Rapture Report
Who said Rapture? Did Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, John and Jude say that the church would be raptured out of the tribulation? They did not! Not one person has even found a single scripture that says we will be Raptured before the Tribulation. When scripture conflicts with tradition which should we believe?
Those who hold what is called the “Dispensational” interpretation of prophecy teaches that the second coming of Christ will be in two stages: first the rapture, His coming for the saints, and then later His coming with the saints. The interval between these two events is generally regarded as seven years, (Daniel 9:27). During this time, according to this view, the Anti-Christ will make a seven year covenant with the Jews in which he will allow them to offer sacrifices in the rebuild temple at Jerusalem. But then after three and a half years, he will break his covenant and place an idol, (the abomination of desolation), in the holy of holies of the temple. The Jews will refuse to bow, and a great persecution will result—the time of Jacob’s trouble. Finally, at the close of the tribulation period, (the end of the age), Christ will return in power and great glory, and then He shall send His angels to gather together His elect.
There is a big difference between the Rapture and the Resurrection. There are thousands of people who think that the Rapture idea – with driverless cars and crashing airplanes -is nothing but an emotional packed made up story with no Bible basis. But all Christians agree that there will be a resurrection in the future. The sensational display of the terror filled tribulation really has nothing to do with when the resurrection will take place. We are convinced that the Bible teaches that the resurrection will take place at the end of the tribulation, not before it.
There will not be a Rapture before the tribulation; the resurrection will be at the end of Jacob’s trouble. Let us reason together. There is no scripture anywhere that proves that the Rapture is first. The notes in Scofield’s Bible are the biggest offender and have done the most to project the error. It has had an effect on the preaching of today by many denominations.
Noah was not Raptured out of the floodwater; he went through the waters. God said; “When thou passes through the water, they shall not overflow thee, when thou walkest thru fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle thee, (Isaiah 43:2). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saw the fourth man and went through the fire; they were not Raptured out. Daniel was not Raptured out of the lion’s den; he went through it, (Daniel 6:16-21). God poured out His wrath in Egypt during the plagues but Israel did not suffer from them. God had protected His people from the wrath in Egypt, He will also protect His people from the wrath at the end time. God has established a pattern of providing supernatural protection for His people. Jerusalem, there is no question about the brutality and complete overthrow of that city in 70 AD. Why would He change His pattern for the great tribulation? A mighty supernatural deliverance was wrought by God for protection of all His children in Egypt, (Exodus 12:41-42).
When I bring the sword against a land and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet, but does not take the warning and the sword comes and take his life, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken the warning he would have saved himself.
Here are some Scripture Facts:
“Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealed His secret unto His servants His prophets,” (Amos 3:7).
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His secrets,” (Psalm 25:14).
“He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given,” (Matthew 13:11).
“And He said, go their way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed until the end of time,” (Daniel 12:9).
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shall not know what hour I will come upon thee,” (Revelation 3:3).
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,” (2 Peter 3:3)
“But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as a thief,” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13).
These scriptures and many more will be brought out in proving that the rapture is not before the tribulation but after the wrath of God comes upon the earth.
“As the lightning from the east flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of man be. Where the carcass lies, there the vulture gathers. Immediately after the stress of that period, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed her light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the host of heaven will be shaken loose. Then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of earth will strike their breast as they see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then He will dispatch His angels with a mighty trumpet blast, and they will assemble His chosen from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other,” (Matthew 24:27-31).
“Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they which pierced Him and all kindred’s of the earth shall wail because of Him, even so, Amen,” (Revelation 1:7).
Here Jesus weaves together the teaching on two aspects of judgment: the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming of Jesus at the end of this age. Every sign, whether famine, earthquake or wars, is a reminder that turmoil and tragedy will mark history until Jesus comes, the impending destruction of Jerusalem, like the time of tribulation and judgment in every age, is simply a preview of the judgment final tribulation and judgment at Christ coming and the end of this age, (Mathew chapter 24).
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voices of the archangel and with trumps of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first,” (1 Thessalonians 4: 16).
Jesus placed the sign of His second coming, “Immediately after the tribulation.” The central event, “The Son of man coming in the clouds.” The appearance of the Son of man is after the tribulation. Only the elect are gathered from the four winds, they’re being no mention of the wicked. The judgment scene one might expect is left out. The writer’s interest is complete on the nearness of the reward of the righteous. You may be sure that He (The Lord) is at hand, at the very door.
