RAPTURE of the church is the VERY NEXT coming of Jesus or more specifically the SECOND coming of Jesus. There is absolutely no mention of a THIRD coming of Jesus in the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible. If anything, this argument actually proves just the OPPOSITE seeing that we see ONLY TWO comings of Jesus in the Old Testament. The FIRST coming being when Jesus came to suffer and die for our sins and his SECOND and FINAL coming will be when Jesus comes to RULE AND REIGN as the King of kings for 1000 years. I mean THINK about this for a while and let it sink in. Those who teach this FALSE doctrine of a PRE-tribulation are USING sound Biblical evidence that PROVES that there are ONLY TWO COMINGS of Jesus by their OWN admission. And yet, they want to use these same passages of Scripture to try and prove that Jesus actually has THREE comings. They say that one coming has already been fulfilled and TWO more comings of Jesus are yet to be fulfilled. I mean THINK about this for a while and really see how illogical this kind of REASONING truly is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God.
#18. In Jesus’ FIRST COMING, He arrived on earth as the SUFFERING Messiah. Isaiah 53:2-10, Psalms 22:6-8 and Psalms 11:1-18.
Yes, to this truth. There is no denying that Jesus did, in fact, come the FIRST time to SUFFER for the redeeming of mankind back to God. But this so-called numbered reason does not prove a PRE-tribulation rapture. So in truth, there are NOT 250 different reasons for a PRE- trib rapture of the church. For you see, this sister in the Lord uses several reasons that she numbers individually, when in reality, she only has ONE argument of the one single, one time second coming being divided into TWO comings. So then, reasons #17-#28 are actually ONE argument repeated over and over again and again.
#19. In Jesus’ SECOND COMING, He’ll arrive on earth as a CONQUERING and REIGNING King. Psalms 2:6-12. Zechariah 12:9 and Zechariah 9:16.
Again, I absolutely agree that in the SECOND coming of Jesus that he will be coming as a CONQUERING King at which time he will conquer the enemies of his people and ALSO RESCUE or SAVE his people from total destruction. The word of TRUTH absolutely teaches just TWO comings of Jesus, but the FALSE teaching of the PRE-tribulation doctrine tries to stick a THIRD coming right in between these TWO comings that the BIBLE CLEARLY teaches as being TWO and NOT three, as this man-made doctrine is trying to ADD right in the middle a second coming that will cause the true second coming to become a THIRD coming of Jesus. And again this reason #19 is not really a reason by itself and does not prove a PRE-tribulation rapture.
#20. Jews, who studied the scripture (as if they had a microscope) missed this. When Jesus did not FIT THEIR IDEA of a KING, they rejected Him. How could that be? How could they have missed it? TWO REASONS: (a.) They had PRECONCEIVED IDEAS of what to expect. (b.) They “studied” scripture with NATURAL UNDERSTANDING (the corrupt mind of the flesh--which is AT ENMITY--and hostile to God. Romans 8:7-8 and 2 Corinthians 2:9-14). The religious leaders continually tried to TRAP Jesus, and He rebuked them often, which further infuriated them. (Matthew 12:1-50 is the classic example of their blindness.) The “religious” people could NOT see Who Jesus really was. When Jesus said “I AM” (the Hebrew equivalent of God’s name-- Luke 22:70), and said that they would see Him sitting at the right hand of God, the Father (Matthew 26:64), they tore their clothes and accused Him of blasphemy! This led to His crucifixion, exactly as the scriptures prophesied. The “religious leaders” in Israel were “instrumental” in (helping) to fulfill their own prophecies.
Yes, most definitely, I agree that PRECONCEIVED ideas keep us from coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH. We must be LED by the Holy Spirit and let HIM be our teacher. And I agree that very often those who are as the writer here says, “religious” people are usually the ones who become INFURIATED when others do not AGREE with what they are teaching. I had this happen to me once on another topic when I was asked to share what I believed, and when what I believed did NOT agree with what this other person believed I could see this person becoming INFURIATED simply because I did NOT agree with him. To me, I do not believe this is a RIGHT spirit to have and to ME it shows the one who is actually in ERROR. I would add that the Jews were not just instrumental in the crucifixion but they were directly and solely responsible for the legal condemning of Jesus. But just because the Jews did not see in the Scriptures that there were TWO comings of Jesus does NOT give anyone the right to ADD a THIRD coming of Jesus, when the SCRIPTURES CLEARLY teach that Jesus was to come TWO times. Even those who teach this FALSE doctrine of the PRE-tribulation rapture PLAINLY state that the OLD Testament prophesies of TWO comings of Jesus and yet they BLINDLY do not SEE that they are ADDING a THIRD coming of Jesus by DIVIDING the ONE and ONLY SECOND coming into TWO separate and DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT comings taking place at DIFFERENT TIMES separated by SEVEN years and thus ADDING a THIRD coming of Jesus. None the less, the so-called numbered reason #20 does NOT prove a PRE-tribulation rapture simply because alone it is no reason standing alone.
