I believe a serious study of the controversial issue of the rapture in the Word of God reveals the glory of kings, ("It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter." Prov 25:2) and brings honor to Christians who are promised to rule and reign with Christ. (Kings and Priests of Christ! Rev 1:6). Knowledge of true prophecy is the only way we can be sure to detect false prophecy. "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev 19:10 Prophecy is a protection, a comfort. (Heed the prophets that came before....2 Pet 3:2). The pretribulation rapture doctrine is indeed Scriptural and a theme that runs throughout the Bible in both covenants yet it does not rest on the mainstream professing christianity's "Left Behind" adherant's somewhat lame argument, "God won't let His own suffer." Of course His faithful have suffered in the past, and there are Christians being persecuted and killed today. Tribulation is a word that is used to describe the trials the early Christians went through. (John 16:33, 2 Cor 1:4, 1 Thess 3:4, 2 Thess1:4, Revelation 1:9) . However, the future "great tribulation" is a time unlike any other, unlike these tribulations, by definition. Matthew 24:21 For then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (And I recall one of your previous bloggers in this forum saying that "nowhere in the Bible are the words "great tribulation", well sorry but God disagrees!) Hence, it is wrong to compare past and present tribulations that Christians have had to endure and do endure today, and say the future great tribulation will be no different. The Bible says it's different. One difference is that we will not suffer God's wrath, as Romans 5 (and many other verses such as 1 Thess 5:9) states. We should be already reconciled to God, and thus, will not face His wrath. Many passages in scripture give the promise of 'earthly protection in the tribulation as limited only to the 144,000, or to the two witnesses. And the two witnesses who have the power of God to protect them, end up killed by the middle of the tribulation in Revelation 11. In other places there is NO promise of protection during the tribulation: the saints will be overcome.
[Rev 13:7] And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
[Dan 7:21] I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
[Dan 7:25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Thus, the promise to be "kept through" the tribulation is doubtful at best. Most will obviously be made war on, prevailed against, worn out, and killed, becoming the martyrs in the fifth seal in Rev 6 thus, either God lied about this, spoke "idle" Words, or a certain group of faithful believers will be kept from the "hour of trial that will come upon every person on the whole earth!" Rev 3:10. The somewhat unclear word becomes more clear when we realize that Rev 3:10 is a very strong pretrib verse, containing many pretrib themes. It is connected with the "open door", a rapture symbol of Rev 4:1 and Eze 46:1. The open door is also a strong symbol in the parable of Matt 25:1-13 the ten virgins, five "wise" and five "foolish" which is a rather clear pretrib parable which contains many other rapture themes, sleeping as death, a shout to awaken them, a wedding, some going in with the groom, and some being left behind. (If this occured at the end of the tribulation, what would be the purpose?) The open door is also a symbol of the Feast of Trumpets, a "new moon" festival wherein the Jews lived in "booths" for seven days in the Book of Leviticus which strongly teaches about the pretribulation rapture. From Ezek 46:1 we see the gate to the temple is to remain open on the new moon. The temple is a symbol of heaven, and the Feast of Trumpets takes place on the New Moon (which is a "day and hour which no man knows") Matt 25:13.
[Rev 3:8] I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
[Rev 3:10] Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth.
[Revelation 4:1] After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
The critic ignores the the open door, and the fact that this symbol creates a strong link to Rev 4:1, which, if it is the rapture, then the rapture is solidly proven to be pretrib. The two strongest rapture texts are 1 Thess 4:15-18 and 1 Cor 15:51-54, and both of these verses mention the trumpet, as does Rev 4:1, which is clearly a call up to heaven, and connected right back to Rev 3:10 through the open door. There is another verse which quotes these arguments about Noah and Lot, which is found in 2 Peter 2:4-9 which concludes:
[2Pet 2:9] The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
And as we saw from Rev 3:10, the tribulation is an "hour of trial", "to try those who dwell upon the earth".
Finally, to address the "taken and left" verses in Luke 17:31-37 which conclude with the parable of the eagles/vultures gathering together by the body/corpse. These lines are also found in Matt 24:40-41 and Matt 24:28. The eagle/body parable does not necessarily mean those taken are taken to be destroyed. I agree there is a strong similarity to Rev 19, when the eagles are invited to feast on the bodies of those destroyed, which is clearly in the context of the return of Jesus after the tribulation. However, there is another Biblical interpretation of this parable.
