SPELLING EDITED J-26. Part 6 of 250 Reasons for NO PRE-tribulation Rapture!
This is part 6 of a six-part series of in-depth Bible studies on why there will NOT be a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church to escape the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. The 250 reasons for a pre-trib rapture are from a pre-trib website. Again there are not actually 250 reasons. Many of the numbered reasons need to be put together to make a single argument. This study will cover reasons #198 through #250 but the actual number of real pre-trib arguments are only around five. So it is a huge exaggeration to say 250 reasons for a pre-trib rapture. None the less, I will give my comments to each and every one of these so-called 250 reasons for a pre-trib rapture. NATURE OF THE TRIBULATION--THE SEVEN-SEALED SCROLL #198. THE WRATH of God BEGINS with the FIRST SEAL on the SCROLL (opened AT THE THRONE OF GOD in His series of JUDGMENTS). The scroll reveals calamitous events that will transpire on the earth. (1. The antichrist. 2. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED, in quick succession, by wars, famines, pestilences, death, and hell, the martyrdom of tribulation saints, a huge earthquake--plus fearful sights and signs in heaven.)
This statement is somewhat true but it is NOT the WHOLE TRUTH because as I just said the great tribulation begins ALSO with the first six TRUMPETS and then BEGINS AGAIN with the first six VIALS. In other words, there are not THREE great tribulations and THREE wraths of God. But rather the first SIX seals, the first SIX trumpets, and the first SIX vials are the 3 ½ years of the great tribulation. And the SEVENTH seal, the SEVENTH trumpet, and the SEVENTH vial are the WRATH of God.
#199. The tribulation is NOT “days as usual.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 clearly SHOWS “the day of the Lord” as SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. Revelation 6:1-8 clearly shows that even as the antichrist promises “peace,” he will be unable to do as he says.
This idea of the great tribulation of being days, as USUAL, has misguided some to believe that it has to be that the days will be as USUAL or as normal for every single person on the Earth. When in reality, Jesus said that people would be marrying and eating and drinking right up to the day that THEY are destroyed. In other words, the WISE will know that the days are NOT as usual but the world or the unsaved will NOT know what is going on. They will simply go on about their lives as usual thinking that the strange weather is just a cycle and everything will return back to “normal”. Even some Christians may not realize what is going on. Some in the world are SO BLINDED by the enemy that they say that there is NO GOD. Therefore, they will not listen to the warnings we give them. It will be just like the people that were WILLINGLY IGNORANT in the days of Noah. So it is THESE who are WILLINGLY IGNORANT that will be going about as days a USUAL. But WE will KNOW that these days are NOT like any other days because we are WATCHING for the SIGNS of the coming of our Lord. Now, PRE-trib Christians are watching for the signs of the second coming so that they can subtract seven years for the great tribulation which they sincerely believe that they will ESCAPE. But the unsaved will continue on as usual UNTIL they see the SIGNS of the SECOND coming of Jesus which will strike FEAR in their hearts. Some may even have literal heart attacks from the FEAR of the SIGNS in the SUN and in the MOON and in the STARS when they see the powers of heaven being shaken.
#200. In the opening of the 4th SEAL of Revelation 6:8, it’s revealed that ONE-FOURTH of the earth’s population WILL DIE. At today’s count of nearly 7 billion people--ONE-QUARTER is a DEATH TALLY of 2.5 BILLION! That’s a HUGE amount of death--much LARGER than the worst catastrophe we can name in our current hour. It’s definitely NOT “business as usual” for the tribulation world.
Then again, in Revelation 9:13-16 we read were one-third of men are killed. So in the line of reasoning of those that teach the PRE-tribulation point of view, then one-fourth of mankind will be killed and then a little later on in the period of great tribulation ANOTHER one-third of this remaining one fourth will be killed, which would be even a much larger number of people being killed. But for ME, I see the book of Revelation REPEATING itself and giving more detail each time it repeats itself. Again, as far as business being, as usual, those willingly choosing to believe that there is NO God will be given a strong delusion that THEY should believe a LIE. Some people will simply not repent because they will refuse to believe that there is a God.
#201. So there’s definitely NO PEACE on earth during the first 3½ years of the tribulation (like “Pre-Wrathers” say)! The JUDGMENTS FALL from God’s THRONE (showing it’s FROM God and THE LAMB (Jesus) from the BEGINNING of OPENING THE SCROLL). The opening of the scroll STARTS a series of catastrophes that are SENT into the earth. This is NOT the “wrath of man” or “the wrath of Satan” (even though God uses them as AGENTS of His judgments). THE ORIGIN of the WRATH is from the VERY PRESENCE of God--and is JUDGMENT FROM HIM (HIS WRATH)!
There will be no true peace on Earth until the 1000 year reign of Jesus. For me when the Bible says and when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them, I see this as a time when there is NOT peace and safety and mankind is crying out for peace and safety, but rather will get more destruction until God remembers mercy.
#202. The SCROLL defined. It’s a TITLE DEED (a legal document) to the earth (which rightfully belongs to Jesus), Yet THE SCROLL is also a parchment of JUDGMENTS, by which Jesus will TAKE POSSESSION of what’s rightfully His. In order for Jesus to GAIN BACK that which BELONGS to Him, enemies MUST be destroyed. Psalms 2:1-12.Revelation 5:1-14.
Again, the first six SEALS are just part of the great tribulation. Or more precisely they are just an OVERVIEW of the great tribulation, whereas the first six trumpets are a magnification of the first six seals so that we can see more detail. And then the first six vials are yet a further magnification to see even more detail.
#203. The SCROLL is written on both sides, containing lamentations, mournings, and woe. It’s “the CURSE” which goes out OVER THE WHOLE EARTH. The dimensions of the SCROLL are the same as THE HOLY OF HOLIES which shows that the JUDGMENTS are sent from the THRONE OF GOD. Ezekiel 2:9-10. Ezekiel 3:1-9. Zechariah 5:1-4. Revelation 6:1-17.Revelation 10:8-11 --(in chapter 10, the scroll IS OPEN, showing that Jesus had ALREADY ripped the seals OFF in chapter 6. Revelation 10 is a picture of Jesus LAYING CLAIM to the earth, by the LEGAL means of the OPEN SCROLL, yet more JUDGMENT must occur to COMPLETE the transaction.)
PERHAPS the scroll is written on both sides because some of the things written in the book of Revelation will NOT come upon the CHURCH as it does upon the rest of the world. For me, I see some PROTECTION for the CHURCH, but this does not mean that the church will not be persecuted. For you see, when the world sees diseases coming upon them and NOT upon those in the CHURCH who are living righteously before God, then some in the world will hate Christians even more.
#204. The FIRST SEAL reveals the antichrist, who is indeed a JUDGMENT (wrath) from God UPON ISRAEL for their sin of REJECTING Jesus at His first coming. Jesus came unto His OWN (Israel) and they received Him NOT--if one comes in HIS OWN NAME (the antichrist), they WILL receive him. John 1:11. John 5:43.
When one makes EVERY judgment the WRATH of God, then the knowledge of the TRUTH cannot be discerned. So AGAIN JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN at the HOUSE of God, which is us, the CHURCH because the word of God says and if it BEGINS with us, then what shall be the end of those who do not know God?
#205. Isaiah 28:15-18 calls the “peace” COVENANT between Israel and the antichrist, revealed by the FIRST SEAL, “a covenant with death” and “an agreement with hell.” If that’s not WRATH and JUDGMENT, then WHAT is it?
For ME, I see this passage of Scripture of those making a COVENANT or an agreement with hell, as in, the invading ARMIES that are trying to rule over the world including wiping out God's people will call on their God, Allah. I do NOT believe that the antichrist will make a peace treaty will Israel and then break that peace treaty in the middle of the seven years. I believe that the first half of the seventieth week of Daniel has already been fulfilled. Please read the studies “A NEW LOOK AT THE 70th WEEK OF DANIEL!” and “WHEN IS THE MIDST OF THE WEEK?” But for now, here is what this passage of Scripture in the pre-trib argument #205 actually says and teaches when is is KEPT in its CONTEXT.
Please read Isaiah chapter 28 verses 14-18.
“Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, YOU SCORNFUL MEN, that RULE these people which is in Jerusalem. (In other words, God is speaking TO these SCORNFUL men who are RULING OVER God people in Jerusalem) 15. Because YOU have said, (Still God speaking to these SCORNFUL men who are BOASTING) WE have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement;(THEREFORE) when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for WE have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have WE HID ourselves: (Now to me, those who are being DECEIVED do not KNOW that they are UNDER FALSEHOOD. So this verse is God showing us who KNOW the TRUTH that those who trust in chariots will perish and those that HIDE themselves in underground bunkers are just hiding under FALSEHOOD) 16. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a SURE foundation: he that BELIEVES shall not make haste. 17. Judgment, also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the HIDING PLACE. 18. And YOUR COVENANT with death shall be annulled, and YOUR agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then YOU shall be trodden down by it.”
For ME, I see Jesus coming as a CONQUERING KING to TRODDEN DOWN the ARMIES that are trying to wipe the people of God from the face of the Earth. It will be those SCORNFUL men who say that there IS NO GOD that make THEIR COVENANT with death and THEIR AGREEMENT with HELL who shall be BOASTING that NOTHING can touch them in their DEEP UNDERGROUND BUNKERS that can withstand an atomic war. But God will LAUGH at them and THEIR COVENANT with hell will NOT STAND. Again, for ME I do not see this referring to ISRAEL but RATHER I see this passage of scripture referring to those who desire to RULE OVER Israel in the last days. See revelation chapter 6 later but for now, let us move on to reason number 206.
#206. The SEAL JUDGMENTS are clearly the WRATH OF THE LAMB (Jesus), who performs the JUDGMENTS of God in the “tribulation.” Revelation 6:16. 2 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 4:8.
AGAIN this statement is based upon WRONG ASSUMPTIONS, which I trust that you, the reader, have CLEARLY seen by now. But if not, then I IMPLORE you to keep reading, for I will explain the seal judgments in a moment. For now, think about what the PRE-trib view teaches concerning the church as being up in heaven for seven years receiving our rewards, and eating the marriage supper of the Lamb with Jesus. Do you really think Jesus is going to say excuse me but I have to execute the seal judgments now? Do you think Jesus will keep interrupting the marriage supper saying I will be back in a moment to finish giving you your rewards? Sorry again, but I have to leave again to execute the trumpet judgments on the tribulation saints? You are so blessed that I came and rescued you from all these judgments and raise up another group of believers to take your place. The great tribulation is the wrath of Satan who knows his time is short. The WRATH of God that Jesus will execute will be AFTER the 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation. Please read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!”
#207. At the opening of the 6th SEAL, kings and great men and people on the earth FINALLY REALIZE that God’s WRATH is upon them. It took MAJOR EVENTS in the heavens, and an earthquake, to AWAKEN these blinded people--so they can RECOGNIZE what’s been going on. The people SAY they must hide from THE WRATH OF THE LAMB (in this, we see the judgment IS from JESUS, as He removes the SEALS--so it IS His WRATH. The people add, “For the great day of His WRATH is come (is present).” Therefore, the SEALS contain the WRATH OF GOD. Revelation 6:16-17.
When the sixth seal is opened the people will KNOW that the WRATH of God is ABOUT to COME upon them. This verse goes on to say and who SHALL be ABLE to stand? And this teaches us that that WRATH of God is JUST NOW BEGINNING AFTER the SIGNS in the SUN, the MOON, and the STARS begin to take place. And this proves that the first SIX seal judgments are NOT executed by Jesus. The WRATH of God COMES in the SEVENTH SEAL, in the SEVENTH TRUMPET, and in the SEVENTH VIAL. And the CHURCH is NOT appointed to the SEVENTH, which is the WRATH of God, but the FIRST SIX we will be here to ENDURE persecution for the name of Jesus. Please read Job 5:17-24 which teaches us that in SIX troubles God will DELIVER us through them, but in SEVEN it shall NOT come near us.