In the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
The believer will be “caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” This verse explains where believers will meet the Lord. The place of meeting will be just above the earth—in the clouds, in the air. There is nothing in this verse to indicate that Christ will then turn around and take the church to heaven. Notice that believers will rise to “meet” the Lord. The word that is here-translated “meet” is a word that was used in reference to the coming of a king or governor to visit a city. As he approached the citizens would go out to meet him and then escort him on the last part of his journey into the city. We believe it is precisely that same meaning here. As the Lord descends from heaven, believers will rise “to meet the Lord in the air and escort him back to rule here on earth,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
But do the scriptures teach that the Rapture will be a secret, invisible and a quite event? Let us look at the main verse on the Rapture and see, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). To us, this verse indicates anything but a quiet, secret Rapture. Whether we take the “shout” the “voice” and the “trump” in literal sense or as having a figurative meaning either way, this passage does not convey the idea of a secret and quiet event! If anything, it would indicate that the coming of the Lord would be a loud, noisy, open, and wondrous event. Amid the sound of the Lord Himself descending from heaven with a shout; the voice of the archangels, and the trump of God, there will be the sound of praise and rejoicing from a vast multitude of saints as they are caught up to the meet the Lord! Where is any secrecy here? This is not the description of a hidden and quite event. Nevertheless, in spirit of every indication to the contrary, this verse is constantly used as a text for sermons, which describe the Rapture as a secret, hidden, and quiet coming of Christ.
The Scripture do teach of course, that Christ will return as a “thief in the night. This means that the time of His coming is unknown, (Matthew 24:43-44). It will come as a complete surprise to those who are not watching for His return. But the use of this term never indicates in any way that the event itself will be secret and quite. The “thief” passages are found in the words of Jesus, (Revelation 16:15), Peter, (2 Peter 3:10), and Paul, (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4), no one will know the time of His return, No, not the angles of heaven, (Matthew 24:26), but he tells us, look at the signs of the times. “But the time and seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day the Lord so comes as a thief in the night,” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).
We must watch at all times. But there is nothing here to indicate that the event itself will be secret. Peter and Paul did not mean that the event itself will be quiet, for they say that it will be accompanied with a great noise, with a shout, and trump of God, in the “twinkling of an eye,” (1 Corinthian 15:52), as soon as a man can wink, with expression that shows that this mighty work is to be done by the almighty power of God, as He does all His works. The resurrection of the dead from the foundation of the world to that time and the change of all the living then upon the earth shall be the work of a single moment, at the last trump, (Revelation 11:15-18). For the trumpet shall sound.
By this that the apostle confirms the substance of tradition that there shall be the sound of trumpets on this great day; and the dead shall be raised incorruptible; fully clothed with a new body, and die no more. We shall be changed. That is, those who shall then be found alive.
Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, therefore, there must be a refinement by death, or change without it, (1 Corinthians 15:50), all shall not be found dead at the day of Judgment, then all must be changed-undergo such a change that their bodies may become spiritual, like the body of those who shall be raised from the dead, (Philippians 3:21).
“And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdom of this world are becoming the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty Elders which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath hast is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear the name, small and great, shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth,” (Revelation 11:15-18).
We notice the same three things that were included in these passages: the trumpet sounded, (Revelation 8:2), the seventh; the last trump, the time of the dead to be raised –the resurrection, and the saints rewarded, which would include their being changed from “mortal to immortality,” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54), caught up to “meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). These things indicate that the Rapture will be at the end of the age, after the tribulation, at the last day, at the last trump, (1 Corinthian 15:51)! John tells us in Revelation 11:18 that the sounding of the seventh trumpet—the last trumpet—will be “the time of the dead” to be resurrected. God will then: "give reward unto-- the saints!” Where, then, is there any room for the idea that before any of these trumpets sounded the Saints will have already been Raptured to heaven to be rewarded? I believe that the dead saints will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation, (Matthew 14:29) and we who are alive will meet them in the air, (1 Thessalonians 4:17). “And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” (Daniel 7:14).
Since the resurrection occurred after the tribulation, (Matthew 24:29), every born again believer in Jesus Christ needs to be awakened to this truth. They need to prepare and perfect themselves, through the word by the Holy Spirit. Your hope of being taken out and away (Rapture) from the terrible things may let you down and you may not have the power to go through the tribulation. Of all the people I know, not one person have found a single Scripture that says we will be Raptured before the tribulation. It will be a literal personal appearing; heralded by trumpet sounds that will pierce the heavens and shaking of the earth, while angelic voices sing the song of the redeemed.
Probation will come when Jesus comes. His coming will be preceded by a time of trouble “such as was not since there was a nation.” “For then shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened, (Matthew 24:21-22). God’s people will pass through this time of trouble, and will be kept by the power of God and protected under the shadow of the Almighty, (Psalm 91:1). All of this excludes the theory of the “Rapture.” Tragically those men, particularly teachers who are honest and sincere, fail to see the beautiful truth.
May we all be ready to welcome our Savior with a shout of joy and gladness, acclaiming our hope in the word of Isaiah! “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us,” (Isaiah 25:9).