#21. Today, people also study the scriptures with their NATURAL UNDERSTANDING (without the Light of the Holy Spirit). They have PRECONCEIVED IDEAS of HOW the prophecies will be fulfilled. Many do NOT see the Second Coming of Jesus as happening in stages.
Again, I most heartily agree that PRECONCEIVED ideas get in the way of understanding the TRUTH and that we all need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all TRUTH. This is WHY I find it hard to understand WHY there are some who SAY that they are being led by the Holy Spirit when teaching a PRE-tribulation rapture, but yet they cannot SEE the SIMPLE TRUTH that the Bible CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches ONLY ONE SECOND coming of Jesus. The Old Testament taught of just TWO comings where our Lord's FIRST coming was to SUFFER and BOTH the Old and New Testaments teaches of ONLY ONE SECOND coming of Jesus, where he is RETURNING to conquer his enemy and REIGN for 1000 years just like the OLD Testament teaches and the New Testament repeats and clarifies by saying that Jesus will appear or come a SECOND time and not a second and a THIRD time. Nowhere does the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE word of God teach that the SECOND coming is to be DIVIDED into TWO separate and DISTINCT comings, which to ME would, therefore, be saying that the Bible teaches THREE comings of Jesus, or more specifically ONE coming and TWO returns. The TRUTH of the matter is that the WHOLE word of God teaches that there is ONLY ONE SECOND coming of Jesus and it is NOT going to be DIVIDED into TWO SEPARATE comings in order for it to be the so-called ONLY WAY to HARMONIZE some APPARENT contradictions in the word of God. No my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, ALL these APPARENT contradictions can EASILY be explained in other ways, WITHOUT DEMANDING that ONE and ONLY SECOND coming must be DIVIDED into a second and a THIRD coming. We will cover these OTHER easily explained explanations of how to reconcile these APPARENT contradictions in God's word, without ADDING to the word of TRUTH by ADDING a THIRD coming of Jesus. Again point #21 does NOT prove a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church, because alone it is not a rational argument. So, therefore, it should not be counted as a reason by itself.
#22. Stage ONE is The Rapture of the Church when Jesus descends into the air to call His Church up to Himself. Stage TWO is the Second Coming when the feet of Jesus actually touch the earth.
Yes, this is what the FALSE teaching of the pre-tribulation point of view teaches. But again, this simple statement does NOT make it a TRUE statement. There is absolutely NO SOUND BIBLICAL support for ADDING a THIRD coming by DIVIDING the one and the only SECOND coming of Jesus into TWO stages, which in truth is saying TWO SEPARATE and completely different comings for two different purposes. So again, reason #22 does NOT prove a PRE-tribulation rapture.
#23. 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 CLARIFIES the STAGES, by showing us STAGES of the First Resurrection.
No, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, this passage of Scripture found in 1 Corinthians 15:22-25, when LEFT in the CONTEXT of where it is found, teaches us a TIMELINE of EVENTS. This passage of Scripture does NOT teach us different STAGES of the FIRST resurrection. I will go in-depth later on in this study to absolutely prove without a doubt that this passage of Scripture in NO WAY proves different stages of the ONE and the ONLY FIRST resurrection. Remember what I said at the beginning that just ONE wrong or incorrect ASSUMPTION or INTERPRETATION will lead to having to CHANGE the meaning of many more CLEAR, PLAIN and SIMPLE words such as this word “FIRST” which clearly means that there will be no other resurrection that precedes or comes before this resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. Please read the study “THE TIME OF GREAT TRIBULATION!” for an in-depth study showing that there will be TWO and ONLY TWO resurrections of the dead and the second and final resurrection does not take place until the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. This study also proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that the ONLY SOUND BIBLICAL conclusion for the time of the rapture of the church is just where Jesus himself said it would be and that is IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation and right before the WRATH of Almighty God that Jesus will pour out immediately after the rapture of his church to safety. Also, please KNOW and realize that when this fact is clearly shown to you that the FIRST resurrection is NOT DIVIDED into different stages, then it ALSO proves without a doubt that the SECOND coming cannot be DIVIDED as well. Again we will take a look at this in-depth a little later in this study in God's word.