Job 5:17-24.
“Behold, happy is the man whom God CORRECTS: therefore, despise not YOU the CHASTENING of the Almighty: (Christians who are NOT living in SIN will NOT be chastened. And if you ARE living in sin then be THANKFUL that you will wake up with the chastening of the great tribulation so you will STOP sinning) 18. For he makes sore and binds up: he wounds, and his hands make whole. 19. He shall DELIVER YOU in SIX troubles: yea, in SEVEN there shall no evil touch YOU. (Now for ME. this is a prophecy speaking to us the CHURCH going through the great tribulation which is the first SIX troubles. CLEARLY, Israel will suffer in the SEVENTH or the SEVENTH trouble, which is the WRATH of God, will indeed, touch ISRAEL. But the SEVENTH seal, trumpet, and vial will NOT touch the CHURCH. The church is NOT appointed to the SEVENTH which is the WRATH of God) 20. IN famine he shall redeem YOU from death: and IN war from the power of the sword. 21. YOU shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue: neither shall YOU be afraid of destruction when it comes (In other words God will give his faithful sons and daughters PEACE in the days ahead so do NOT FEAR the great tribulation) 22. At destruction and famine YOU shall laugh: neither shalt YOU be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23. For YOU shall be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at PEACE with YOU. 24. And YOU shall KNOW that YOUR tabernacle shall be in PEACE, and YOU shalt visit your habitation, and SHALL NOT SIN.”
God is calling his people everywhere to REPENT and get ALL SIN out of our lives. Please read the study “HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE FREE FROM SIN!” where I show you from the word of TRUTH the Holy Bible HOW to live YOUR life WITHOUT SIN and be PURE EVEN as Jesus is pure.
#208. The 7th SEAL on the SCROLL brings ominous silence in heaven. Also proceeding from the 7th SEAL are the TRUMPET JUDGMENTS. The harsher judgments of God are unleashed WHEN the 7th seal is opened. The trumpets COME FORTH FROM the 7th seal--bringing increased WRATH. Revelation 8:1-2.
Throughout the book of Revelation John HEARS things and John SEES things and sometimes when we see words like after this I saw, or AND I saw, then this indicates to us, the reader, that John is telling us something DIFFERENT. This is not always the case, so there is room for many INTERPRETATIONS. So for ME, I see John in verse 2 CHANGING the subject from the SEVENTH SEAL to INTRODUCING a NEW subject, which in reality is the SAME subject that he told us about in the SEVEN SEALS. NOT just the SEVENTH seal but RATHER ALL of the SEALS. In other words, John is REPEATING the seven SEAL by showing us the SEVEN TRUMPETS.
#209. Likewise, the “bowl judgments” PROCEED from THE BLOWING of the 7th TRUMPET (MAKE NOTE--with so much PARENTHETICAL information from chapter 11 to 16, it’s DIFFICULT to SEE that progression, but it’s there if you pay CLOSE ATTENTION to detail).
AGAIN, this is this writer's INTERPRETATION, this is the way that SHE INTERPRETS the Bible. I have my way and she has HER way. And I leave it up to YOU to DISCERN the TRUTH by CLOSELY examining BOTH ways. It is kind of like when people say I do NOT believe in God and I do NOT believe in HELL, and then we say back to them something like, Well, IF I am wrong then I have NOTHING to LOSE, BUT if YOU are WRONG then you have a great price to pay. The same thing is true for those who DEMAND that they do NOT believe in the POST tribulation teaching. So I say Hey IF I am wrong then I have NOTHING to LOSE, but YOU on the other hand, if YOU are WRONG, will you be READY to face what is coming? Or will you just CLING to your FALSE hope of saying See ya, wouldn't want to be ya! Or will you TAKE HEED to what I am teaching you so that you can prepare your heart toward God? Forgive me if I come off to you as being crude or rude, this is not my intention. I just want you to be prepared, because just like you yourself KNOW that there is a God and that there is a hell, so do I KNOW that there is NOT going to be a PRE tribulation rapture of the church in order to ESCAPE the time of GREAT TRIBULATION and I want you to be PREPARED. To ME, this is NOT a matter of who is right and who is wrong, NOT a matter between us and those who say that there is NO GOD. We just want them to KNOW that there IS a God because we want them to be PREPARED when they face the judgment.
#210. ALL of God’s WRATH is contained in the SCROLL and will be SET LOOSE in its proper order, issuing from THE OPENING of the 7th SEAL, which brings the TRUMPETS, which bring the BOWLS. (For a clearer picture for this concept, think of a “telescoped” eyeglass with segments that slide out for greater vision--as EACH PORTION of the judgments PROCEED from the opening of the 7th SEAL, a harsher element of God’s WRATH emerges.)
Stop and think for a moment, IF EVERYTHING from the OPENING of the FIRST SEAL to the end of the book will be the WRATH of God as this author CLAIMS, then what portion of this book of Revelation is the time of GREAT TRIBULATION? I have already shown you CLEARLY from the Scriptures that the time of the great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God. NATURE OF THE TRIBULATION--THE ENDING JUDGMENTS
#211. The BOWL JUDGMENTS “fill-up” (and COMPLETE) the WRATH of God. The BOWLS are NOT the BEGINNING of God’s wrath, but the COMPLETION of it. Revelation 15:1.
To understand this verse you must know that TWO DIFFERENT Greek words are used in the New Testament that are often TRANSLATED as wrath, but one of these words is used more in the sense of anger of man. Sometimes BOTH of the Greek words are used TOGETHER in the same verse as in Revelation 16:19 in the phrase “the FIERCENESS of his WRATH.” You see the EXACT same Greek word that is translated as “FIERCENESS” in Revelation 16:19 is also TRANSLATED as “WRATH” in Revelation 15:1 when it should have been translated as “FIERCENESS”. So in other words, Revelation 15:1 should read, “...for in them is filled up the FIERCENESS of Almighty God.” You see if this Greek word was translated as “WRATH” in every instance then Revelation 16:19 word read, “...the WRATH of his WRATH” which would be confusing.
#212. Many people do NOT fully understand HOW BAD the “tribulation” will TRULY be. It will be WORSE than the flood of Noah’s day--NO other time like it since the creation of the world! Matthew 24:21-22.
I agree that NO other time will be like it. And one of the reasons I believe this because the WRATH of Almighty God is poured out IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of GREAT TRIBULATION. In other words, there will be TWO devastating events back to back with virtually no intermission in between to catch your breath, so to speak. That is to say, except for the CHURCH, which is NOT APPOINTED to the WRATH of God. The church will be raptured IMMEDIATELY after the great tribulation to escape the WRATH of God.
#213. At THE END of the “tribulation,” when Jesus ARRIVES at the Armageddon scene, there’s NO mention of A RESURRECTION. The Rapture (which INCLUDES a resurrection) CANNOT happen at that time, as Post-Tribbers insist. Isaiah 63:1-6, Zechariah 14:1-15,Revelation 19:11-21.
AGAIN, as I have said many times before not EVERY passage of scripture that is speaking about the SAME thing gives EVERY DETAIL exactly the SAME. Therefore, in order to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the word of TRUTH, you must COMPARE scripture WITH scripture. For example, there is CLEARLY a RESURRECTION that takes place AT the ONE and the ONLY SECOND coming of Jesus which we are CLEARLY and PLAINLY told about in SIMPLE easy to understand words in Revelation 20:4-6. And these SAINTS who have gone THROUGH the time of GREAT TRIBULATION who did NOT worship the beast nor receive his mark and were BEHEADED or KILLED for their testimony of Jesus will be RESURRECTED AT the SECOND coming of Jesus. And then they will be given ETERNAL LIFE as their REWARD and THEY shall LIVE and REIGN WITH Jesus for 1000 years. So how can anyone DENY that there is a RESURRECTION in Matthew 24 just because we are not SPECIFICALLY told EVERY TIME in EVERY passage of scripture? Sometimes I have to wonder if these reasons are just made up in a desperate attempt to hold on to a FABLE because they do not want to ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE.
#214. If there were a Rapture at THE END of the “tribulation,” ALL the believers who SURVIVED would be CHANGED into IMMORTAL GLORIFIED bodies. ALL the ENEMIES will be destroyed. There would be NO ONE LEFT IN NATURAL FLESH BODIES to POPULATE the Millennium! The Rapture CANNOT happen at the end of the “tribulation.”
This UNBIBLICAL statement is based upon the exaggerated stories about being LEFT BEHIND and how BAD it will be. Again, I am NOT making light of the time of the great tribulation, but the WHOLE word of God clearly teaches that NOT everyone will be KILLED during this time. For a deeper understanding on WHO will go into the Millennium please view my video called “WHO WILL POPULATE THE MILLENNIUM?” which is on my channel AMATTEROFTRUTH at YouTube.com
#215. Some say the “gathering of the elect” in Matthew 24:31 is “the Rapture” at THE END of the “tribulation.” But, in the Rapture, JESUS calls His own UP to Himself. ANGELS will gather the “elect” at THE END of the “tribulation.”
We have already covered this reason earlier in this study. The TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus SENDS his ANGELS to GATHER TOGETHER his ELECT and then bring us, the church to MEET him at the PLACE called ARMAGEDDON.
#216. The “elect” of Israel and SURVIVORS of the “tribulation” will be gathered from wherever the antichrist has scattered them--to the four winds--directions of the earth. Israel will be found mostly in Bozrah (in modern-day Jordan--Isaiah 63:1).
Here is what Matthew 24:30,31 actually says and teaches.
“And then shall appear the SIGN of the Son of man in HEAVEN (Speaking of in the AIR or in the SKY): and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall SEE the Son of man coming in the CLOUDS of HEAVEN (Or they shall SEE Jesus in the CLOUDS that are in the SKY along with his army of angels coming) with power and great glory. 31. And he (Jesus) shall SEND his angels with a great sound of a TRUMPET, and they shall GATHER TOGETHER his ELECT (Or those whom he has CHOSEN and they are without sin in their life. The church IS the elect. God has chosen Jesus as the ONLY way to be saved. God will honor his first covenant with Israel as his first chosen people by his promise to return to them a SECOND time. And that second time will BEGIN AT the second coming of Jesus. So the ELECT here in this verse is speaking of the CHURCH being GATHERED TOGETHER) from the four WINDS, from ONE END of HEAVEN to the other.”
First of all Isaiah 63:1 is speaking of Jesus treading the winepress in the WRATH of God, which means that the rapture has ALREADY just taken place. Now, as for Matthew 24, this tells ME that since every other time to word HEAVEN means the SKY where the CLOUDS are, then when the angels will gather together the ELECT they will GATHER us, the CHURCH, from ONE end of the SKY to the OTHER END of the SKY. And then the angels will bring us all TOGETHER to MEET Jesus in the AIR just like we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Where will that place be in the AIR? According to Revelation 16:15,16, the angels will take us to meet Jesus in the AIR over the place called Armageddon near Jerusalem.
#218. The ANGELS also gather “the elect” from ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER--the gathering of Old Testament saints and martyred “tribulation” saints for THE RESURRECTION of their bodies as seen in Revelation 20:4, so they’ll be able to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles, which will take place 5 days after Jesus returns, according to the timing of the Jewish feasts that will be fulfilled when Jesus returns.