This text is as plain as could be and proves beyond a doubt that when Jesus comes He will be visible to the whole world and that both righteous and wicked will see Him, (Revelation 13:8). Those who are teaching a spiritual coming, or a secret revelation to the righteous only: must be very superficial reading of the Scriptures. If anything it is clear in this text, (Acts 1:11), it is that the second coming of Christ will be as literal as His departing. All the twisting and turning of the Scriptures cannot change the meaning of the phrasing in this text: “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Now any rational being could, with this text before him, make the coming of Christ a secret event is unthinkable.
Many theologians use the text from Daniel 9:27 to prove there theory on the Rapture will be a seven year deal between the Anti-Christ and the Jewish nation, and after the three and a half years that the Anti-Christ will try to put an idol in the temple and that will bring on world war 3. They also use such Scriptures as “Come up hither,” He was talking to John to come up in the spirit to show him what is about to come upon the earth. He was calling John not the church. Then there is the verse “accounted worthy to escape all things that shall come to pass,” (Luke 21:36) to prove the Rapture theory. God has a plan for His people to escape, but not through the Rapture but from His protection.
This great prophecy pertaining to Daniel people and the city of Jerusalem linked with a time period of seventy “weeks.” Bible students recognize that these seventy weeks or 490 days are symbolic of years-each day representing a year –that is 490 years. While Christians are generally united in the belief that the: seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” that is 69 weeks, (483 years) measure from time the command to go and rebuild both the city and the temple at Jerusalem by Cyrus, (Ezra chapter 1) measure unto the “Messiah-the Lord Jesus and the 70th week followed the 69th week. We believe the fulfilled interpretation is correct view, that the 69 weeks measure “unto the Messiah,” that in the midst of the 70th week-after three and a half years of His ministry-He was cut off in death, that this sacrifice, begin the perfect sacrifice, caused other sacrifices to cease. There cannot be a 2000 years gap between the 69th week and the 70th week to fulfill this prophecy of the crucify Christ as they teach.
From going forth of the Commandments to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto the Messiah was to be 483 years. When this time was fulfilled, those who knew this prophecy was expecting the appearing of the Messiah that is the Christ. This when John came baptizing, “the people were in expectation, and all men pondered in their heart of John, whether he were the Christ or not,” (Luke 3:15). John plainly told them that he was not the Christ—he was only the forerunner, (John 3:28). When Jesus appeared on the scene, John cried: “Behold the Lamb of God!” The time had now come that Jesus should be “made manifest to Israel,” (John 1:29).
Daniel’s prophecy revealed that the time period unto the messiah would be 69 weeks, (483 years). This measured to the time when Jesus was baptized and anointed to begin His ministry as the Messiah, the Christ, and the “Anointed one.” The 69 weeks were to measure unto Messiah “and after” the 69 weeks “shall the Messiah be cut off,” (Daniel 9:27). Now after 69 weeks (483 years) does not and cannot mean “in“ or “during” the 69 weeks, there is only one-week left in which He could have been “cut off” implies that the Messiah would not die a natural death, He would be murdered! So also had Isaiah prophesied using an equivalent word: “He was cut of out of the land of the living,” (Isaiah 53:8).
The first half of the “week,” the time of our Lord’s ministry, was definitely directed towards Israel. But what about the second half-of the final three and half years of the prophecy–was it also linked with Israel? Did the disciples continue to preach for the duration of the remaining three and half years to Israel? Yes! Jesus told them to “go not to visit the Gentiles or the Samaritan towns, but go instead after the lost sheep of the ten tribes of Israel (Matthew10-5-6). Then, after the three and half years had expired, Peter then and later Paul turned to the Gentile nations to spread the Gospel of eternal life. Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, to preach Jesus to them. The Gentiles were converted and God approved all by sending the Holy Spirit upon all of them, (Acts 11:12-17).
In our study of the 70 weeks, we have seen that the Anti-Christ is nowhere mentioned of, or referred to, nothing is said about him making and breaking a covenant with the Jews after seven years, or the Jews building a temple for the Anti-Christ to occupy. Or after three and half years, he would pollute the sanctuary by putting an idol there and then that is when the third world war will break out! Sorry, I have no Scriptures, there are none that support this teaching!
Jesus taught that He would be remaining in the world (Holy Spirit) to be with them so they could accomplish a definite purpose to preach the gospel. He commissioned His disciples to, “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them is the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of this world (age),” (Matthew 28:19-20).
According to this Scripture, how long will the church be in the world fulfilling this divine commission? The answer is that Christ will remain with them in the world until the end of this age. His promise is to be with the church until the very end of time, and it would be strange if it is His plan to remove the church seven years before that time. If when the end of this age comes, the church would be no longer be on the earth, a promise such as this would be misleading.
Let’s us review the “Rapture Theory” according to Paul’s writing in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then, we, which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall be with the Lord.” What will the people on earth be doing when the Lord returns? “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other one left. Two woman shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other one left,” (Matthew 24:40-41). The people will be living the same way that they were in the time of Noah, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage before the flood came,” (Matthew 24:37-38).