#24. (a.) Christ is the FIRSTFRUITS of those who RISE from the dead. This happened on the Feast of Firstfruits, three days AFTER Jesus died.
This is true. But again, this is NOT an argument or reason for a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church and alone it does not prove anything other than what it states, which is that Jesus is the first begotten from the dead and that Jesus has risen from the dead on the feast of first fruits.
#25. (b.) “Afterward, they that are Christ’s at His Coming.” This is the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.
This statement or the portion of this verse that is CLAIMED to mean that it is speaking of a PRE-tribulation rapture is just an ASSUMPTION or an INTERPRETATION that is made in order to try to explain that the FIRST resurrection is ALSO divided into not just TWO parts but THREE parts or STAGES, because THREE different STAGES of a FIRST resurrection are needed in order for the FALSE doctrine of the pre-tribulation point of view to be accepted. You see, in order to even use 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 one needs to INCLUDE the resurrection of Jesus as PART of the FIRST resurrection when in TRUTH it is NOT part of the FIRST resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. Then the so-called SECOND STAGE of the first resurrection will supposedly take place before the time of great tribulation and then the so-called THIRD stage of the FIRST resurrection takes place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation according to those who teach the PRE-tribulation rapture of the church. I can personally attest to the fact that this was NOT taught in the earlier days of the PRE-tribulation doctrine because no one brought up the fact that there MUST, without fail, be a RESURRECTION at the time of the rapture in the early days of the PRE-tribulation teaching back then. At least not one pre-tribulation book that I have ever read even hinted at there being a FIRST resurrection let alone DIVIDE the first resurrection into three different stages. It was only when Christians in these last days who just started to see the TRUTH that the PRE-tribulation rapture is a false doctrine. For you see, they saw that in the BIBLE there will be TWO and ONLY two resurrections. The FIRST resurrection being at the time of the RAPTURE and the second and only other resurrection to take place would be at the END of the 1000 year reign. It was only after Christians began to SEE this TRUTH that the PRE-trib needed to come up with a passage of Scripture that would somehow justify the SPLITTING of the FIRST resurrection into stages as well. Otherwise, those who teach the PRE-tribulation rapture would be PROVEN wrong about dividing the SECOND coming into TWO separate and DISTINCT comings. I will go into this more in-depth later on in this study. These comments are just meant to be brief rebuttals for now.
#26. (c.) THEN COMES THE END--in which the Kingdom of God will be established at the start of the Millennium. “For He (Jesus) MUST REIGN--till He has put ALL ENEMIES under His feet”--(during the Millennium). According to the structure of 1 Corinthians 15:22-25, AFTER “the tribulation” is DONE, a THIRD STAGE of the First Resurrection will occur so that some saints can enter the Millennium in their glorified flesh. These are the tribulation saints--Revelation 20:4. And the Old Testament saints--Job 19:25-26.
Again, when this passage of Scripture is KEPT in the CONTEXT of where it is found anyone can CLEARLY see that this passage of Scripture does NOT teach that the FIRST resurrection is DIVIDED into THREE DIFFERENT STAGES or parts. Again, I will explain this in detail in a moment, but for now, just know that those who teach a pre-tribulation rapture have INCORRECTLY interpreted the END in this verse to mean the BEGINNING or the START of the Millennium when in TRUTH the END is referring to the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Please be patient and all of what I am saying will be made crystal clear.
#27. The SEQUENCE of 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 clearly SHOW a Pre-Trib Rapture of the Church! When the “plain sense” makes “perfect sense” seek “no other sense.”
The sequence of 1 Corinthians shows nothing more than a simplified TIMELINE of DIFFERENT EVENTS, which I will explain thoroughly in a moment right after reason number 28, and then the reader will truly see that PLAIN SENSE really does make PERFECT SENSE.
#28. DETAILS of The Rapture and the Second Coming are VERY DIFFERENT and CANNOT be the same event! We must RIGHTLY DIVIDE the Word of God! 2 Timothy 2:15.