The Old Testament saints are already IN heaven and they are AMONG the SAINTS that God will BRING WITH him when Jesus comes again, so there will be no need to gather together these saints because they will already be together. Now, I cannot tell you HOW God is going to bring dead decayed bodies out of their graves and put them back together and match them up with the correct saint and then change these newly resurrected bodies into eternal bodies, but I believe he will, because Ezekiel 37:1-14 says that He will.
Please read Ezekiel 37:1-14.
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was FULL of BONES, 2. And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered O Lord GOD, you know. 4. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5. Thus says the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you SHALL LIVE: 6. And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you SHALL LIVE, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 7. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the WIND, prophesy, son of man, and say to the WIND, Thus says the Lord GOD; Come FROM the FOUR WINDS, O BREATH, and breathe upon, these, slain, that they may live. (So then, God BRINGS WITH HIM the SPIRITS of those who were slain for the word of God. And then He will place these SPIRITS of the SAINTS into these newly RESURRECTED bodies. And God will cause them to LIVE for all eternity by CHANGING them from mortal to immortal glorified bodies of flesh and bones like Jesus has now.) 10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the WHOLE house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O MY PEOPLE, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O MY PEOPLE, and brought you up out of your graves, 14. And shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.”
Now, we are not SPECIFICALLY told in Scripture to my knowledge that this is the way it will be ALSO for the DEAD in CHRIST but again we are not told EVERY LITTLE DETAIL in EVERY passage of Scripture. But seeing this passage of scripture is speaking of a RESURRECTION then I believe the resurrection for the CHURCH will be much the same way, but for certain the CHURCH is PROMISED the REWARD of ETERNAL LIFE or a body that does not die or become corrupted.
#218. There’s also the Judgment of the Sheep and Goat nations after Jesus returns to the earth, and it must take place BEFORE the Millennium is officially started. People are “gathered” FOR these things.
For me, I see a partial separating of the sheep and goats before going into the 1000 years, but in reality, I see this separating of sheep and goat THROUGHOUT the entire 1000 years and PARTICULARLY at the END of the 1000 years when ANOTHER book of life in OPENED.
#219. The tribulation period is DESCRIBED in extensive prophecies throughout the scripture. Here’s is a LENGTHY LIST of the words that DEFINE it----Wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, clouds, thick darkness, blood, vengeance, destruction, fierce anger, fire, jealousy, cruel, trouble, great distress, revenge, furious, arrow drunk with blood, sword, terrible, men’s hearts failing them for fear, the powers of heaven shall be shaken, wars, great earthquakes, famines, pestilences, fearful signs, great tribulation--such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, the earth utterly broken down, the earth clean dissolved, the moon shall be confounded, the sun ashamed, to punish leviathan, to slay the dragon that is in the sea, a covenant with death, an overflowing scourge, hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, your agreement with hell, you shall be trodden down by it, the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, the stars of heaven shall not give their light, I will shake the heavens, the earth shall remove out of her place (her orbit and axis?), to punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity, lamentations, mournings, woe, sound an alarm, let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, they shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of war, the people shall be much pained, howl ye, the moon became as blood, stars of heaven fell to the earth, the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth, death and hell followed with him, thundering, lightning, the smoke of the pit, men shall seek death--and shall not find it, the torment of a scorpion, it (the sea) became the blood of a dead man, men were scorched with great heat, they gnawed their tongues for pain, every island fled and the mountains were not found, except those days be shortened--there should be no flesh saved, and then the end shall come. (This is not a complete list.)
This is talking about the WRATH from which the Church is promised to be delivered! The church is NOT appointed to the WRATH of God. AGAIN, one of the biggest STUMBLING blocks for those that teach the FALSE doctrine of a PRE-tribulation rapture is that they have failed to DISCERN the DIFFERENCE between the time of GREAT TRIBULATION and the WRATH of Almighty God. Please read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!” Or you can go to my YouTube channel AMATTEROFTRUTH and watch the two-part video series called Part 1 of 2 Wrath of God vs, the Great tribulation. This brings us to another section of this pre-trib writer where she offers her interpretation of the seventh trumpet in Revelation chapter 11. TRUMPS OF GOD AND THE “LAST” TRUMPET
Since Pre-Wrath Rapture proponents make a big issue about the 7th trumpet of Revelation 11, I’ll offer what the Bible describes, concerning trumpets.
#220. There is no proper PROOF that the 7th trumpet of Revelation is the “last” trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52. THAT EXPLANATION IS ACCEPTED ONLY ON THE BASIS OF PRECONCEIVED IDEAS and ASSUMPTION. The Pre-Trib view maintains the PROPER distinction between the PROPHETIC TRUMPS of the Church and the JUDGMENT TRUMPETS of the tribulation.
There is plenty of “proper” SOUND Biblical proof that the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation IS, indeed, the LAST trumpet being spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. In order to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the word of TRUTH, you must COMPARE Scripture WITH Scripture. In other words, we must let Scripture interpret Scripture. Now SIMPLE logic teaches us that if you have SEVEN trumpets then the LAST TRUMPET will OBVIOUSLY be the SEVENTH TRUMPET. But let us lay SIMPLE logic aside for a moment unless of course, we are COMPARING Scripture WITH Scripture because we need to use logic and common sense when comparing Scripture. Let us begin by reading 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, which teaches us that our CHANGE will come AT the sounding of the LAST TRUMPET!
“Behold, I show you a MYSTERY (So then WHAT is this MYSTERY that Paul is SHOWING to us, the prophets and servants of God?); We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (HOW and WHEN will this MYSTERY of our CHANGE take place?) 52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, (So now we know that our CHANGE will take place QUICKLY, but WHEN will our CHANGE take place? In other words, the MYSTERY will be COMPLETED or FINISHED) AT the LAST TRUMP: FOR (Or BECAUSE) the TRUMPET shall SOUND, (WHAT TRUMPET shall SOUND? The LAST TRUMPET shall SOUND) and the dead shall be RAISED (Or RESURRECTED) incorruptible, and we shall be CHANGED. (So then, AT the OUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET the MYSTERY of God will be FINISHED or accomplished. But WHAT is our CHANGE exactly?) 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on IMMORTALITY.”
So then, according to 1 Corinthians 15: 50-53 the MYSTERY of our CHANGE from mortal to immorality to receive eternal life will take place AT the SOUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET. So now let us COMPARE Scripture WITH Scripture in order to see if the SEVENTH TRUMPET which SIMPLE LOGIC teaches us is the LAST TRUMPET. But let us see what the WORD of TRUTH teaches us. Let us compare what we just learned in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 which is that the Apostle Paul DECLARED to us the church, the prophets and the servants of God that the MYSTERY of our CHANGE from mortal to immorality to receive eternal life will take place or be FINISHED AT the SOUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET to Revelation 10:7. Please read Revelation 10:7 which teaches us that on the very moment that the SEVENTH TRUMPET BEGINS to SOUND then the MYSTERY which was told to the prophet and servants of God would be FINISHED or COMPLETED.
Revelation 10:7.
“But in the days of the voice of the SEVENTH angel, when he shall BEGIN to SOUND, the MYSTERY of God should be FINISHED, as he has DECLARED (Or SHOWN, explained or taught) to his servants the prophets.”
This is much more than a MERE COINCIDENCE for ME to IGNORE just because my FLESH did not want to ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE at the time that I came to the knowledge of the TRUTH concerning WHEN the RAPTURE of the church would take place. You see I too was once TAUGHT the PRE-tribulation view but when the Holy Spirit began showing me DISCREPANCIES, far TOO MANY to IGNORE, then I searched the word of God for myself I discover that I was NOT taught the TRUTH by the PRE-tribulation theory. For you see, the pre-trib Christians will try to explain away the SEVENTH trumpet in the book of Revelation by using EXTRA-Biblical Jewish customs. Why even have the rules of CORRECT interpretation to compare Scripture with SCRIPTURE if you are going to use them? Every time Christians IGNORE Scripture and they compare their own personal INTERPRETATION with Jewish CUSTOMS to try and explain away SOUND Biblical proof from the Scriptures then that are choosing extra-Biblical sources OVER the Bible. For you see, there is much MORE sound Biblical proof from the Scriptures that prove the POST-tribulation rapture of the church. So now let us see what actually happens AT the time that the LAST TRUMPET is SOUNDED. Please read Revelation 11:11-19 which is where we see the resurrection and a type of figure of the rapture or catching up and AT this SAME time we also see the SOUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET.
Revelation 11:11-19.
“And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet;(The resurrection of the DEAD IN CHRIST immediately AFTER the first SIX trumpets but right BEFORE the LAST trumpet) and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12. And they heard a GREAT VOICE from heaven saying unto them, COME UP HITHER. And they ASCENDED UP to heaven (Speaking of the SKY) in a CLOUD (This is the THIRD description of the RAPTURE in the book of Revelation. There are seven descriptions of the rapture in the book of Revelation The TRUE sound Biblical rapture of the church will NOT be a SECRET rapture like the PRE-trib falsely teaches), and their enemies beheld them. 13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant was frightened, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe comes quickly. (Or sudden destruction comes upon those who were NOT WATCHING right AFTER the rapture of the church. In other words, the WRATH of God follows immediately right after the rapture of the church which takes place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation AT the LAST TRUMPET) 15. And the SEVENTH angel SOUNDED (Or the LAST TRUMPET was SOUNDED at the time that the rapture of the church took place in this prophecy. So just as the seventh angel BEGINS to SOUND the MYSTERY of God will be FINISHED or just happen AT the LAST trumpet); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall REIGN forever and ever. 16. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, 17. Saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and are to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned. 18. And the nations were ANGRY (WHY?), and you WRATH IS COME, (Or the time of your wrath has arrived) and the TIME of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give REWARD unto your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth. 19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thundering, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
So then, CLEARLY, we see the RESURRECTION of the DEAD IN CHRIST, the RAPTURE taking place AT the TIME that the SEVENTH and LAST TRUMPET is BEGINNING to SOUND. Also, the LAST trumpet is the LAST trumpet, and in Matthew 24:29-31 we see a TRUMPET which is sounded IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of great tribulation. In other words, for a TRUMPET to sound at the SECOND coming of Jesus immediately AFTER the great tribulation would be IMPOSSIBLE unless the trumpet in Matthew 24:29-31 IS the LAST TRUMPET. God does NOT make mistakes, so to ME, the LAST trumpet IS the trumpet in Matthew 24:29-31. There can only be ONE trumpet that is the LAST trumpet.
Matthew 24:29-31.
“IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a TRUMPET, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Again, there can only be ONE LAST trumpet and it will sound at the SECOND coming of Jesus IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of the great tribulation which will be right at the BEGINNING of the WRATH of God. And the rapture takes place IN BETWEEN the great tribulation and the WRATH of God. For you see, if so be that the LAST trumpet is to sound BEFORE the great tribulation then it is IMPOSSIBLE for there to be ANOTHER trumpet sounding IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation. There is only ONE LAST trumpet and Jesus HIMSELF says that it will be IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days. DEFINITELY NOT a COINCIDENCE! At least NOT for ME.
#221. The Apostle Paul wrote about the “last” trumpet DECADES BEFORE John saw the SEVEN “judgment trumpets” of the Revelation. The Apostle Paul’s “last trump” was written in 60 A.D. John’s vision came 30+ years later--around 96 A.D. The Apostle Paul could NOT have known about the 7th and “last trumpet” of Revelation--BEFORE it was revealed to John on the isle of Patmos!