Paul stated: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58). Those who are alive will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the clouds. “And He (God) 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 heavens to the other,” (Matthew 24:31). When will this happen? “IMMEDIATELY after the TRIBULATION, and THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,” (Matthew 24:29-30).
“For then shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the ELECT ‘S (Christians) sake those days shall be shortened,” (Matthew 24:21-22). If the Christian is in heaven, just who is the Jewels He must protect, (Malachi 3:17)?
Job asked that question “If a man dies will he live again?” Job goes ahead and says, “Man lieth down, and rise not again. Till the heavens be no more, they are not awake, not to be roused out of their sleep, (the dead is still in the grave, not in heaven). Oh, that you would keep me secret, until thy wrath be past; would appoint me a set time and remember me, (Job 14:12-14). Job is asking for God to remember him as He did Noah in the Ark during the great flood, (Genesis 8:1). God not only hid him from the destruction of the end of this world, but also reserved him for the replenishing of the kingdom to come; payday is coming. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” (Matthew 5:5). Job was rejoicing that God was going to hide him from the wrath to come, (Job 14:13). Just as the Bible says “seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be “hid” in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:3), as David was asking God to hide him under the shadow of His wings, (Psalm 17:8).
Will God Rapture the church in the time of trouble, or will He find a place of refuge for His people? When the time of tribulation comes, the Lord will hear their cries, “and they shall be mine, said the Lord of host, in that day when I make up my jewels (special treasure) and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, (Malachi 3:16-17).
The church in the wilderness was nourished and protected for 1260 years when Satan tried to destroy them, (Revelation 12:12-17). As when God protected Daniel in the lion’s den, (Daniel 6:16-22). When Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego were in the fiery furnace, God was able to deliver them, (Daniel 3:21-26). Also “Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, (Genesis 8:18-22). None of the faithful ones were raptured out of their tribulation, God always made away for His saints to escape.
The scope of Divine judgment is laid out in both the Old Testament, (Isaiah 24:1-6), and the New Testament, (Revelation 14:18-20), how; He shall make even a speedy radiance of all that dwell in the land. “Before the degree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be “hid” in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:2-3). Notice: Hid-not Raptured.
God loves us as a lamb, so, would He not care for His sheep, watch over and sustain and fortify His flock as a good Shepherd through the Gathering Storm? Based on Scriptures such as, “He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” (Hebrews 9:26). “His own self bares our sins in His own body on the cross on the tree, (1 Peter 2:24). “Christ died for our sins,” (1 Corinthians 15:3). “He was manifested to take away our sins,” (1 John 3:5). “No greater love is shown when a person lay down his life for a friend, and you are my friend if you obey Me,” (John 15: 13-14), can you not see the love He has for His flock?
There is only one-way to escape this terrible onslaught, and Jesus made it most plane that there is only one authentic way to reach God on the throne, and that is through Jesus Christ Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. “I am the way, He declared, No man comes to the Father but by Me,” (John 14:6).
Jesus is: “The Fairest Among Ten Thousand,” (Song of Solomon 5:10), “The Rose of Sharon,” (Song of Solomon 2:1), “The Lily of the Valley,” (Song of Solomon 2:1), “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” (Revelation 5:5), “The King of kings and Lord of lords,” (Revelation 19:16). “I am He that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of heaven and death,” (Revelation 1:18).
"Thou shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, and with earthquakes, and great noise, with tempest, and flame of devouring fire,” (Isaiah 29:6). “For over all, His glory will be a “shelter” and “protection,” “shade” from the parch heat of that day, a “refuge” and a “cover” from the storm, fire and rain,” (Isaiah 4:6). He (Christ) is our “Rock and Fortress,” (Psalms 31:3), “Redeemer,” (Revelation 5:9) “Shield,” (Psalms 91:4), “Refuge, “(Psalms 46:1), ”Deliver,” (Psalms 50:15), “Escape,” (Luke 21:34-36), “Saved,” (Isaiah 25:9), ”Hiding Place,” (Psalm 17:8; Psalms 119:114),
God through His prophets again encourage the people “have no fear”. He reminds His flock of their special relationship to Him: I have paid your ransom, I have called you by name and you are my own, when the river overflows and when the world is on fire, I will be there, (Isaiah 43:2). “Before the degree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment: seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:2-3).
The Pre-Millennium church’s that teach that the Rapture is before the Tribulation has not the Scripture to prove or verify such doctrine. I have shown you Biblical Scriptures so you can “study to prove to yourselves,” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible says, “Try the Spirits to see whether they be of God,” (1 John 4:1). Have faith in God for your protection during the Tribulation period, (1 Peter 1:7). But you have to present your body as a living sacrifice to God, (Roman 12:1-2).
“Because you kept the word about my endurance, I will also keep you from the hour of test, which is to come upon the whole earth, to put a test upon those dwelling on the earth,” (Revelation 3:10).