Isaiah 40:31 says believers "shall mount up with wings as eagles".
And John 6:34-61 says that we must eat the flesh of Jesus to enter the kingdom.
Thus, this eagle/body parable, by the Bible's own definition of symbols, also signifies that this is the rapture, and that those taken are taken in the rapture, which would be the gathering together of believers to Jesus. As for me, I would rather watch, pray and be ready for Jesus and be taken, as Lot was physically taken out and saved. I would rather be taken with Noah in the ark than be left behind in the flood or left behind in the city of Sodom. Who honestly wouldn't?
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Also:
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
This is an expression, an idiom, referring to both the wedding and to the Feast of Trumpets. In the wedding, a groom would say this of his wedding day, "of that day and hour knoweth no man,... but my Father only". He would say this because he would have to build a bridal chamber, and he could not leave to fetch his bride until his father gave permission and said the chamber was finished and furnished for the bridal week, which is a type of honeymoon.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
In contrast, the "after the tribulation" time can be pinpointed to the day, it is known to the day. It is 3.5 years, or 42 months, or 1260 days after the middle of the tribulation when the antichrist takes power, which would be the sign from 2 Thess 2:4, when he stands in the temple saying he is God.
[Rev 13:5] And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
[Rev 12:6] And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
If the day the tribulation ends is unknown, these verses would have to say something like "about 1000 days", but they are specific. The end of the tribulation cannot be the "unknown day".
Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (KJV) NOTE: The older KJV does not say "pray for strength" which I firmly believe is a mistranslation! We as Christians walk by FAITH, not "strength" of the flesh!
It should be clear to anyone who reads Luke chapter 21, that this is a parallel account of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. The subject of "all these things that shall come to pass" is the events of the great tribulation just described, such as the abomination of desolation, and false christs, such as the event of 2 Thess 2:3-4, the man of sin in the temple.
Zephaniah 1:15 describes the day of the Lord as "tribulation, trouble, or distress"
This shows that the great tribulation (a day unlike any other) (Matt 24:21), and the Day of the Lord (a day unlike any other) (Joel 2:1-2), are speaking of the same time. Yes, the Day of the Lord, which is indisputably identified with the wrath of God (Zeph 1:15) is clearly described as "tribulation, distress, trouble".
Zephaniah 1:
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
If it is true that the wrath of the Day of the Lord comes after the great tribulation, then there would be two times of trouble unlike any other. This is an illogical contradiction. The church will depart before the antichrist is revealed
2 Thess 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
And: 1 Corinthians 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
The post tribulation rapture viewpoint does not, can not, will not, is not a comfort, and all reasonable men know it.
Can you imagine saying the following prayer in front of your family? "Please, God, I hope and pray for the tribulation to start, so that we may have physical strength to flee into the wilderness risking starvation and attack by wild animals and death by exposure to the elements taking our elderly and children with us, because then, only then, may we be assured that Jesus will return in about 7 years if we survive and are not martyred as the Bible says will happen to the vast majority of the saints in the tribulation." No, that is no comfort. Such leads to fear, the desire to accumulate wealth and survivalist gear, (fleshly endeavors, not of faith!) and would be a false prophecy by definition.there will be saints in the tribulation who will have their faith seriously tested. But this in no way proves that there is not a pretribulation rapture. After the rapture, a few people will realize what happened, and they will wail, weep and gnash their teeth and beg to be raptured too, but it will be too late. Their only hope will be to repent and remain faithful to the end, which may very well require their death as they are handed over to the antichrist for the 42 months.
It is sad that some people will not be ready for the pretribulation rapture because they have been deceived into doubting it, and believing that our Master delayeth His coming even though He says He will come "like a thief" and for us to watch continually! (Matt 24:48-51) It is also sad that others will not be ready because they are too comfortable and complacent, because of the false doctrine of "once saved always saved", thinking they don't need to prepare for the pretribulation rapture. These would be like the foolish virgins of Matt 25:1-13, who know the Lord is coming, and expect to go, but won't be ready.
James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.