Yes, I whole heartily agree, that we must RIGHTLY DIVIDE the word of TRUTH and NOT DIVIDE the ONE AND ONLY SECOND coming of Jesus! And therefore ADD a THIRD coming in the process when the OLD Testament clearly teaches ONLY TWO comings of Jesus. And then be forced to DIVIDE the ONE AND ONLY FIRST resurrection into THREE different resurrections and then TRY and prove this dividing of the FIRST resurrection by INCORRECTLY or by NOT RIGHTLY dividing the word of truth in order to MAKE the passage of Scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 mean what they need it to mean. I also agree that while different things take place at the second coming of Jesus I do NOT agree that this truth DEMANDS the second coming to be DIVIDED into TWO separate comings of Jesus. It is NOT at all hard or difficult to understand that Jesus can rapture his church to safety first and then CONTINUE on down to the earth to execute the WRATH of Almighty God in just the ONE and ONLY SECOND coming of Jesus. There is absolutely NO need for TWO SEPARATE comings of Jesus. As I said earlier, in order for the pre-tribulation doctrine to make any sense of some SEEMINGLY contradicting verses in the Bible it was therefore ASSUMED that the ONLY WAY to reconcile or harmonize these seemingly contradictory verses of Scripture was to DIVIDE the ONE and ONLY SECOND coming into TWO different COMINGS of Jesus. Then by doing this, the pre-trib teaching created another problem which is what to do with the ONE and ONLY ONE FIRST resurrection of the DEAD IN CHRIST? Those who teach the PRE-tribulation had to come up with a passage of Scripture that would justify the DIVIDING of the FIRST resurrection into DIFFERENT STAGES or PHASES so that there reasoning would be justified in Scripture? But they needed a verse or passage of Scripture to support their DIVIDING of the FIRST resurrection into TWO stages. Well, the ONLY verse of Scripture they could find that even came close ended up being needed to be divided into not just TWO stages, but THREE different STAGES in order to INCLUDE Jesus in taking part of the FIRST resurrection, which is totally NOT even close to what the word of truth teaches us. Anyway, they came up with 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 to TRY and support their REASONING for DIVIDING what to ME is OBVIOUSLY a SINGLE EVENT that the Bible calls the FIRST resurrection. Now, the FLESH of those who have been taught this false doctrine of the PRE-tribulation rapture does not really need any SOUND Biblical explanation because the FLESH wants to BELIEVE any doctrine that sounds PLEASING to the ears. Therefore many Christians just BLINDLY accept this makeshift explanation to try and explain a three-stage FIRST resurrection, just because the FLESH does NOT want to endure SOUND BIBLICAL teaching. So then, what many Christians, who believe and teach the pre-tribulation doctrine DO NOT know is that 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 is NOT KEPT in the CONTEXT of where it is found. So then, let us see what is TRULY meant by this passage of Scripture by KEEPING it in the CONTEXT of where it is found by reading 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 which teaches us that the LAST ENEMY that shall be destroyed is DEATH and THEN shall be the END.
1 Corinthians 15:12-28.
“Now if Christ is preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But IF there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ NOT risen: (This is talking about TWO DIFFERENT resurrections. The resurrection of Jesus that has already taken place BEFORE Jesus revealed to John of TWO MORE FUTURE resurrections of the dead. The FIRST future resurrection that John saw he called the FIRST resurrection. And in the FIRST resurrection John saw ONLY the dead IN Jesus Christ being resurrected to rule and reign WITH Jesus for 1000 years and the REST of the dead will be resurrected at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus) 14. And IF Christ has not risen, then is our preaching VAIN, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yea and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up IF so be that the dead rise not. 16. For IF the dead rise not, then is NOT Christ raised: 17. And IF Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ will perish. (Or the DEAD IN CHRIST ALSO perish IF there is NO resurrection of the dead. Also, again, showing that the FIRST resurrection is speaking ONLY of the dead who are IN Jesus Christ.) 19. IF in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (Please notice that the SUBJECT under discussion is whether or not there IS a resurrection of the DEAD and NOT that the FIRST resurrection is done in STAGES. Up to now, the emphasis has been placed on the question of IF there be NO resurrection, but in the verses to follow the IF changes to leave no doubt that Christ IS risen from the DEAD) 20. But now IS Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. (Or Jesus has become the first one to rise from the dead never to die again becoming the first fruits of ONLY the dead who die IN Jesus Christ to become the second fruits or to become JOINT HEIRS with Jesus) 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22. For as in Adam all die, even so IN Christ shall all be made alive. 