Who said Rapture? Did Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, John and Jude say that the church would be raptured out of the tribulation? They did not! Not one person has even found a single scripture that says we will be Raptured before the Tribulation. When scripture conflicts with tradition which should we believe?
Those who hold what is called the “Dispensational” interpretation of prophecy teaches that the second coming of Christ will be in two stages: first the rapture, His coming for the saints, and then later His coming with the saints. The interval between these two events is generally regarded as seven years, (Daniel 9:27). During this time, according to this view, the Anti-Christ will make a seven year covenant with the Jews in which he will allow them to offer sacrifices in the rebuild temple at Jerusalem. But then after three and a half years, he will break his covenant and place an idol, (the abomination of desolation), in the holy of holies of the temple. The Jews will refuse to bow, and a great persecution will result—the time of Jacob’s trouble. Finally, at the close of the tribulation period, (the end of the age), Christ will return in power and great glory, and then He shall send His angels to gather together His elect.
There is a big difference between the Rapture and the Resurrection. There are thousands of people who think that the Rapture idea – with driverless cars and crashing airplanes -is nothing but an emotional packed made up story with no Bible basis. But all Christians agree that there will be a resurrection in the future. The sensational display of the terror filled tribulation really has nothing to do with when the resurrection will take place. We are convinced that the Bible teaches that the resurrection will take place at the end of the tribulation, not before it.
There will not be a Rapture before the tribulation; the resurrection will be at the end of Jacob’s trouble. Let us reason together. There is no scripture anywhere that proves that the Rapture is first. The notes in Scofield’s Bible are the biggest offender and have done the most to project the error. It has had an effect on the preaching of today by many denominations.
Noah was not Raptured out of the floodwater; he went through the waters. God said; “When thou passes through the water, they shall not overflow thee, when thou walkest thru fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle thee, (Isaiah 43:2). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saw the fourth man and went through the fire; they were not Raptured out. Daniel was not Raptured out of the lion’s den; he went through it, (Daniel 6:16-21). God poured out His wrath in Egypt during the plagues but Israel did not suffer from them. God had protected His people from the wrath in Egypt, He will also protect His people from the wrath at the end time. God has established a pattern of providing supernatural protection for His people. Jerusalem, there is no question about the brutality and complete overthrow of that city in 70 AD. Why would He change His pattern for the great tribulation? A mighty supernatural deliverance was wrought by God for protection of all His children in Egypt, (Exodus 12:41-42).
When I bring the sword against a land and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet, but does not take the warning and the sword comes and take his life, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken the warning he would have saved himself.
Here are some Scripture Facts:
“Surely the Lord will do nothing, but he revealed His secret unto His servants His prophets,” (Amos 3:7).
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His secrets,” (Psalm 25:14).
“He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given,” (Matthew 13:11).
“And He said, go their way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed until the end of time,” (Daniel 12:9).
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shall not know what hour I will come upon thee,” (Revelation 3:3).
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,” (2 Peter 3:3)
“But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as a thief,” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13).
These scriptures and many more will be brought out in proving that the rapture is not before the tribulation but after the wrath of God comes upon the earth.
“As the lightning from the east flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of man be. Where the carcass lies, there the vulture gathers. Immediately after the stress of that period, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed her light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the host of heaven will be shaken loose. Then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of earth will strike their breast as they see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Then He will dispatch His angels with a mighty trumpet blast, and they will assemble His chosen from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other,” (Matthew 24:27-31).
“Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they which pierced Him and all kindred’s of the earth shall wail because of Him, even so, Amen,” (Revelation 1:7).
Here Jesus weaves together the teaching on two aspects of judgment: the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming of Jesus at the end of this age. Every sign, whether famine, earthquake or wars, is a reminder that turmoil and tragedy will mark history until Jesus comes, the impending destruction of Jerusalem, like the time of tribulation and judgment in every age, is simply a preview of the judgment final tribulation and judgment at Christ coming and the end of this age, (Mathew chapter 24).
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voices of the archangel and with trumps of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first,” (1 Thessalonians 4: 16).
Jesus placed the sign of His second coming, “Immediately after the tribulation.” The central event, “The Son of man coming in the clouds.” The appearance of the Son of man is after the tribulation. Only the elect are gathered from the four winds, they’re being no mention of the wicked. The judgment scene one might expect is left out. The writer’s interest is complete on the nearness of the reward of the righteous. You may be sure that He (The Lord) is at hand, at the very door.