To me, this argument is like saying that God did NOT KNOW what he was going to reveal to the Apostle John when he revealed the MYSTERY of our change and resurrection of the dead in Jesus to the Apostle Paul. This weak argument would be like saying that ALL of the Old Testament was NOT WRITTEN at the EXACT SAME TIME so, therefore, the books that came first could NOT possibly AGREE with the books that came later in history. But YET all the books of the Old Testament harmonize together perfectly and I do not think the Holy Spirit has failed us in His inspiration of the New Testament. You have to remember that John was being told what to write. Therefore, it was REVEALED to John what to write. As far as the rest of the New Testament I am sure that the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles and disciple of Jesus to write down what the saw, heard, and were taught by Jesus. But as far as being inspired in the same way as the Old Testament it does not appear to be so to me. And certainly, there are errors in the many TRANSLATIONS of the Bible, otherwise, they would all agree perfectly. This argument does not disprove the POST-tribulation rapture of the church.
#222. The TRUMP OF GOD brings in blessing, eternal life, glorified bodies. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. The seven trumpets of the Revelation brings destruction upon the enemies and God’s WRATH.
I suppose one will see what they WANT to see unless, of course, they are willing to submit to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and then they may not truly WANT to know the TRUTH, but they will submit themselves to ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE. All through the word of TRUTH, a TRUMPET is used to SOUND an ALARM or to ANNOUNCE an event, or to SIGNAL something or someone. So whenever the trumpet is used there can be BOTH good things and bad things happening at the SAME time. Just give it a moment and THINK about it. If a trumpet of an alarm was sounded then people would be warned and lives would be saved IF they heeded the sound of the trumpet. But just the sounding of the trumpet does not stop the invading army. To me, the sounding of the last trumpet is more about the FINAL SIGNS at the very end of the great tribulation that the rapture is nigh at the door. The last trumpet is the final call to the marriage supper of the Lamb for us to be READY!
#223. The TRUMP OF GOD is DISTINCTLY for the Church. Since God deals with Israel and a rebellious world in the tribulation, the 7th trumpet CANNOT refer to the Church without losing THE DISTINCTIONS between Israel and the Church.
For ME I easily see Almighty God being ABLE to deal with the CHURCH at the SAME TIME that he deals with ISRAEL. Did God not LEAVE Israel ON the Earth when he turned to the GENTILES to extend his plan of salvation to the Gentiles? So WHY then does the PRE-tribulation doctrine DEMAND that the CHURCH CANNOT be here on the earth while God deals with Israel during the time of the great tribulation? There is NO loss of DISTINCTION between the church and Israel if BOTH are here ON the Earth at the SAME TIME during the great tribulation. The sound of the LAST trumpet is for BOTH the church AND for Israel at the SAME time. AT the sounding of the SEVENTH and LAST trumpet the church will be raptured to safety FROM the WRATH of God. And at the same. time the seventh and last trumpet will be an alarm for Israel and the world that the WRATH of God is coming upon them.
#224. The LAST TRUMP for the Church in the Pre-Trib Rapture--is the TRUMP OF GOD. The Revelation trumpets are blown by ANGELS.
And WHO SENT the ANGELS? Do you think the angels do things on their own? Or do you suppose the angels were obeying God's command to blow the trumpets? All seven trumpets that the angels will sound are the seven trumpets of God.
#225. The LAST TRUMP for the Church is to “call an assembly” to rise and meet Jesus in the air. The Revelation trumpets SEND God’s JUDGMENTS onto a rebellious world.
AGAIN, WHEN, or “AT” the TIME that the LAST TRUMPET is when the seventh angel will BEGIN to sound our change will take place in a MOMENT in a TWINKLING of an eye. The sounding of the seventh trumpet does NOT mean that ONLY the WRATH of God can take place. Remember that our CHANGE only takes a SPLIT SECOND of time AT the first moment that the last or seventh trumpet BEGINS to sound. Then after we are caught up into the air and we are safe with Jesus we will help Jesus pour out the WRATH of God upon the ungodly. And just think how GLORIOUS it will be to be RESCUED just in the nick of time? I mean you can not really appreciate something in the same way as when you were THAT CLOSE to losing it. People who have near-death experience often appreciate life much more after they thought their life was over. And Jesus said that when you THINK NOT then the Son of man will come. Jesus also said, Will I find faith on the earth when I come? Some will be mocking saying where is the PROMISE of his coming? So to me, Jesus will return when many will begin to DOUBT that Jesus will return.
#226. The LAST TRUMP for the Church is A CALL to come WORSHIP at Gods’ throne. The Revelation judgment trumpets cause people to HARDEN THEIR HEARTS and they do NOT REPENT--Revelation 9:20-21.
Again the last trumpet is for BOTH the call to come up to meet Jesus in the AIR and as an alarm of a SIGN that the wrath of God is coming on the world. Also, I would like to point out that there are absolutely NO verses of Scripture that we will be be taken to heaven for seven years to escape the time of the great tribulation and then come back down to the earth. All of that is a THEORY based upon incorrect interpretations of the Scripture.
#227. The LAST TRUMP for the Church is FOR BELIEVERS. The 7th trumpet judgment in Revelation is FOR UNBELIEVERS.
Over and over with the SAME line of reason. AT the MOMENT that the LAST TRUMPET BEGINS to SOUND in the book of Revelation is for BOTH the CHURCH and for the WORLD. The CHURCH shall be RAPTURED and then the WRATH of God will be poured out. God will lift His wrath when those in the WORLD REPENT and CALL upon the Lord. And those who repent shall be SAVED alive in their mortal bodies to go into the Millennium. All you need to do is to read the CONTEXT of the SEVENTH trumpet to know that it is the TIME of the resurrection of the saints to be given their REWARDS.
#228. The LAST TRUMP for the Church is an act of God’s GRACE. The 7th trumpet judgment in Revelation is an act of God’s WRATH.
God's GRACE does NOT ABRUPTLY END at the moment of the RAPTURE because if it did then God would not remember MERCY to LIFT His wrath and then all of humanity would be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus. And thus, God would have broken His promise to Israel to turn to them a SECOND time. There would be NO Millennium and no more people would be saved IF SO BE that the grace of God ENDS at the rapture of the church. WHY is it so hard for some Christians to see that there is only ONE trumpet that can be the LAST trumpet? Why can some Christians not see that the ONE LAST trumpet is BOTH a trumpet of GRACE for the believers to escape the WRATH of God AND a trumpet of JUDGMENT for the unbelievers? Revelation 10 teaches us that as the seventh trumpet BEGINS to sound the MYSTERY will be finished. So when you put ALL the verses of Scripture together then that rapture will take place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation just in the nick of time to escape the WRATH of God that will FOLLOW the great tribulation.
#229. In the TRUMP OF GOD passage, for the Church, we are exhorted to “Comfort one another with these words.” At the 7th trumpet in Revelation, “the nations will be angry.”
When Israel the NATURAL OLIVE branch was CUT off and WE were GRAFTED IN it was SEVERITY on THEIR PART but JOY on OUR PART. So, in the SAME WAY, the LAST TRUMPET will be JOY on OUR PART and SEVERITY on THEIR PART. Can you not see that these OPPOSITE things can happen at the SAME time at the SAME LAST trumpet which the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches is the SEVENTH trumpet in the book of Revelation. Well said the Holy Spirit that in the last days some would depart from the truth and to NOT ENDURE SOUND doctrine but would heap to themselves teachers to TICKLE the ear with what their flesh wants to hear.
#230. When the LAST TRUMP blows for the Church at the Rapture, Jesus will NOT be in heaven (like He is at the sounding of the 7th Revelation trumpet). Instead, Jesus descends into the air to call the Church to Himself. In the Revelation passage of the 7th trumpet, there’s NO MENTION of Jesus descending, shouting, or being in the clouds.
Read the CONTEXT and you will see that the two witnesses ascend up to heaven in the CLOUDS. AGAIN, EVERY verse does NOT give EVERY DETAIL. There is no mention in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54, of Jesus, DESCENDING from heaven either but we all know and agree that 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 is speaking of the rapture of the church. For you see, we all know and agree that there MUST be a RESURRECTION at the time of the rapture of the church. We must compare Scripture with Scripture to find ALL the details. And yes, Jesus was IN HEAVEN when John RECEIVED the REVELATION of Jesus Christ. However, WHEN this event happens Jesus will be IN the CLOUDS and we will ASCEND UP into the CLOUDS. In other words, we will be GATHERED TOGETHER to MEET Jesus IN the AIR and EVERY EYE shall SEE us. Remember in Acts that the angels said IN LIKE MANNER, NOT EXACTLY, but IN LIKE MANNER as you SEE Jesus being RECEIVED UP into the CLOUDS so shall it be when he COMES. This reason, to ME, sounds like Pre-trib Christians using ANY SCRAP or SHRED that can be USED in order to NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE so that they can continue to CLING to their FABLE of a PRE-tribulation rapture in order to ESCAPE suffering. If you begin to look at SUFFERING for JESUS as an HONOR then the fear that grips you will lift and you will receive PEACE.
#231. The “last trump” for the Church in the Rapture and the 7th trumpet of the Revelation CANNOT be the same.
WHY NOT? Is this statement of DENIAL a valid reason, or a non-acceptance of the TRUTH? Why can not two opposite things happen at the rapture of the church? Even at the so-called PRE-trib rapture, two opposite things happen at the same time. The church is raptured to safety while at the same time the great tribulation BEGINS So the WARNING to the world is to get saved so you are NOT LEFT BEHIND. So why can not the same TWO OPPOSITE things happen at the END of the great tribulation? The LAST trumpet will sound and the church will be delivered from the WRATH to come. And the WARNING to the world is to get saved so you will NOT be LEFT BEHIND to suffer the WRATH of God. The SEVENTH trumpet is the FINAL warning to the world after the world endures and suffers SIX previous trumpet judgments. What if an ATHEIST says, 'There just CANNOT be a God'? You would be saying WHY NOT? So again, if two opposite things can happen at the PRE-trib LAST trumpet before the great tribulation then WHY can not two opposite things happen at God’s TRUE LAST trumpet immediately AFTER the great tribulation? The TRUTH of the matter is that there is NO NEED to DIVIDE the ONE and ONLY SECOND coming into TWO SEPARATE and DISTINCT coming as being the ONLY WAY to harmonize the APPARENT contradictions in God's word. For you see, ALL the Scriptures HARMONIZE quite well when the word of TRUTH is RIGHTLY DIVIDED and is NOT TWISTED and CHANGED to FIT what we WANT to believe.