23. BUT every man in his own ORDER: Christ the firstfruits; AFTERWARD they that are Christ's AT his COMING. (Speaking of the FIRST resurrection where the DEAD IN CHRIST ONLY are resurrected and given ETERNAL LIFE AT the SECOND COMING of Jesus) 24. THEN comes the END, WHEN he (Speaking of Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, (Now, simply ask yourself WHEN, speaking of the END, WHEN will Jesus DELIVER UP the KINGDOM BACK into his Father's hand? Will the END be AT the second coming of Jesus which is WHEN the so-called second half of the coming of Jesus will take place where the so-called second rapture of the ELECT in Matthew 24 is supposed to take place according to the PRE-tribulation theory. OR is the END at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus like the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us?) even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25. For he (Speaking of Jesus) must reign, TILL He (Almighty God) has put ALL enemies under his feet. 26. The LAST enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH. (So now arises the question of WHEN is this LAST enemy DESTROYED and put under his feet.) 27. For, He has put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”
In verse 24 we learn that the END does NOT COME, UNTIL Jesus DELIVERS the KINGDOM of Almighty God BACK into his Father's hand, which is at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus, AFTER the LAST enemy death is destroyed, which we are told is destroyed in the lake of fire AFTER the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. So please notice again the word WHEN, that I emphasize, teaches us WHEN the END shall COME. In other words, the END is NOT the END of the time of great tribulation, as those who teach the FALSE doctrine of the PRE-tribulation have INCORRECTLY INTERPRETED the word of truth to mean and would have you to believe. But RATHER the END hear is speaking of WHEN Jesus will DELIVER the KINGDOM back into his Father's hand, which is clearly at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Now, the ONLY way to have this passage of Scripture even remotely support a dividing of the first resurrection into THREE different resurrections that take place at three different times would be for the END to be speaking of the BEGINNING or the START of the 1000 year reign of Jesus to allow for the dead IN Jesus Christ, who died DURING the time of great tribulation, to be raised from the dead so that they can live and reign WITH Jesus DURING the 1000 year reign of Jesus. But in TRUTH, the phrase, “THEN comes the END” is most definitely speaking of the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. And according to the PRE-tribulation INTERPRETATION that would consequently mean that those dear brothers and sisters who died DURING the time of great tribulation would NOT be resurrected until the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. And therefore their ERROR in INTERPRETATION creates yet ANOTHER CONTRADICTION is God's word. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, the ONLY way for those who die DURING the time of great tribulation to be raised at the FIRST resurrection is for the FIRST resurrection of the DEAD IN Jesus Christ to take place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation. Again, please read the study “THE TIME OF GREAT TRIBULATION!” where I explain all of this in great detail, but for now, you can read Revelation 20:4-6 on your own if you cannot wait. But those who can wait on reading the above study let us continue with this study by reviewing 1 Corinthians 15:24 which is argued by the PRE-tribulation view as being the SECOND COMING of Jesus or the second HALF or the coming of Jesus right BEFORE the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:24.
“THEN comes the END, WHEN he (Speaking of Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, (Now, simply ask yourself WHEN, speaking of the END, WHEN will Jesus DELIVER UP the KINGDOM BACK into his Father's hand? Will the END be AT the second coming of Jesus which is WHEN the so-called second half of the coming of Jesus will take place where the so-called second rapture of the ELECT in Matthew 24 is supposed to take place according to the PRE-tribulation theory. OR is the END at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus like the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us?) even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
Then in the very next verse, verse 25 we learn that the END will NOT come UNTIL ALL the enemies of God are DESTROYED and put under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:25.
“For (Or because) he (Speaking of Jesus) must reign, TILL He (Almighty God) has put ALL enemies under his feet.”
Then in the next verse, we are immediately told that the LAST enemy to be DESTROYED and therefore placed under his feet is DEATH. So then, it is ONLY AFTER this LAST enemy DEATH is DESTROYED that the END will COME. Please read verse 26 again.
26. “The LAST enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH.”
So now arises the question of WHEN is this LAST enemy DESTROYED and put under his feet?
As you have seen, I have already asked the question of WHEN is the LAST enemy called DEATH going to be DESTROYED that will bring us to the END, which is WHEN Jesus will deliver the kingdom back into his Father's hand. For the ANSWER to this question please turn to Revelation chapter 20 and read verses 1 through 3, which teaches us that AT the SECOND coming of Jesus after the armies of Satan are defeated that Satan will be BOUND for 1000 years while Jesus REIGNS in his Father's kingdom for this SAME 1000 year period of time. And then AFTER the 1000 year REIGN of Jesus, then Satan will be LOOSED out of the pit, where he has been BOUND for 1000 years.