In the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
The believer will be “caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” This verse explains where believers will meet the Lord. The place of meeting will be just above the earth—in the clouds, in the air. There is nothing in this verse to indicate that Christ will then turn around and take the church to heaven. Notice that believers will rise to “meet” the Lord. The word that is here-translated “meet” is a word that was used in reference to the coming of a king or governor to visit a city. As he approached the citizens would go out to meet him and then escort him on the last part of his journey into the city. We believe it is precisely that same meaning here. As the Lord descends from heaven, believers will rise “to meet the Lord in the air and escort him back to rule here on earth,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
But do the scriptures teach that the Rapture will be a secret, invisible and a quite event? Let us look at the main verse on the Rapture and see, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). To us, this verse indicates anything but a quiet, secret Rapture. Whether we take the “shout” the “voice” and the “trump” in literal sense or as having a figurative meaning either way, this passage does not convey the idea of a secret and quiet event! If anything, it would indicate that the coming of the Lord would be a loud, noisy, open, and wondrous event. Amid the sound of the Lord Himself descending from heaven with a shout; the voice of the archangels, and the trump of God, there will be the sound of praise and rejoicing from a vast multitude of saints as they are caught up to the meet the Lord! Where is any secrecy here? This is not the description of a hidden and quite event. Nevertheless, in spirit of every indication to the contrary, this verse is constantly used as a text for sermons, which describe the Rapture as a secret, hidden, and quiet coming of Christ.
The Scripture do teach of course, that Christ will return as a “thief in the night. This means that the time of His coming is unknown, (Matthew 24:43-44). It will come as a complete surprise to those who are not watching for His return. But the use of this term never indicates in any way that the event itself will be secret and quite. The “thief” passages are found in the words of Jesus, (Revelation 16:15), Peter, (2 Peter 3:10), and Paul, (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4), no one will know the time of His return, No, not the angles of heaven, (Matthew 24:26), but he tells us, look at the signs of the times. “But the time and seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day the Lord so comes as a thief in the night,” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).
We must watch at all times. But there is nothing here to indicate that the event itself will be secret. Peter and Paul did not mean that the event itself will be quiet, for they say that it will be accompanied with a great noise, with a shout, and trump of God, in the “twinkling of an eye,” (1 Corinthian 15:52), as soon as a man can wink, with expression that shows that this mighty work is to be done by the almighty power of God, as He does all His works. The resurrection of the dead from the foundation of the world to that time and the change of all the living then upon the earth shall be the work of a single moment, at the last trump, (Revelation 11:15-18). For the trumpet shall sound.
By this that the apostle confirms the substance of tradition that there shall be the sound of trumpets on this great day; and the dead shall be raised incorruptible; fully clothed with a new body, and die no more. We shall be changed. That is, those who shall then be found alive.
Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, therefore, there must be a refinement by death, or change without it, (1 Corinthians 15:50), all shall not be found dead at the day of Judgment, then all must be changed-undergo such a change that their bodies may become spiritual, like the body of those who shall be raised from the dead, (Philippians 3:21).
“And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdom of this world are becoming the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty Elders which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath hast is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear the name, small and great, shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth,” (Revelation 11:15-18).
We notice the same three things that were included in these passages: the trumpet sounded, (Revelation 8:2), the seventh; the last trump, the time of the dead to be raised –the resurrection, and the saints rewarded, which would include their being changed from “mortal to immortality,” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54), caught up to “meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). These things indicate that the Rapture will be at the end of the age, after the tribulation, at the last day, at the last trump, (1 Corinthian 15:51)! John tells us in Revelation 11:18 that the sounding of the seventh trumpet—the last trumpet—will be “the time of the dead” to be resurrected. God will then: "give reward unto-- the saints!” Where, then, is there any room for the idea that before any of these trumpets sounded the Saints will have already been Raptured to heaven to be rewarded? I believe that the dead saints will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation, (Matthew 14:29) and we who are alive will meet them in the air, (1 Thessalonians 4:17). “And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,” (Daniel 7:14).
Since the resurrection occurred after the tribulation, (Matthew 24:29), every born again believer in Jesus Christ needs to be awakened to this truth. They need to prepare and perfect themselves, through the word by the Holy Spirit. Your hope of being taken out and away (Rapture) from the terrible things may let you down and you may not have the power to go through the tribulation. Of all the people I know, not one person have found a single Scripture that says we will be Raptured before the tribulation. It will be a literal personal appearing; heralded by trumpet sounds that will pierce the heavens and shaking of the earth, while angelic voices sing the song of the redeemed.
Probation will come when Jesus comes. His coming will be preceded by a time of trouble “such as was not since there was a nation.” “For then shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened, (Matthew 24:21-22). God’s people will pass through this time of trouble, and will be kept by the power of God and protected under the shadow of the Almighty, (Psalm 91:1). All of this excludes the theory of the “Rapture.” Tragically those men, particularly teachers who are honest and sincere, fail to see the beautiful truth.
May we all be ready to welcome our Savior with a shout of joy and gladness, acclaiming our hope in the word of Isaiah! “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us,” (Isaiah 25:9).