THERE’S MORE! USES OF TRUMPETS DEFINED #232. In Numbers 10:1-10, the uses of trumpets are defined. Two silver trumpets were constructed for the purpose of “calling the assembly together to worship” and for “the journeying of the camps.” When the camp was called to move, ONE trumpet would blow and the east part of the camp went forward. A SECOND trumpet would sound and the south part of the camp would move. Numbers 10:1-10 doesn’t mention the north and west sides, or the tribe of Levi and the tabernacle (as seen in Numbers 2:1-34)--but a THIRD, FOURTH and FIFTH trumpet MUST have sounded for the moving of the camps. At the LAST TRUMPET, the WHOLE camp would be MOVING OUT. Good analogy. Now show me HOW this ties into the MYSTERY of God being FINISHED. Make some connection other than the analogy of MOVING OUT. I believe this passage says they shall move forward into battle. At least that is the way I read it. And that is what will happen at the sound Biblical POST-tribulation rapture of the church. We will JOIN the army of angels to END the Islamic Muslim war against Israel. We will run through the troops and leap over the walls. We will be IMMORTAL and their weapons will be useless against us. Now you show us post-trib Christians something in these verses that relate to a RESURRECTION, or a GOING UP. Some points to consider are that these trumpets were blown by MEN and the LAST TRUMPET is the trumpet of God that will be sounded by the seventh angel. Also, 1 Corinthians does NOT specifically say WHO SOUNDS the TRUMPET of God but in Revelation, we see that it was the SEVENTH ANGEL who sounds the LAST TRUMPET. #233. The Apostle Paul, being a well-taught Jew, had to KNOW the MEANING of the LAST TRUMPET (by the Israeli definition). At the LAST TRUMP for the Church, which is A SIGNAL that our work is done, the WHOLE assembly will MOVE “camp” to heaven. First of all, there is NO Scripture that teaches us that we will be taken to heaven for seven years to escape the great tribulation. Also, Paul and the other disciples of Jesus TAUGHT what they were TAUGHT by our Lord. Perhaps Paul, in one of his REVELATIONS, was TAUGHT about the LAST TRUMPET? I am sure if it was in the Old Testament then Paul would have QUOTED that passage that spoke of this LAST TRUMPET. But I myself do not find anywhere that Paul QUOTED any such passage. Jesus must have revealed this truth to Paul the same way that Jesus revealed this truth about the FIRST resurrection to the Apostle John. I am not trying to be rude, but the word LAST is a very SIMPLE and EASY to UNDERSTAND word. LAST means AFTER ALL OTHERS. Therefore, the LAST TRUMPET to SOUND MUST, without fail, be AFTER ALL OTHER TRUMPETS have SOUNDED! So IF the PRE-tribulation were TRUE and the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised OCCURS BEFORE the time of GREAT TRIBULATION, then this would, therefore, mean that there could NOT POSSIBLY BE ANY OTHER TRUMPETS that could SOUND after the PRE-trib trumpet. For you see, the RAPTURE of the CHURCH takes place AT the SOUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET. Therefore, there could NOT POSSIBLY BE ANY, NO, NOT ONE SINGLE SOUNDING of a TRUMPET during the time of GREAT TRIBULATION. And that means that the seven trumpets in the book of Revelation must happen BEFORE the time of the GREAT tribulation. It simply means that the PRE-trib prophecy teachers have ERRORED in their INTERPRETATION of the Scripture. Also, Jesus would be lying when he said there will be a great sound of a trumpet in Matthew 24:28-31 IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation. And we all agree that Matthew 24:29-31 is speaking of the SECOND coming of Jesus to execute the WRATH of God. But rather, right BEFORE the wrath of God, there will be a sound of a great trumpet and the GATHERING TOGETHER of the elect from one end of heaven to the other end of heaven. Can you not see that the word last means that no other trumpets are possible after the last trumpet? And IF SO BE that the last trumpet sounds BEFORE the great tribulation then Jesus is a LIAR for saying that there will be a trumpet at his SECOND coming because the LAST TRUMPET would have ALREADY been SOUNDED BEFORE the time of GREAT TRIBULATION. Again, the LAST TRUMPET means that there can be NO OTHER TRUMPETS to SOUND AFTER the LAST TRUMPET has SOUNDED! And Jesus HIMSELF said that IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation at his SECOND coming there would be a great sound of a TRUMPET. I have to BELIEVE the words of Jesus over the THEORIES of men. #234. Some people think the ascension of the “two witnesses” in Revelation 11:12 is the Rapture of the Church. (a.) The “two witnesses” are RAISED from the dead BEFORE THE BLOWING of the 7th trumpet in Revelation! But at the VERY INSTANT the TRUMP is BLOWN for THE CHURCH, the resurrection/ rapture will happen. The word of God says AT the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. So the rapture of the church is AT the sounding of the LAST TRUMPET. The word of God ALSO says BEGINS to sound in Revelation 10:7. So when the LAST TRUMPET BEGINS to SOUND the MYSTERY of our CHANGE will be ACCOMPLISHED or finished. And Revelation 11:14 says the third woe comes QUICKLY which could mean within seconds after the rapture of the church represented by the two witnesses. And immediately after verse 14, we have verse 15 where we see the sounding of the SEVENTH trumpet which we all agree is the WRATH of God. But in that CONTEXT of the TIME that the SEVENTH trumpet is sounded, we see that it is the TIME of the dead speaking of the resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. And we also see that it is the TIME to give rewards to the saints. How much more SOUND Biblical proof do the pre-trib Christians need before they can see that the Bible ITSELF teaches a POST-tribulation rapture of the church? Only those that teach the PRE-tribulation rapture teach that we shall FIRST HEAR the sound of the TRUMPET calling us HOME. I agree that those in the grave will HEAR his VOICE, but I do not remember reading anything in the word of God about HEARING the LAST TRUMPET FIRST before we will be raptured. The phrase “AT the last trumpet” can mean right before the last trumpet actually sounds. And the phrase “the MYSTERY shall be FINISHED when the seventh angel BEGINS to sound” definitely means that the rapture will take place right BEFORE the last trumpet sounds. And Revelation 11:14 clearly teaches that the seventh trumpet will come QUICKLY right after the rapture of the church. #235. Some people think the ascension of the “two witnesses” in Revelation 11:12 is the Rapture of the Church. (b.) The Church will be Raptured in the TWINKLING OF AN EYE. The TWINKLING OF THE EYE is INSTANTANEOUS--split-fractions of a second! For the Church, it’s “Now you see them--now you don’t!” BUT the “two witnesses” will have TIME to stand on their feet and THE WHOLE WORLD will WATCH them on satellite TV. The resurrection of the “two witnesses” CANNOT be the Rapture of the Church. If things are as bad as the PRE-tribulation doctrine teaches, then it is hard for ME to picture the WHOLE WORLD watching satellite TV. That is just a side note. My point is that the pre-trib Christians ASSUME that the rapture itself takes place in a twinkling of an eye. BUT the Bible itself teaches us that our CHANGE from being mortal to become immortal will take place in a twinkling of an eye. The angel said to the disciples watching Jesus ascend into the air and being taken out of sight by the clouds that AS you see Jesus ascending in the clouds so shall it BE at his COMING. So for ME I personally, understand that the word of God is speaking of OUR CHANGE happening in a twinkling of an eye. As far as the CATCHING UP or ASCENDING UP into the CLOUDS to be GATHERED TOGETHER and then taken to MEET Jesus in the AIR over this place called ARMAGEDDON, I PERSONALLY do NOT see this PART of the RAPTURE occurring in a SPLIT SECOND. INTERESTING COMPARISONS OF THE TRUMP OF GOD AT MT. SINAI-AND TRUMP OF GOD AT THE RAPTURE! #236. In Exodus 19:16-20, there’s a TRUMP OF GOD as God DESCENDED upon Mt. Sinai--NO angels or people blew this trumpet--but God Himself. At the second occurrence of the TRUMP OF GOD, at the rapture of the Church, NO angels or people will blow it. So then, let us make a few more interesting COMPARISONS. ONLY Moses ascended UP the mountain and all of God's people remained at the base of the mountain. Please read Exodus 19:15. “And he said unto the people, Be READY against the third day: come NOT at your wives.” So then IF the RAPTURE is IMMINENT so that you can NEVER KNOW when Jesus is coming, then in order for you to be READY for his coming then you are to NOT come at your wife. Just making some more COMPARISONS. Also, NO ONE goes to HEAVEN. Moses goes to the top of the mountain and then comes right back down again. And God comes DOWN to the top of the mountain, very UNLIKE a PRE-tribulation rapture where Jesus does NOT touch the ground. If pre-trib Christians are going to use this passage to try and prove a PRE-tribulation rapture then use the WHOLE account. #237. At Mt. Sinai and in the Rapture, BOTH the TRUMP OF GOD and an AUDIBLE VOICE are heard. Exodus 19:19 --(God answered Moses by voice) and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 --(the SHOUT of Jesus). AGAIN, EVERY DETAIL is NOT given in EVERY passage of Scripture. In Revelation 11:12 they HEARD a GREAT VOICE and then the seventh trumpet sounded QUICKLY in verses 14 and 15. Revelation 11:12,14,15. “And they HEARD a great VOICE from heaven saying unto them, COME UP HITHER. And they ASCENDED UP to heaven in a CLOUD, and their enemies beheld them… ...14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe COMES QUICKLY. 15. And the SEVENTH angel SOUNDED; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Pretty much like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 where the SHOUT is the GREAT VOICE. And being CAUGHT UP in the CLOUDS is the ASCENDING UP in the CLOUDS. And the trump of God is the sounding of the SEVENTH trumpet. #238. At Mt. Sinai, Israel was redeemed from slavery to Egypt. At the Rapture, the Church is REDEEMED from our sinful flesh (which CAN INDEED hold a Christian in slavery--IF we DON’T reckon ourselves DEAD to sin through Jesus). Not sure how this proves a PRE-tribulation rapture. We are freed from sin the moment we first believed in Jesus as our Savior. Sin has NO MORE dominion over us. We are no longer slaves to sin. This argument does not prove a pre-trib rapture. #239. At Mt. Sinai, God DWELLED with Israel. At the Rapture, the Church DWELLS with Jesus. According to the PRE-tribulation point of view, the church dwells with Jesus IN HEAVEN for 7 years, but in Exodus God came DOWN to the Earth to dwell with man. Also, in Exodus God LEFT and went back to heaven and the children of Israel remained on the earth. In other words, they did not REMAIN with God forever. They did NOT ascend into heaven with God. However, in a POST tribulation rapture, God and His Son Jesus come DOWN and we go UP to the CLOUDS to MEET Jesus in the AIR. And then we come right back DOWN after the WRATH has been poured out just like Moses did in Exodus to teach the people. And by coming right back down, I mean that the city of God will remain up in the AIR or in the orbit of the earth and we will travel back and forth to the surface of the earth to teach the mortal on the earth. Then at the end of the 1000 years, Almighty God himself comes DOWN to DWELL with the righteous. Jesus never leaves us to go back to heaven but rather we rule and reign WITH Jesus for 1000 years. We do not have to wait for seven more years before the blood of our fellow-servants is avenged like the pre-trib rapture theory. As soon as we are caught up into the AIR we are gathered together by the angels and taken to MEET Jesus is the AIR over the place called Armageddon to execute vengeance for the things we suffered for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. #240. The TRUMP OF GOD sounded on Mt. Sinai for Israel on the FEAST OF PENTECOST. The SECOND, and LAST TRUMP OF GOD relates to a Church that BEGAN on PENTECOST. No argument there, but this ONLY PROVES a POST tribulation rapture of the CHURCH and NOT a so-called PRE-tribulation rapture. Remember LAST means LAST. Also, according to this pre-trib argument, this means that Jesus will return on the feast of Pentecost. But all the spring feasts were fulfilled at the FIRST coming of Jesus. So it is more likely that Jesus will return on one of the FALL feast days to fulfill the three fall feast days as well. #241. THE TRUMP OF GOD is a DIFFERENT TRUMPET than the ones used in the judgments of the tribulation. The 7th trumpet CANNOT be the LAST TRUMP of the Church’s rapture! It does not matter what KIND of TRUMPET the last trumpet is. Whether it be SILVER or whether it be gold or brass it does not matter what kind of trumpet it is. It does NOT matter what the TRUMPET is used for. For you see, a TRUMPET is a TRUMPET. And the LAST TRUMPET is the LAST TRUMPET. And LAST means that NO OTHER TRUMPET NO matter if it is a DIFFERENT SIZE COLOR SHAPE or even makes a DIFFERENT SOUND it is STILL A TRUMPET. If it is CALLED a TRUMPET by the WORD of ALMIGHTY GOD then it is a TRUMPET and NO OTHER TRUMPET no matter WHAT you WANT to believe can SOUND after the LAST TRUMPET has SOUNDED. So let LOGIC teach you WHEN the RAPTURE of the CHURCH will occur by the SOUNDING of the LAST TRUMPET. There is ONLY ONE PLACE IN TIME where this will work and ALL the Scriptures