Revelation 20:1-3.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and BOUND him a thousand years, 3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations NO more, TILL the thousand years should be fulfilled: and AFTER that (Speaking of AFTER the 1000 years are fulfilled) he must be LOOSED a little season.”
So then, WHY is Satan, the Devil, LOOSED again after he has been BOUND for 1000 years and NOT allowed to TEMPT and DECEIVE the nations during this 1000 year period of time? And WHAT happens AFTER the 1000 year REIGN of Jesus WHEN Satan is LOOSED for a little season. The answer to WHAT takes place AFTER the 1000 year REIGN of Jesus, right BEFORE he DELIVERS the KINGDOM back in the hands of his Father, is given to us in Revelation 20:7-15. And these verses ALSO teach us WHEN the LAST ENEMY DEATH will be DESTROYED to prove that the END is AFTER the 1000 year reign of Jesus and NOT at the second coming BEFORE the 1000 year reign of Jesus which is what the PRE-tribulation rapture theory teaches to try and prove that the FIRST resurrection is divided up into THREE parts. Jesus is the first part, the church is the second part, and the elect in Matthew 24 is the third part which takes place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus BEFORE the Millennium.
Revelation 20:7-15.
“And WHEN the thousand years are EXPIRED, Satan shall be LOOSED out of his prison, 8. And shall go out to DECEIVE the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw the DEAD, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the DEAD were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. And the sea gave up the DEAD which was in it, and DEATH and hell delivered up the dead which was in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14. And DEATH and hell were CAST into the lake of fire. This is the second DEATH.(Or the FINAL DEATH where there shall be DEATH NO MORE. Or in other words, this is WHEN the LAST enemy DEATH shall be DESTROYED, WHEN DEATH is CAST into the lake of fire to be DESTROYED. And as you can clearly see, the END is NOT at the second coming of Jesus before the 1000 year reign of Jesus. The END is WHEN Jesus delivers up the kingdom to God and DEATH, the LAST EBEMY, is DESTROYED. And Revelation 20:13,14 clearly teach us that the END is at the END of the Millennium and NOT at the second coming of Jesus) 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Just in case someone wants to argue that death is not destroyed in the lake of fire, the writer, John, continues in the very next chapter Revelation 21:1-4 and goes on to say that DEATH shall be NO MORE!
Revelation 21:1-4.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea (Or no more WICKED. The word “sea” is used in Bible prophecy to refer to the wicked sinners) 2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be NO MORE DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, that the END spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:22-25 is NOT what those who teach the pre-tribulation view TRY to make the END mean in order for them to have at least one passage of Scripture to TRY and support their splitting the first resurrection into three different resurrections? In other words, those who teach the PRE-tribulation make the CLAIM that the phrase, “THEN comes the END” means the END of the time of great tribulation where the “SO-CALLED” tribulation saints, which SUPPOSEDLY are NOT the church according to those who teach the PRE-tribulation rapture of the CHURCH and then after the great tribulation ANOTHER rapture of the JEWS and the so-called “tribulation saints” are RESURRECTED in the “SO-CALLED” THIRD STAGE of the ONE FIRST resurrection. HOWEVER, in TRUTH, the END is actually speaking of the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus WHEN the LAST enemy DEATH is cast into the lake of fire to be DESTROYED so that there will be DEATH NO MORE and therefore the PRE-tribulation has absolutely NO SOUND BIBLICAL support to DIVIDE the ONE and ONLY FIRST resurrection of the DEAD IN Jesus Christ. And in truth, they have NO SOUND BIBLICAL support to ADD Jesus to the YET FUTURE FIRST resurrection that is for only the DEAD who are IN Jesus Christ. I mean Jesus was not saved from SIN because Jesus never sinned so Jesus did not die being IN Jesus Christ. The FIRST resurrection is ONLY for the dead IN Jesus Christ. Also, Jesus was ALREADY raised from the dead and is the REASON why there will be a yet FUTURE FIRST resurrection of the dead who die IN Jesus Christ. Can you not see dear children of God, how those that teach the pre-tribulation point of view have to take verses OUT of there CONTEXT and then TWIST these verses in order to make them FIT their FALSE ASSUMPTION that they have made that the SECOND coming of Jesus MUST WITHOUT FAIL be DIVIDED into TWO separate and distinct comings of Jesus as being the ONLY way to reconcile the apparent contradiction between a KNOWN coming and an ASSUMED NEVER to be known day of the coming of Jesus. When in TRUTH, the BIBLE only teaches of ONE and ONLY ONE SECOND coming of Jesus? No, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, there is ONLY ONE SECOND coming of Jesus and there is ONLY ONE FIRST resurrection. Please read Revelation 20:4-6, which teaches us what takes place AT the TIME when Satan is BOUND for 1000 years right BEFORE Jesus begins his REIGN along WITH the CHURCH who have been beheaded DURING the time of great tribulation who are RAISED from the dead in the FIRST resurrection to reign WITH Jesus in his Father kingdom for 1000 years. Please pay very CLOSE ATTENTION to these words and to what we are being taught BY the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, the Father, and NOT by man-made false doctrines that do NOT RIGHTLY divide the word of God.