This text is as plain as could be and proves beyond a doubt that when Jesus comes He will be visible to the whole world and that both righteous and wicked will see Him, (Revelation 13:8). Those who are teaching a spiritual coming, or a secret revelation to the righteous only: must be very superficial reading of the Scriptures. If anything it is clear in this text, (Acts 1:11), it is that the second coming of Christ will be as literal as His departing. All the twisting and turning of the Scriptures cannot change the meaning of the phrasing in this text: “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Now any rational being could, with this text before him, make the coming of Christ a secret event is unthinkable.
Many theologians use the text from Daniel 9:27 to prove there theory on the Rapture will be a seven year deal between the Anti-Christ and the Jewish nation, and after the three and a half years that the Anti-Christ will try to put an idol in the temple and that will bring on world war 3. They also use such Scriptures as “Come up hither,” He was talking to John to come up in the spirit to show him what is about to come upon the earth. He was calling John not the church. Then there is the verse “accounted worthy to escape all things that shall come to pass,” (Luke 21:36) to prove the Rapture theory. God has a plan for His people to escape, but not through the Rapture but from His protection.
This great prophecy pertaining to Daniel people and the city of Jerusalem linked with a time period of seventy “weeks.” Bible students recognize that these seventy weeks or 490 days are symbolic of years-each day representing a year –that is 490 years. While Christians are generally united in the belief that the: seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” that is 69 weeks, (483 years) measure from time the command to go and rebuild both the city and the temple at Jerusalem by Cyrus, (Ezra chapter 1) measure unto the “Messiah-the Lord Jesus and the 70th week followed the 69th week. We believe the fulfilled interpretation is correct view, that the 69 weeks measure “unto the Messiah,” that in the midst of the 70th week-after three and a half years of His ministry-He was cut off in death, that this sacrifice, begin the perfect sacrifice, caused other sacrifices to cease. There cannot be a 2000 years gap between the 69th week and the 70th week to fulfill this prophecy of the crucify Christ as they teach.
From going forth of the Commandments to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto the Messiah was to be 483 years. When this time was fulfilled, those who knew this prophecy was expecting the appearing of the Messiah that is the Christ. This when John came baptizing, “the people were in expectation, and all men pondered in their heart of John, whether he were the Christ or not,” (Luke 3:15). John plainly told them that he was not the Christ—he was only the forerunner, (John 3:28). When Jesus appeared on the scene, John cried: “Behold the Lamb of God!” The time had now come that Jesus should be “made manifest to Israel,” (John 1:29).
Daniel’s prophecy revealed that the time period unto the messiah would be 69 weeks, (483 years). This measured to the time when Jesus was baptized and anointed to begin His ministry as the Messiah, the Christ, and the “Anointed one.” The 69 weeks were to measure unto Messiah “and after” the 69 weeks “shall the Messiah be cut off,” (Daniel 9:27). Now after 69 weeks (483 years) does not and cannot mean “in“ or “during” the 69 weeks, there is only one-week left in which He could have been “cut off” implies that the Messiah would not die a natural death, He would be murdered! So also had Isaiah prophesied using an equivalent word: “He was cut of out of the land of the living,” (Isaiah 53:8).
The first half of the “week,” the time of our Lord’s ministry, was definitely directed towards Israel. But what about the second half-of the final three and half years of the prophecy–was it also linked with Israel? Did the disciples continue to preach for the duration of the remaining three and half years to Israel? Yes! Jesus told them to “go not to visit the Gentiles or the Samaritan towns, but go instead after the lost sheep of the ten tribes of Israel (Matthew10-5-6). Then, after the three and half years had expired, Peter then and later Paul turned to the Gentile nations to spread the Gospel of eternal life. Peter was sent to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, to preach Jesus to them. The Gentiles were converted and God approved all by sending the Holy Spirit upon all of them, (Acts 11:12-17).
In our study of the 70 weeks, we have seen that the Anti-Christ is nowhere mentioned of, or referred to, nothing is said about him making and breaking a covenant with the Jews after seven years, or the Jews building a temple for the Anti-Christ to occupy. Or after three and half years, he would pollute the sanctuary by putting an idol there and then that is when the third world war will break out! Sorry, I have no Scriptures, there are none that support this teaching!
Jesus taught that He would be remaining in the world (Holy Spirit) to be with them so they could accomplish a definite purpose to preach the gospel. He commissioned His disciples to, “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them is the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of this world (age),” (Matthew 28:19-20).
According to this Scripture, how long will the church be in the world fulfilling this divine commission? The answer is that Christ will remain with them in the world until the end of this age. His promise is to be with the church until the very end of time, and it would be strange if it is His plan to remove the church seven years before that time. If when the end of this age comes, the church would be no longer be on the earth, a promise such as this would be misleading.
Let’s us review the “Rapture Theory” according to Paul’s writing in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then, we, which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall be with the Lord.” What will the people on earth be doing when the Lord returns? “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other one left. Two woman shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other one left,” (Matthew 24:40-41). The people will be living the same way that they were in the time of Noah, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage before the flood came,” (Matthew 24:37-38).