HARMONIZE, and that place in TIME is AT the SECOND coming of our Lord just like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ HIMSELF TAUGHT us in Matthew chapter 24:29-31. Otherwise, take a marker and blot out the words of Jesus who said there will be a great sound of a TRUMPET when he comes so you can TRY and harmonize the Scripture to fit your pre-trib theory. ALL 250 of these so-called reasons for a pre-trib rapture are based on the ASSUMPTION that the pre-trib rapture is true. Not one of these 250 reasons supports a pre-trib rapture. And if you have read all six parts of this study then you have seen that many of these pre-trib arguments ACTUALLY PROVE the POST-trib rapture of the church. THE FEASTS OF THE LORD #242. The SEVEN FEASTS of THE LORD, given to Israel in Leviticus 23:1-44 is God’s TIMETABLE. They show PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT of the crucifixion of Jesus, the birth of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus. True. And I personally believe that the rapture will take place on the feast of trumpets which is a FALL feast day. So the last trumpet will not be on the feast of Pentecost which Jesus already fulfilled at his first coming but building his church. #243. Four of the FEASTS are FULFILLED on the EXACT DAY when Israel observed them! (a.) PASSOVER, the 14th of Nisan, the FIRST MONTH of Israel’s RELIGIOUS YEAR. Jesus was CRUCIFIED on the VERY SAME DAY--the LAMB OF GOD, Who TAKES AWAY the sins of the world. (b.) UNLEAVENED BREAD, the 15th of Nisan. Jesus was BURIED by sundown, the START of that feast--Jesus’ burial on that EXACT DATE represents and FULFILLS the middle loaf which was HIDDEN or BURIED in the feast of Unleavened Bread. (c.) FIRSTFRUITS, the Sunday after Unleavened Bread (in 32 A.D., that EXACT DAY occurred THREE DAYS after Jesus was buried). On the THIRD DAY, Jesus ROSE from the DEAD and became THE FIRSTFRUITS of them that died. Fulfilled exactly! (d.) PENTECOST--also called the “Feast of Weeks,” 50th day after Firstfruits. The Holy Spirit descended upon the FIRST believers of THE CHURCH. When PENTECOST (Shavuot) was FULFILLED on the EXACT DAY of its CELEBRATION, the FIRST MEMBERS of the NEW CHURCH were JEWS, so the FEAST was FULFILLED in ISRAEL--even though the Church became predominantly Gentile throughout its history. I have not PERSONALLY checked the dates in history, but I have no reason to believe this is not true at this moment in time. I do not see how this argument supports a PRE-trib rapture. #244. Since the FIRST THREE feasts were FULFILLED on EXACT DAYS that Israel observed them, so also, we can safely assume that the LAST THREE feasts will be FULFILLED on the EXACT DAY of their observance, too. GOD DOES NOT CHANGE. It sounds like good logic which for now seems safe to ASSUME. I still do not see how this argument proves a PRE-trib rapture. #245. The LAST THREE feasts PROPHESY the events of Jesus’ Second Coming. (a.) The FEAST OF TRUMPETS (Rosh Hashanah), first day of the 7th month of Tishri (which is also the FIRST DAY of the FIRST MONTH of Israel’s CIVIL YEAR)! This is when Israel celebrates its NEW YEAR! On that day, A NEW SEVEN YEARS will BEGIN for Israel, as antichrist confirms a COVENANT with them, which STARTS the tribulation. [The Church will be Raptured BEFORE that event occurs.] (b.) Yom Kippur, the FEAST OF ATONEMENT, the 10th day of the 7th month. This will be THE DAY when Jesus ATONES the sins of Israel (they will be forgiven and restored)--and He will set His feet on the Mt. of Olives on THIS DAY of His Second Coming. The Second Coming will SIMULTANEOUSLY fulfill A JUBILEE (Leviticus 25:9-15) in Israel on the DAY OF ATONEMENT. The land will return to its RIGHTFUL OWNERS, and THE EARTH will return to THE LORD’S POSSESSION. Captives will be set free and all debts will be forgiven. All these DETAILS are a part of what Jesus will do as His feet touch the earth on THAT DAY OF ATONEMENT. (c.) THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES (Sukkot), the 15th day of the 7th month. Five days after Jesus has returned to the earth, the celebration of God living with His people (dwelling with, tabernacle with them) will be celebrated. Zechariah 14:16. Fulfilled on the EXACT DAY of its celebration! Zechariah 14:16 teaches us that the FEAST of TABERNACLES will be KEPT DURING the 1000 year REIGN of Jesus, which tells ME that the FEAST of TABERNACLES will NOT be COMPLETELY FULFILLED UNTIL the END of the 1000 years when ALMIGHTY God HIMSELF will come DOWN to the NEW Earth to DWELL or to tabernacle with men. So then, the feast of the TRUMPETS, PLURAL and the feast of the ATONEMENT will be fulfilled in the last days BEFORE the 1000 year reign of Jesus. But WHEN? Here is what Leviticus ACTUALLY says. Leviticus 23:24-44. “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the SEVENTH MONTH, in the FIRST DAY of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of TRUMPETS (PLURAL), a holy convocation. 25. You shall do no servile work therein: but you shall offer an offering made by FIRE unto the LORD. 26. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying. 27. ALSO on the TENTH DAY of THIS SEVENTH MONTH, there shall be a DAY of ATONEMENT: it shall be a holy convocation unto you, and you shall AFFLICT your SOULS, and offer an offering made by FIRE unto the LORD. 28. And you shall do NO work in that same day: for it is a DAY of ATONEMENT, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29. For whatsoever soul it is that shall NOT be AFFLICTED on that same day, he shall be CUT OFF from among his people. 30. And whatsoever soul it be that does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31. You shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and you shall AFFLICT your SOULS: in the NINTH DAY of the month at even, from even unto even, shall you celebrate your sabbath. 33. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 34. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The FIFTEENTH DAY of this SEVENTH month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. (Well to ME if the ONLY feast day that is being KEPT during the 1000 year REIGN of Jesus is the feast of TABERNACLES, then does this mean that all the other feast days have been FULFILLED and no longer need to be KEPT?) 35. On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. 36. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you, and you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly, and you shall do no servile work therein. 37. These are the feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon his day: 38. Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give unto the LORD. 39. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month,(The feast of TABERNACLES) when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 40. And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 41. And you shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42. You shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites BORN shall dwell in booths: 43. That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 44. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.” Well, to ME, it sounds like the feast of TRUMPETS covering the time of GREAT TRIBULATION when we are to AFFLICT our souls and PRAY for the PEOPLE. And the DAY of ATONEMENT sounds like a more specific and shorter period of time. Both sound very SERIOUS about AFFLICTING our SOULS lest we are CUT OFF. But NONE of it sounds like a PRE-tribulation rapture in order to ESCAPE being AFFLICTED. #246. These FEASTS are for Israel. The Church has NOT been instructed to keep them. Colossians 2:16-17. Well, IF this were TRUE, then the CHURCH would have NO RIGHT to receive the Holy Spirit as they did on the Day of Pentecost that was FULFILLED on the EXACT DAY as this author stated earlier. In fact. most EVERYTHING in the Old Testament could be thrown out, because most everything was written to Israel and NOT to the CHURCH with this line of REASONING. Granted, there are SOME things in the Bible that ONLY pertain to Israel, but IF the FEAST were ALL for Israel and NONE for the CHURCH, then why bring them up? We CANNOT pick and choose which feast days pertain to us and which feasts pertain ONLY to Israel. Does the feast of the ATONEMENT pertain to the CHURCH? Does it pertain to Israel? Did Jesus die for us only? Or did Jesus die for Israel as well? No, the church has not been instructed to keep the feast days, but we are TAUGHT in the word that the things in the Old Testament are SHADOWS of things to COME, an EXAMPLES from which we can LEARN. #247. Some teach that the Rapture of the Church will happen on Pentecost to END the Church age on the SAME DAY the Church was born. The idea is INCORRECT for THREE reasons. (a.) Although the Church was born on Pentecost, it fulfilled a FEAST DAY for Israel, because the FIRST who were born into the Church were Jews. (b.) If we needed to wait for the Lord to Rapture His Church on Pentecost (from year to year), it DESTROYS IMMINENCE. (c.) We’ll NOT know the day or the hour when the Church will be Raptured, so we’re exhorted to be WATCHING for Jesus. The Bible says that the children of Israel are given the SEVENTH MONTH in which the feast of TRUMPETS and the DAY of ATONEMENT is to be KEPT and if ALL the OTHER feasts were FULFILLED of the EXACT DAY, then why not expect the DAY of ATONEMENT to be FULFILLED of the EXACT SAME DAY? But WHAT YEAR? We will not know the year until we see the SIGNS of our Lord’s coming. And even if we know the exact year based upon 2,000 years from the year Jesus was resurrected we still do not know the day and the hour. #248. Some teach that the Rapture of the Church will happen on the FEAST OF TRUMPETS (because of the TRUMPETS, in relation to the Rapture). The idea is incorrect for the THREE reasons. (a.) The Trumpets BLOW to ANNOUNCE a NEW YEAR in Israel, NOT to Rapture the Church! This also FORCES the idea that the Church will be Raptured at the SAME TIME that the antichrist signs the “peace agreement” with Israel (which STARTS the tribulation). There’s NOTHING in prophecy to suggest that AT THE INSTANT the Church is removed, the tribulation begins. It’s logical that SOME TIME must pass--between the Rapture, and WHEN the antichrist gains enough power to make that covenant. (b.) If we needed to wait for the Lord to Rapture His Church on some future Feast of Trumpets, it DESTROYS IMMINENCE. (c.) We’ll NOT know the day or the hour when the Church will be Raptured, so we’re exhorted to be WATCHING for Jesus. For ME, I see the DAY and the HOUR as NOT being KNOWN at the TIME that Jesus spoke these words but NOT that the DAY and the HOUR could NEVER be KNOWN. Jesus said that IF we WATCH then we will KNOW the time of his coming. And those who do NOT watch Jesus will come on those as a THIEF. TO SUM IT UP! #249. Where’s the SOUND Biblical doctrine SHOWING that the Rapture occurs SOMETIME WITHIN the tribulation. THERE’S NONE! TRUE, But there IS MUCH BIBLICAL EVIDENCE to CLEARLY SHOW that the RAPTURE occurs IMMEDIATELY AFTER the time of GREAT TRIBULATION! #250. There is indeed SOUND Biblical doctrine SHOWING that the Rapture is PRE-TRIBULATION. IN MANY PLACES! ONLY if you CHANGE the meanings of CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE WORDS like SECOND and FIRST. CLEAR STATEMENT OF FACT:
Jesus will COME a SECOND TIME. Jesus will not come BEFORE the great tribulation because Acts 3:18-21 clearly teaches us that Jesus MUST REMAIN IN HEAVEN UNTIL the TIME of the RESTITUTION of all things. The word restitution means the reconstitution or the REBUILDING. It means the time of restoration and the restoring of the kingdom to Israel during the Millennial kingdom. Acts 3:18-21. “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled. 19. Repent you, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” All Christians agree that the Old Testament prophesies of TWO comings of Jesus. Acts 3:18 says that Jesus has already fulfilled the first coming of Jesus and that Jesus MUST remain in heaven UNTIL the times of restitution of all things. We know that during the great tribulation there will be war and other catastrophic events that will cause much destruction. We also know that after the great tribulation there will be even more destruction during the WRATH of God. So it is foolishness to claim that Jesus will restore all things at a so-called PRE-trib rapture just to be destroyed again during the great tribulation and then some more during the wrath of God so that Jesus can restore all things again during the Millennium. The clear sound Biblical FACT is that prophecy states that Jesus will come a SECOND time. Isaiah 11:10-12. “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. (This is the prophecy for the FIRST coming of Jesus and the time of the Gentiles or the church age) 11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the SECOND time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (The REMNANT of Israel will be taken as prisoners of war during the end of the great tribulation or Jacob’s time of trouble to await their death. The Scripture does NOT say that the Lord shall set his hand to recover the remnant of his people a second AND a third time. So that means that the rapture of the church MUST take place at the SAME time as Jesus delivers the captives of the remnant of Israel. The rapture will take place IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation. Then we will help Jesus execute the WRATH of God. Then a REMNANT of Israel and those left alive of the nations will be saved alive in their mortal bodies to go into the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus. Israel will be gathered together from all over the world back into their land. Jesus will RESTORE the kingdom to Israel and the waste places with be REBUILT.) 12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” PRE TRIB DENIAL of the FACTS:
