Pre-Wrath Rapture Part 2

Pre-Wrath Rapture Part 2

The Pre-wrath rapture of the saved is supported by scripture and logical reasoning. It is the view that the return, resurrection, and rapture (R,R, & R) will occur at some point during the great tribulation, but before the day of God's wrath. In fact, it is the oldest interpretation of prophecy. Historically, Christians and Christian writers referred to the return of the Lord and the “day of the Lord” as the same event. As this is a blog and not a book, I will try to be thorough, but brief with each point. All italics are mine.

Old Testament Scriptures

1)Job 14:12 “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
God's revelation to Job is that there will be a resurrection of the dead, but not while the present heavens remain. Rev. 6:12-14 pictures the present heavens receding as a scroll when it is rolled up. II Peter 3:10,12,13 place the passing away of the heavens with the coming day of the Lord.
The R, R, and R cannot be expected until after the opening of the 6th seal (Rev.6:12-17).
Logically, this reads,
a)the rapture occurs during the day of the Lord
b)the moon is turned to blood before the day of the Lord
c)the moon is turned to blood after the opening of the 6th seal
d)therefore, the rapture occurs after the 6th seal is opened & the moon turned to blood
This, paralleled with Job 14:12 seems to rule out the scriptural possibility of a pre-trib rapture.

2)Psalm 110:1,2 “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”
Jesus will not disobey the Father's will. He will not leave the right hand of the Father until the specified time. The enemies of Christ are not defeated until the end of the tribulation.

3)Hosea 5:15 “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.”
Jesus will remain in His place until the Jews finally acknowledge their offence of rejecting Him. The Jews will not do this until after they are afflicted terribly by Satan and the anti-Christ. Towards the end of the tribulation, they will return to the Lord (Hosea 6:1-3, Zech.12:10).

4)Isaiah 26:20,21 “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity...”
The inspired, Old Testament writers speak with one voice and all harmonize. The R, R, and R will occur towards the end of the tribulation, before the wrath of God is poured out.

New Testament Scriptures

1)The return, resurrection, and rapture occurs at the last trump (I Cor.15). This coincides with the 7th trump in Revelation when the kingdoms of this world, become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev.11:15). The scriptures must harmonize. If the last trump is not the 7th trump of Revelation, then the Bible lies. At the last trump, Rev. 10:7 records, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished...”

2)Rev.11:18 “the nations were angry, and thy wrath 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 unto the saints...” This teaches that the time of the judgment seat of Christ is just prior to the wrath of God at the end of the Tribulation. It will not take very long. Jesus said, “Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev.22:12).

3)Thess.2:3 “that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed...” What day? The “day of Christ” (v.2), or “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM, “(v.1). According to this scripture, the man of sin will be revealed BEFORE the return and gathering together unto him.

4)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: 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. 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.”

5)Mark 13:24-27 is a parallel passage “then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”

6)Luke 21:28 “And when these things shall begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

NOTE: If Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation 4:1 – 19:1 are not intended for “church age believers” shouldn't pre-trib disciples produce the Pre-Trib Bible. It would be much thinner.
Perhaps it could be called “The Church Age Bible.” (This is a weak attempt at humor. Please, don't be offended)

7)Matthew 13:24-30 The wheat and the tares “both grow together until the harvest”

8)Ephesians 3:21 “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout ALL ages, world without end. Amen.” The Pre-Trib Bible would need to read, “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages (except the tribulation period when Jewish preachers only will be preaching) world without end. Amen.” (There I go again)

9)Revelation 19:7, 11-14 The Marriage Supper of The Lamb harmonizes perfectly with the following: pre-wrath rapture at the last trump, judgment seat of Christ (Rev.11:18), marriage supper, and then the heavens opening and the wrath of God (Rev.19:11-15).

10)At the return, resurrection, and rapture, “death is swallowed up in victory” ( I Cor.15:54).
A pre-trib position means that this is not true for those saints whom the antichrist is wearing out or killing during the tribulation (Daniel 7:25). Since the remnant of Jews do not return to the Lord until the close of the tribulation (see OT Scriptures #3), who are these saints? Are they a mysterious people who were saved when the church and the spirit were gone? Are they clueless because all they could find was the thinner, Pre-Trib Bible? (I can't help it)

In conclusion, all scripture must harmonize with regards to the return of the Lord. To preach to people that with 100% certainty they will be raptured before the tribulation seems to be quite reckless in the face of so many scriptures which teach otherwise. I certainly would be pleased to be wrong so that my family and I are spared from tribulation. But scripture and logic do not lead me to believe in the pre-trib rapture. Whatever the case, Jesus' return will be glorious and may we ever pray, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

In this blog, I hope I have not offended anyone by poking fun at certain aspects of the pre-trib rapture idea. Those who know me are aware of my sincerity and my respect for others and their ideas.