Paul stated: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trump shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58). Those who are alive will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the clouds. “And He (God) 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 heavens to the other,” (Matthew 24:31). When will this happen? “IMMEDIATELY after the TRIBULATION, and THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,” (Matthew 24:29-30).
“For then shall be a great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the ELECT ‘S (Christians) sake those days shall be shortened,” (Matthew 24:21-22). If the Christian is in heaven, just who is the Jewels He must protect, (Malachi 3:17)?
Job asked that question “If a man dies will he live again?” Job goes ahead and says, “Man lieth down, and rise not again. Till the heavens be no more, they are not awake, not to be roused out of their sleep, (the dead is still in the grave, not in heaven). Oh, that you would keep me secret, until thy wrath be past; would appoint me a set time and remember me, (Job 14:12-14). Job is asking for God to remember him as He did Noah in the Ark during the great flood, (Genesis 8:1). God not only hid him from the destruction of the end of this world, but also reserved him for the replenishing of the kingdom to come; payday is coming. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” (Matthew 5:5). Job was rejoicing that God was going to hide him from the wrath to come, (Job 14:13). Just as the Bible says “seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be “hid” in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:3), as David was asking God to hide him under the shadow of His wings, (Psalm 17:8).
Will God Rapture the church in the time of trouble, or will He find a place of refuge for His people? When the time of tribulation comes, the Lord will hear their cries, “and they shall be mine, said the Lord of host, in that day when I make up my jewels (special treasure) and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, (Malachi 3:16-17).
The church in the wilderness was nourished and protected for 1260 years when Satan tried to destroy them, (Revelation 12:12-17). As when God protected Daniel in the lion’s den, (Daniel 6:16-22). When Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego were in the fiery furnace, God was able to deliver them, (Daniel 3:21-26). Also “Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, (Genesis 8:18-22). None of the faithful ones were raptured out of their tribulation, God always made away for His saints to escape.
The scope of Divine judgment is laid out in both the Old Testament, (Isaiah 24:1-6), and the New Testament, (Revelation 14:18-20), how; He shall make even a speedy radiance of all that dwell in the land. “Before the degree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be “hid” in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:2-3). Notice: Hid-not Raptured.
God loves us as a lamb, so, would He not care for His sheep, watch over and sustain and fortify His flock as a good Shepherd through the Gathering Storm? Based on Scriptures such as, “He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” (Hebrews 9:26). “His own self bares our sins in His own body on the cross on the tree, (1 Peter 2:24). “Christ died for our sins,” (1 Corinthians 15:3). “He was manifested to take away our sins,” (1 John 3:5). “No greater love is shown when a person lay down his life for a friend, and you are my friend if you obey Me,” (John 15: 13-14), can you not see the love He has for His flock?
There is only one-way to escape this terrible onslaught, and Jesus made it most plane that there is only one authentic way to reach God on the throne, and that is through Jesus Christ Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. “I am the way, He declared, No man comes to the Father but by Me,” (John 14:6).
Jesus is: “The Fairest Among Ten Thousand,” (Song of Solomon 5:10), “The Rose of Sharon,” (Song of Solomon 2:1), “The Lily of the Valley,” (Song of Solomon 2:1), “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” (Revelation 5:5), “The King of kings and Lord of lords,” (Revelation 19:16). “I am He that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of heaven and death,” (Revelation 1:18).
"Thou shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, and with earthquakes, and great noise, with tempest, and flame of devouring fire,” (Isaiah 29:6). “For over all, His glory will be a “shelter” and “protection,” “shade” from the parch heat of that day, a “refuge” and a “cover” from the storm, fire and rain,” (Isaiah 4:6). He (Christ) is our “Rock and Fortress,” (Psalms 31:3), “Redeemer,” (Revelation 5:9) “Shield,” (Psalms 91:4), “Refuge, “(Psalms 46:1), ”Deliver,” (Psalms 50:15), “Escape,” (Luke 21:34-36), “Saved,” (Isaiah 25:9), ”Hiding Place,” (Psalm 17:8; Psalms 119:114),
God through His prophets again encourage the people “have no fear”. He reminds His flock of their special relationship to Him: I have paid your ransom, I have called you by name and you are my own, when the river overflows and when the world is on fire, I will be there, (Isaiah 43:2). “Before the degree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment: seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger, (Zephaniah 2:2-3).
The Pre-Millennium church’s that teach that the Rapture is before the Tribulation has not the Scripture to prove or verify such doctrine. I have shown you Biblical Scriptures so you can “study to prove to yourselves,” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible says, “Try the Spirits to see whether they be of God,” (1 John 4:1). Have faith in God for your protection during the Tribulation period, (1 Peter 1:7). But you have to present your body as a living sacrifice to God, (Roman 12:1-2).
“Because you kept the word about my endurance, I will also keep you from the hour of test, which is to come upon the whole earth, to put a test upon those dwelling on the earth,” (Revelation 3:10).