The PRE-trib rapture theory says “NO! The Bible doesn't really mean that Jesus will come a SECOND time. The post-trib Christians have to understand that Jesus NEEDS to come BEFORE the time of GREAT tribulation because we, the CHURCH, are NOT appointed to the WRATH of God. So, therefore, Jesus MUST come BEFORE the tribulation so that we can ESCAPE the WRATH of God, and THEN he will come again at his SECOND coming.” That is called TWISTING the scriptures to FIT one's own PERSONALLY INTERPRETATION. That is called trying to explain away the Scriptures. That is called not understanding the true meaning of the WRATH of God. That is called CONFUSING the great tribulation with the WRATH of God as wrongly being one and the self-same event. So I implore you to read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!” PRE-TRIB DENIES CLEAR STATEMENTS OF FACT:
The Bible states as a fact without any need of interpretation that “Blessed and holy is he that has a part in the FIRST resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” Revelation 20:4-6. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6. Blessed and holy is he that has a part in the FIRST resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” PRE TRIB DENIAL of the FACTS: The PRE-trib rapture theory says “NO! The Bible does NOT mean the FIRST resurrection as just a SINGLE ONE TIME resurrection, but rather the Bible really means that the FIRST resurrection is DIVIDED into THREE DIFFERENT STAGES.” Again, the pre-trib Christians are CHANGING the word of God to FIT their own PERSONAL INTERPRETATION. They are adding to the word of God to make two separate comings out of the ONE second coming of Jesus. They are adding to the word of God to make THREE resurrections out of the ONE FIRST resurrection. CLEAR STATEMENT OF FACT: But the REST of the DEAD lived NOT again UNTIL the END of the 1000 years. PRE TRIB DENIAL of the FACTS: The pre-trib Christians say, “NO, what the Bible really means is that the REST here refers to ONLY the WICKED.” This sounded logical when I first heard it at the time I once believed in the pre-trib rapture of the church. But when I saw in the BIBLE that people in the MORTAL bodies DIED during the 1000 years I KNEW that not ALL of them could possibly be WICKED. If so then Jesus would be a failure in teaching people about God. NO! Many thousands of times NO! There will be BOTH the righteous and the wicked who will be resurrected in the second and final resurrection at the end of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. CLEAR STATEMENT OF FACT: AT the LAST trumpet. PRE TRIB DENIAL of the FACTS:
The pre-trib Christians say “NO, the LAST TRUMPET could NOT possibly be the SEVENTH trumpet in Revelation because those trumpets are trumpets of JUDGMENT and the trumpet at the rapture is a calling UP of the CHURCH. So when the Bible says the LAST TRUMPET it really does NOT mean LAST.” You can CHANGE all the words in the Bible you want but it STILL will NOT CHANGE the TRUTH! You can BELIEVE in a PRE-tribulation rapture just like the atheist BELIEVES that there is NO God but ANY BELIEF in that which is FALSE will NOT cause it to BE SO! CLEAR STATEMENT OF FACT: Jesus is coming as a THIEF. PRE TRIB DENIAL of the FACTS: The pre-trib Christians say “NO! Jesus coming as a thief does NOT mean that Jesus is coming as a thief to KILL and DESTROY. Jesus comes as a thief to secretly steal us away before the great tribulation” Please read the study “JESUS IS COMING AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT!” ENDING NOTE: There might be MORE reasons for the Pre-Trib Rapture than I’ve listed here. For me to arrive at 250 REASONS is SOLID PROOF for the Pre-Trib position! In TRUTH, there are ONLY about 20 actual arguments for a PRE-tribulation rapture that can be understood as legitimate and sincere questions to ponder. For example, WHY does there seem to be a KNOWN day and an UNKNOWN day? That is a good valid question. But to claim that there is NO OTHER WAY to answer this question WITHOUT there being TWO separate comings is DECEIVING Christians. Why not be HONEST and allow your flock to hear BOTH sides of the argument and then let them decide for themselves. The POST-trib side says that the UNKNOW day will only be unknown UNTIL we start seeing the SIGNS of the coming of Jesus and THEN we will be able to discern the time of our Lord’s coming. Therefore, the unknown day and the known day are the SAME day. In other words, the DAY of the second coming is not known to us right now but when we see the SIGNS that Jesus told us to WATCH for, then we will KNOW that our redemption draws near and it is at hand. Please read the study “NO MAN KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR!” Now, to ME, all the other so-called 250 REASONS are simply desperate attempts to CLING to that which TICKLES the ear and is pleasant to hear. So the challenge below is NOT a valid challenge. For you see, there are actually only around 20 real reasons that are divide and repeat so man times to make it look as IF there are 250 reasons. I offer a challenge to any mid- and post-tribbers, and to the pre-wrath people, too. SHOW ME 250 SPECIFIC reasons why your positions are true. Until you can do that, with indisputable, LITERAL, and SPECIFIC scriptures, then I will REMAIN CONVINCED that the Pre-Trib Rapture is the CORRECT interpretation! Almost any SOUND Biblical doctrine can be torn apart by those who are WILLINGLY IGNORANT to NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE by TWISTING the Scriptures to their OWN hurt! It seems as if sound Biblical teaching is only received and believed by Christians who are TRULY seeking the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. Please read my personal testimony to learn why I can no longer believe in the PRE-tribulation rapture. And if you have not read Part 1 through Part 5 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!” And for ALL my studies on the rapture of the church and end time prophecy please click of the heading >>>PROPHECY-THE COMING OF JESUS<<< Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY
WHY I can no longer believe in the PRE-tribulation rapture of the church. I was first taught the pre-tribulation point of view and believed this teaching without question for a couple of years. Then I began to see some contradictions with this teaching in the word of God. I continued to believe this doctrine for a few more years until I was led by the Holy Spirit to search out the truth for myself. Before this time I read this book that gave 50 reasons why the rapture will take place before the time of great tribulation. The author of this book is John Walvoord and the title of his book is The Rapture Question published by Zondervan. I have since destroyed the book, but below are the 50 reasons he used that I got off the following website: http://www.biblicist.org/bible/fifty.shtml
While I was searching for these 50 reasons I found this other author with 250 reasons so I chose to use her reasons, because she had five times as many. Or so she CLAIMS, but as you have seen many of these so-called reasons need to be combined in order to make a logical argument. I leave these 50 reasons for you to read, but they are the same as those we have already covered in this study. Also, I have heard, but not verified that John Walvoord CHANGED his views to a POST tribulation rapture before he died. Reasons for a PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE
50 Reasons for the Pretribulation Rapture Historical Argument 1. While post-tribulation appeared as early as 2 Thessalonians 2, many in the early church believed in the imminency of the Lord's return, which is an essential doctrine of pre-tribulation. (Imminecy simply means IMPENDING. Imminency does NOT mean UNKNOWN, having NO SIGNS to look for the coming of Jesus. But yet the PRE-trib Christians REDEFINE the word IMMINENT to fit their own personal interpretation. The word imminent is NOT in the Bible. The early church was in great tribulation and that is WHY the sincerely believed that the coming of Jesus was near.) 2. The detailed development of the pre-tribulation truth during the past few centuries does not prove that the doctrine is new or novel. Its development is similar to that of other major doctrines in the history of the church. (If you read the OLDER books you will NOT find many of the weak explainings away of the sound Biblical rebuttals brought forth to refute the pre-trib doctrine. The pre-trib doctrine has been rejected and opposed by Christians from its beginning in the 1800s) Hermeneutics 3. Pretribulationism is the only view that allows literal interpretation of all Old and New Testament passages on the Great Tribulation. (To claim that the pre-trib is the ONLY way to harmonize the Scripture is DECEIVING Christians.) 4. Pretribulationism distinguishes clearly between Israel and the church and their respective programs. (The ADDING of MORE dispensations than the Bible itself teaches is again DECEPTION) Nature of the Tribulation 5. Pretribulationism maintains the scriptural distinction between the Great Tribulation and tribulation in general that precedes it. (And so does the POST-tribulation teaching) 6. The Great Tribulation is properly interpreted by pre-tribulation Christians as a time of preparation for Israel's restoration (Deu. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:4-11). It is not the purpose of the Tribulation to prepare the church for glory. (Yes, but this does NOT prove a PRE-trib rapture because Israel will not repent until AFTER the WRATH of God that will be poured out by Jesus at his SECOND coming) 7. None of the Old Testament passages on the Tribulation mention the church (Deu. 4:29-30; Jer. 30: 4-11; Dan. 8:24-27; 12:1-2). (This is another deception which is why you need to read the Bible for yourself to see if you are being taught CORRECTLY. Read Daniel 7:21,21 which is a prophecy of the CHURCH “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them; 22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most-High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” And we read this same prophecy again in the book of Revelation. See Revelation 11:7-18, Revelation13:4-7, Revelation17:6,14, Revelation 19:19 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8.) 8. None of the New Testament passages on the Tribulation mention the church (Matt. 13:30; 39-42, 48-50; 24:15-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 5:4-9; 2 Thess. 2:1-11; Rev. 4-18). (Again, this is DECEIVING Christians. Jesus himself said that the church would have much persecution. And Matthew 24 clearly teaches us that the CHURCH, the ELECT will go through the great tribulation. So just because the PRE-trib Christians TWIST the TRUE meaning of Matthew 24 does not mean that the ELECT is not speaking of the CHURCH. You need to do your OWN research on the word ELECT because the ELECT is, INDEED, the CHURCH) 9. In contrast to mid-tribulation, the pre-tribulation view provides an adequate explanation for the beginning of the Great Tribulation in Revelation 6. Midtribulationism is refuted by the plain teaching of Scripture that the Great Tribulation begins long before the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11. (The seventh trumpet is the WRATH of God and the wrath of God is NOT the great tribulation. Please read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!”) 10. The proper distinction is maintained between the prophetic trumpets of Scripture by pre-tribulation. There is no proper ground for the pivotal argument of mid-tribulation that the seventh trumpet of Revelation is the last trumpet in that there is no established connection between the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11, the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52, and the trumpet of Matthew 24:31. They are three distinct events. (Please read the studies “WHEN WILL THE RAPTURE OCCUR?” and “THE RAPTURE OCCURS AT THE LAST TRUMPET!” These studies show HOW the PRE-trib Christians have twisted the Scriptures to their own hurt by NOT comparing Scripture with Scripture.) 11. The unity of Daniel's seventieth week is maintained by pre-tribulation. By contrast, post-tribulation and mid-tribulation destroy the unity of Daniel's seventieth week and confuse Israel's program with that of the church. (The PRE-trib INTERPRETATION of Daniel’s seventieth week is in ERROR. Please read the studies “A NEW LOOK AT THE 70th WEEK OF DANIEL!” and “WHEN IS THE MIDST OF THE WEEK?”) Nature of the Church 12. The translation of the church is never mentioned in any passage dealing with the second coming of Christ after the Tribulation. (Another deception. Our change takes place AT the LAST trumpet and the LAST trumpet is AT the second coming according to the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 24:29-31.) 13. The church is not appointed to wrath (Rom. 5:9: 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 5:9). The church, therefore, cannot enter “the great day of their wrath” (Rev. 6:17). (Again, the great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God. Please read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!”) 