Revelation 20:4-6.
“And I saw THRONES, and THEY sat upon them, and judgment was given unto THEM (Speaking of those who sat upon these THRONES): 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 worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and THEY (So of those who sat upon the THRONES, some of which who were beheaded for their steadfast faith in Jesus and others for their testimony of the word of God, and none of which worshiped the beast nor received his mark, THEY) LIVED AND REIGNED WITH Christ a thousand years. 5. BUT the REST of the DEAD lived NOT again UNTIL the thousand years were FINISHED. (Speaking of the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus when the SECOND and ONLY OTHER resurrection takes place.) This is the FIRST resurrection. (Speaking of the resurrection of ONLY the dead who are IN Jesus Christ. That INCLUDES all the CHURCH from the day of Pentecost to the SECOND coming of Jesus IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation. And this includes those born-again faithful saints who have remained alive during the time of great tribulation who shall be CHANGED in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye. AND it also includes all the souls in heaven of the Old Testament saints as well) 6. Blessed and holy is he that has a part in the FIRST resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but THEY (Speaking of those who WENT THROUGH the time of GREAT TRIBULATION and who did NOT worship the beast nor take his mark as well as all the rest of the pre-great tribulation saints who have died throughout the entire church age, the Old Tesatment saints, and all those faithful tribulation saints who have remained alive during the time of great tribulation) shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN WITH him a thousand years.”
CLEARLY, these “SO-CALLED” tribulation saints, who SUPPOSEDLY are NOT the church according to the false doctrine of the pre-tribulation teaching, DEFINITELY, without fail, are RESURRECTED immediately after the time of great tribulation AT the SECOND coming of Jesus in order to LIVE and REIGN WITH Jesus DURING the 1000 years. Can you not see that the word “FIRST” means just what it says, FIRST, which means that there are NO OTHER resurrections or SO-CALLED STAGES of this same FIRST resurrection that occur BEFORE this FIRST resurrection. Now, I see the wheels turning in some of your heads that almost immediately say, “What about the RESURRECTION of Jesus? Was not Jesus RESURRECTED BEFORE this FIRST RESURRECTION? Therefore, the RESURRECTION of Jesus MUST be a PART of this FIRST RESURRECTION!” Again, this is just another FALSE ASSUMPTION or false CONCLUSION that is NOT based upon the WHOLE word of God. For you see, the FIRST resurrection, which was PROPHESIED by the Apostle John, the writer of the book of Revelation, was not seen, heard, written, or even PROPHESIED by John, UNTIL AFTER Jesus had ALREADY been RESURRECTED and ASCENDED into heaven. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, that the FIRST resurrection is a SINGLE ONE TIME EVENT that takes place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus, which is ALSO a SINGLE ONE TIME EVENT that occurs IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of GREAT TRIBULATION? And, therefore, the RAPTURE of the church, before the Millennium, is a ONE TIME SINGLE event that can only take place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation and right BEFORE the WRATH of God is poured out by Jesus AT his SECOND coming. This is the ONLY time that the rapture of the church can occur and NOT have ANY contradictions in any other part of God's word. Also, please take a CLOSE look at the very SIMPLE and PLAIN word “REST” that is used by the writer to CLEARLY show us that there is going to be TWO and ONLY TWO RESURRECTIONS in the future; the FIRST resurrection where the DEAD IN CHRIST are resurrected. AND the SECOND and FINAL resurrection, the ONLY OTHER resurrection, that will take place where the REST of the dead are raised, which is at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. That is the END when the LAST enemy DEATH shall be DESTROYED and the END shall come WHEN Jesus delivers the kingdom back into the hands of his Father, Almighty God. The word “REST” means ALL that REMAINS or everyone who is left who has not yet been resurrected in the FIRST resurrection. These two SIMPLE, PLAIN, and CLEAR words, “FIRST” and “REST” when used together as they have been used in Revelation 20:4-6 DEMAND that there be TWO and ONLY TWO resurrections that will take place in the future. Now, please understand that this does NOT mean that a believer cannot raise the dead between now and the second coming of Jesus. There can be thousands upon thousands of people raised from the dead in the mighty name of Jesus, but they will die again only to take part in one to the ONLY TWO future resurrections to be JUDGED either to receive eternal life in the world to come or to receive eternal death and destruction never to rise again in the lake of fire. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, the ERROR of the PRE-tribulation teaching that TRIES to place ANOTHER resurrection in BEFORE the FIRST resurrection of the DEAD IN CHRIST? Which the BIBLE teaches takes place AT the RAPTURE of the CHURCH, which the BIBLE teaches takes place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus. But when the PRE-tribulation doctrine makes the CLAIM that the rapture takes place BEFORE the time of great tribulation, then the FIRST resurrection must be MOVED to BEFORE the time of great tribulation, because there must be a FIRST resurrection at the time of the RAPTURE. Can you not see that when they TRY to place ANOTHER resurrection BEFORE the time of great tribulation, then they REMOVE the FIRST resurrection, which the BIBLE clearly teaches takes place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus immediately AFTER the time of great tribulation. And, therefore, the “SO-CALLED” tribulation saints have NO resurrection in which to be resurrected in order to LIVE and REIGN with Jesus BECAUSE the PRE-tribulation teaching MOVED it to be BEFORE the time of great tribulation which would be BEFORE the tribulation saints would be KILLED. In other words, we KNOW that the saints who die DURING the time of great tribulation will LIVE and reign with Jesus and the SECOND death has NO POWER over them. Therefore, they will have received their reward of ETERNAL LIFE and they do NOT rule and reign with Jesus in their MORTAL bodies. But IF the rapture is MOVED to BEFORE the time of great tribulation, then so must the FIRST resurrection be MOVED right along with it, which would then leave the only other resurrection to take place to be at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus, which would be TOO LATE for the saints who died during the great tribulation to be resurrected to LIVE and REIGN with Jesus DURING the 1000 years. The ONLY way to make all these verses FIT is to leave the RAPTURE of the CHURCH at the SECOND coming of Jesus, which is where the BIBLE plainly teaches that it occurs. Jesus himself said that our gathering together will take place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation. Again, meanings of clear simple words need to be TWISTED and CHANGED in order to make the FALSE teaching of the PRE-tribulation rapture to fit the word of God. The phrase “SECOND coming” means SECOND coming and NOT TWO SEPARATE and DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT comings that are separated by a 7 year period of time! And the phrase “the FIRST resurrection” means FIRST resurrection and NOT THREE DIFFERENT STAGES of the SAME FIRST resurrection! And the phrase “the REST of the DEAD are resurrected at the END of the 1000 years” means exactly that, the REST of the dead are resurrection at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus, which is WHEN the LAST enemy DEATH shall be DESTROYED and the END shall come where Jesus delivers up the kingdom to his Father, Almighty God. So then, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us RIGHTLY DIVIDE the WORD of Almighty God by NOT DIVIDING these CLEAR, SIMPLE, and PLAIN words that the Bible uses to describe the SECOND coming of Jesus and the FIRST resurrection where the only dead IN Christ is resurrected, and the phrase REST of the dead are resurrected at the END of the 1000 years reign in order to TRY and prove a FABLE that is more pleasing to the ear to hear. Be a soldier of Christ and ENDURE sound Biblical teaching. The church IS going to go THROUGH the ENTIRE time of GREAT tribulation so be READY to ENDURE unto the end because ONLY those who ENDURE unto the end shall be saved. With that being said let us continue this study in God's word by reading reasons 29-57 of the 250 reasons for the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. And that we will do in PART TWO of this study called “Part 2 of 250 REASONS FOR NO PRE-TRIB RAPTURE!” If you have not read Part 1 through Part 6 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture or you would like to reread one or more parts then please click on one of the following links. “Part 1 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!” “Part 2 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!” “Part 3 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!” “Part 4 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!” “Part 5 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!” “Part 6 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-trib Rapture!”
And for ALL my studies on the rapture of the church and end time prophecy please click on the heading >>>PROPHECY-THE COMING OF JESUS<<< Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you CONTINUE to seek the TRUTH of the rapture of the church by interpreting the Scriptures in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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