14. The church will not be overtaken by the day of the Lord (1 Thess. 5:1-9, which includes the Tribulation. (No, it does NOT include the great tribulation. Read the study “WRATH OF GOD VERSUS THE GREAT TRIBULATION!”) 15. The possibility of a believer escaping the Tribulation is mentioned in Luke 21:36. (You see even the famous pre-trib prophecy teachers are not completely convinced that there will, without fail, be a PRE-trib escape, the great tribulation rapture of the church. And when you CORRECTLY understand Luke 21:36 you will see that the church is being taught to WATCH for the SIGNS of the coming of Jesus which totally destroys the PRE-trib definition of the word IMMINENT that wrongly teaches that there will be NO SIGNS for the rapture of the church at the COMING of Jesus. And the specific signs that Jesus is referring to in Luke 21:36 are the signs in the SUN, the MOON, and the STARS at the very END of the great tribulation and right before the WRATH of God.) 16. The church of Philadelphia was promised deliverance from “the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). (And the HOUR of trial or adversity is the WRATH of God and NOT the great tribulation) 17. It is characteristic of divine dealing to deliver believers before a divine judgment is inflicted on the world as illustrated in the deliverance of Noah, Lot, Rahab, etc. (2 Peter 2:5-9). (First of all, God makes a way for us to escape EVERY temptation of Satan but that does NOT mean that we are taken to heaven to escape the TEMPTATION. But rather it means that God will help us overcome and ENDURE the temptation while we are suffering the temptation. So then 2 Peter 2:5-8 is not the WHOLE truth because Peter also says in 1 Peter 4:16-19 that judgment BEGINS with the CHURCH. And thus, the suffering persecution during the great tribulation is NOT the WRATH of God) 18. At the time of the translation of the church, all believers go to the Father's house in heaven (John 14:3) and do not immediately return to the earth after meeting Christ in the air as post-tribulation teaches. (Again, the pre-trib interpretation of John 14:1-3 is in ERROR. Please read the study “THE POWER AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER!”) 19. Pretribulationism does not divide the body of Christ at the Rapture on a works principle. The teaching of a partial rapture is based on the false doctrine that the translation of the church is a reward for good works. It is rather a climactic aspect of salvation by grace. (In truth, it is the PRE-trib theory that wrongly teaches a PARTIAL rapture of the church by DIVIDING the ONE and the ONLY SECOND coming of Jesus into TWO raptures. They try to HIDE this PARTIAL rapture of the church by claiming that the so-called tribulation SAINTS are NOT a part of the CHURCH. And that is DECEIVING Christians. For you see, ONLY the church will rule and reign WITH Jesus for 1000 years. Please read Revelation 20:4- 6 where the so-called tribulation saints will rule and reign WITH Jesus for 1000 years) 20. The Scriptures clearly teach that all, not part of the church, will be raptured at the coming of Christ for the church (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:17). (Same deception as reason 19) 21. As opposed to a view of a partial rapture, pre-tribulation is founded on the definite teaching of Scripture that the death of Christ frees from all condemnation. (Same deception as reason 19) 22. The godly remnant of the Tribulation is pictured as Israelites, not members of the church as maintained by the post-tribulation. (Same deception as reason 19) 23. The pre-tribulation view, as opposed to post-tribulation, does not confuse general terms like elect and saints, which apply to the saved of all ages, with specific terms like church and those in Christ, which refer to believers of this age only. (Same deception as reason 19) Doctrine of Imminency 24. The pre-tribulation interpretation teaches that the coming of Christ is actually imminent. (SAME deception as argument number 1) 25. The exhortation to be comforted by the coming of the Lord (1 Thess. 4:18) is very significant in the pre-tribulation view and is especially contradicted by most post-tribulation. (NO! The POST-trib Christians CORRECTLY interpret 1 Thessalonians 4:18 by its CONTEXT. The comfort is concerning Christians being trouble by their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord DYING before the coming of Jesus. The sound Biblical comfort is whether we live or die we know that we will live with Jesus in the world to come. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 PLUS the rest of the CONTEXT in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.) 26. The exhortation to look for “the glorious appearing” of Christ to His own (Titus 2:13) loses its significance if the Tribulation must intervene first. Believers, in that case, should look for signs. (In truth, the appearance of Jesus AFTER the great tribulation will be MORE GLORIOUS. For you see, when faced with death you become MORE APPRECIATIVE of life. The significance of our Lord’s glorious appearing is NOT lost just because the church will go through the great tribulation) 27. The exhortation to purify ourselves in view of the Lord's return has the most significance, if His coming is imminent (1 John 3:2-3). (SAME deception as argument number 1) 28. The church is uniformly exhorted to look for the coming of the Lord, while believers in the Tribulation are directed to look for signs. (SAME deception as argument number 1) The Work of the Holy Spirit 29. The Holy Spirit as the restrainer of evil cannot be taken out of the world unless the church, which the Spirit indwells, is translated at the same time. The Tribulation cannot begin until this restraint is lifted. (Again, the PRE-trib Christians have ERRED in their understanding of the TRUE meaning of this passage of Scripture. Please read the study “THE RAPTURE: WHO IS THE HINDERER?”) 30. The Holy Spirit as the restrainer must be taken out of the world before “the lawless one,” who dominates the tribulation period, can be revealed (2 Thess. 2:6-8). (SAME as argument number 29) 31. If the expression “except there come a falling away first” (KJV) is translated literally, “except the ‘departure’ come first,” it would plainly show the necessity of the Rapture taking place before the beginning of the Tribulation. (SAME as argument number 29) The necessity of an Interval Between the Rapture and the Second Coming (Another deception. The POST-trib teaching does NOT need seven tears between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Jesus. The rapture of the church takes place on the SAME DAY of the second coming of Jesus) 32. According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, all believers of this age must appear before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven, an event never mentioned in the detailed accounts connected with the second coming of Christ to the earth. (That is READING into 2 Corinthians 5:10 the PRE-trib rapture as being the ONLY WAY for the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to take place. The TRUTH of the matter is that IF Christians are judge UNWORTHY because they are living in sin then they will NOT be raptured. ALL sinners, including Christians living in a lifestyle of sin, will be JUDGED unworthy to receive eternal life AT the time of the rapture and they will be left behind to suffer the WRATH of God. So the RAPTURE IS the judgment seat of Christ) 33. If the twenty-four elders of Revelation 4:1-5,14 are representative of the church as many expositors believe, it would necessitate the rapture and reward of the church before the Tribulation. (Another deception. When John was called up to heaven in the spirit he was shown ALL the events of the end times INCLUDING the 1000 year reign of Jesus, the lake of fire, and God creating the new heavens and the new earth. In truth, the 24 elders represent BOTH the 12 Apostles and the 12 leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel) 34. The coming of Christ for His bride must take place before the Second Coming to the earth for the wedding feast (Rev. 19:7-10). (The saints in heaven that come WITH Jesus are the saints who have DIED in Jesus Christ. There is NO NEED for a PRE-trib rapture to come and get some living saints and take them back to heaven so that Jesus has some saints to bring with him And CLAIM that the dead in Christ are NOT the saints that come WITH Jesus is a direct CONTRADICTION to the very word of Almighty God to deliberately DECEIVE Christians) 35. Tribulation saints are not translated at the second coming of Christ but carry on ordinary occupations such as farming and building houses, and they will bear children (Isa. 65:20-25). This would be impossible if the translation had taken place at the Second Coming to the earth, as post-tribulation teach. (SAME as reason 19) 36. The judgment of the Gentiles following the Second Coming (Matt. 25:31-46) indicates that both saved and unsaved are still in their natural bodies. This would be impossible if the translation had taken place at the Second Coming. (SAME as reason 19) 37. If the translation took place in connection with the Second Coming to the earth, there would be no need of separating the sheep from the goats at a subsequent judgment, but the separation would have taken place in the very act of the translation of the believers before Christ actually sets up His throne on earth (Matt. 25:31). (The separating of the sheep and the goats will take place DURING the millennial kingdom. There will be ANOTHER book of life opened at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus to judge the sheep and the goats that live and die during the Millennial kingdom) 38. The judgment of Israel (Ezek. 20:34-38), which occurs subsequent to the Second Coming, indicates the necessity of regathering Israel. The separation of the saved from the unsaved in this judgment obviously takes place sometime after the Second Coming and would be unnecessary if the saved had previously been separated from the unsaved by translation. (SAME as argument number 37) Contrast Between the Rapture and the Second Coming 39. At the time of the Rapture, the saints meet Christ in the air, while at the Second Coming Christ returns to the Mount of Olives to meet the saints on earth. (Jesus could just as easily pause in the AIR, rapture the church, execute the WRATH of God and then come down to the earth on the SAME DAY at his SECOND coming) 40. At the time of the Rapture, the Mount of Olives is unchanged, while at the Second Coming it divides and a valley is formed to the east of Jerusalem (Zech. 14:4-5). (SAME as argument number 39) 41. At the Rapture, living saints are translated, while no saints are translated in connection with the second coming of Christ to the earth. (SAME as argument 19) 42. At the Rapture, the saints go to heaven, while at the Second Coming to the earth the saints remain in the earth without translation. (SAME as argument 19) 43. At the time of the Rapture, the world is unjudged and continues in sin, while at the Second Coming the world is judged and righteousness is established on the earth. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) 44. The translation of the church is pictured as a deliverance before the day of wrath, while the Second Coming is followed by the deliverance of those who have believed in Christ during the Tribulation. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) 45. The Rapture is described as imminent, while the Second Coming is preceded by definite signs. (SAME as argument number 1) 46. The translation of living believers is a truth revealed only in the New Testament, while the Second Coming with its attendant events is a prominent doctrine of both Testaments. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) 47. The Rapture concerns only the saved, while the Second Coming deals with both saved and unsaved. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) 48. At the Rapture, Satan is not bound, while at the Second Coming Satan is bound and cast into the abyss. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) 49. No unfulfilled prophecy stands between the church and the Rapture, while many signs must be fulfilled before the Second Coming. (SAME as argument number 1) 50. No passage dealing with the resurrection of saints at the Second Coming ever mentions translation of living saints at the same time. (Again, reading into the Scripture based on the ASSUMPTION the PRE-trib rapture is true. So this is NOT a valid argument) Written by: John F. Walvoord (The Rapture Question, Zondervan) As you have just seen, even these 50 reasons are in reality only around 20 valid QUESTIONS that deserve SOUND biblical answers. And the other 30 so-called reasons are repeats of the SAME reason or they would NOT be reasons at all if the PRE-trib rapture was not first ASSUMED to be true. For example, one must FIRST ASSUME that the pre-trib rapture is already true before one can CLAIM that the so-called tribulation saints are NOT a part of the CHURCH. So all those so-called reasons are NOT valid reasons. It truth, there is only ONE VALID question that started the development of the PRE-trib rapture THEORY. And that one valid question is that there SEEMS to be a KNOWN day and an UNKNOWN day. So I implore you to read the study “NO MAN KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR!” Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |
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