Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

There is a big problem for people who believe in the mid-tribulation and post tribulation rapture theories.  This is the doctrine of Imminency.

Imminency means that Jesus could come back at any time.  Was this taught in the bible?

Matthew 24:36-51 – ³⁶“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

 ⁴²“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

 ⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So Jesus many times made it clear to keep your eyes open as he could come at anytime.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 – ¹Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ²for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

So we are told that we are to keep an eye out for Him so that it does not come unexpectedly.

1 Thessalonians 5:4 – ⁴But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

We don’t know the day or the hour and Jesus makes it clear on that in Matthew, but we are to keep our eyes out for the signs and by that we will know when it is near.

Also addressing Imminency and that the church was also looking for Jesus’ immediate return we see that the church in Thessalonica thought they had missed the rapture and Paul wrote this to assure them they had not.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 – ¹Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ²not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

Clearly they were looking for Jesus’ return at any moment.

So if  you’re a mid-tribulation rapture person, you believe that it will happen somewhere about the time the sacrifices are no longer allowed by the Jews and the great tribulation of 3 and half years is getting reading to start.  One, that really narrows down the time when one can keep an eye out for Christ and two, He couldn’t possibly have come before the start of the Tribulation.  So much for Imminency in this scenario.

I think you can tell that the post-tribulation position runs into the same problem in the fact that the rapture wouldn’t be able to happen until the tribulation was over and Christ was just getting to come back.  There is no imminency in this scenario either.

This pretty much wraps up my pre-tribulation rapture support.  To be honest with you I’ve even strengthened my already strong position stance on the pre-tribulation rapture theory.  When one really looks at all things concerning the timing of the rapture, not only do they support the pre-trib position, but many also bring many problems to the other positions.

I invite you to look over at the rapture category again to review them all and since there are so many, you’ll have to click on previous posts at the bottom of the page after you see the first ten to see the others.

Well it’s been a couple of weeks since I could get focused back on some prophecy.  I had a great two week vacation and was blessed enough to have access to the internet so I could keep up on the posting.

There are two scriptures I will put down that tell us to be encouraged regarding the rapture.  The first one comes right after one of the most popular rapture versus.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – ¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Is this in itself a verse that proves a pre-trib rapture on its own?  No, probably not.

However, it’s much easier to find encouragement in being spared during the most horrific time on the earth, even more so than the flood, than having to go through it.

The second verse which speaks on encouragement is Titus 2:13.

Titus 2:13 – ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Paul refers to the rapture in this verse as our blessed hope.  Hope like encouragement is something to look forward to, not something that is a consolation if you happen to avoid the slaughter of the days.

When is the church going to see His glorious appearing?  At the rapture.

I am getting down to the last few Pre-Trib support scriptures, so I realize these are not as solid as the other 15 or so Pre-Trib posts I’ve done previously.  To see those just go over to the categories column and click on Rapture and they will come up from the most recent on down.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 –  ¹Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ²not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. ³Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 ⁵Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? ⁶And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

The man of lawless is the antichrist or beast out of the sea.

He makes a covenant with God’s people for one seven year period.  This is also known has Daniel’s 70^th week.

Daniel 9:27 – ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

So we know that the antichrist is the man of lawlessness.  The next question is who is the one who is holding him back?

Whoever it is, He has to be taken out of the way before the lawless one can even be revealed.  I don’t know anyone else this could be except the Holy Spirit through the church.  The individual has to be present now to be taken out of the way.  Also it has to be a character that is strong enough that the antichrist can’t even be revealed until He is removed.

Since the antichrist will easily be revealed when he makes a peace treaty for seven years with Israel, the Holy Spirit and church should be taken out of the way. 

Does this mean that since the Holy Spirit is gone no one else will be saved?  Not at all.  As a matter of fact I believe one of the biggest harvests for the Lord is during the tribulation.  However, the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity and has been around.  During Pentecost He was presented as a gift that indwelled those in the church age. 

Those rejecting Christ as this time who even may become saved after the rapture are missing out on a special time known the Church age.  It’s a chance to belong to His Church and be part of His Bride.  In writing I can’t even explain how big of an honor or blessing that is.

The lawless one can’t be revealed until He is taken out of the way.  More support for the pre-trib position.

Matthew 16:13-18 – ¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  ¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

 ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

 ¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I like to put the scriptures down in the NIV version, but verse 18 in the King James I think is better on this.

Matthew 16:18 – ¹⁸And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

I’m not one of those who believe this scripture is stating that Peter is the rock.  I believe Peter’s statement is the rock, which is, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

This is the rock that Jesus has built His church.

With that let’s move ahead to Revelation.

Revelation 13:7-   ⁷And 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.

The antichrist or beast in Revelation 13:7 is given power to overcome the saints.  Now if the saints are the church we have ourselves a contradiction here.  However, if the church is gone already, we do not.  Christ said the Gates of Hell will not overcome the My church.  People will continue to get saved in the tribulation by the millions.

Tomorrow we will continue with part 2.

The following scriptures I believe also support the Pre-Trib position.  However, in comparison to some of the many others I have brought up in the past weeks it can be interpreted differently.

Luke 21:34-36 –³⁴“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. ³⁵For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

The first thing a person who does not believe in the Pre-Trib position is going to say that escape doesn’t mean rapture.  That’s correct escape by itself doesn’t mean rapture.

In verse 34 we have a warning from Jesus to make sure that the worries, preoccupation, and cares of this world, don’t blind us of…….what?

Even if one is drunk or busy their going to see the things that are happening during the tribulation.  Almost all will be terrified and half of those left on earth are expected to perish.  It is also a warning that if you’re not careful it will close in on you unexpectedly like a trap.

Then it goes on to say in verse 35 that it will come upon all of those who live on the face of the whole earth.  So if you’re on the earth it will come upon you. 

In verse 36 Jesus says to always be on watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen.  There is a lot that is going to happen during the tribulation.  It doesn’t say pray that you are hidden from what’s going to happen.  Because if your still on earth that’s what would have to happen.  Also it states that the beast was given power to make war with the saints and conquer them.

Revelation 13:7 –  ⁷He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

It appears that if you do believe Luke 21:34-36 is a pre-trib rapture verse then these saints must be the drunk and the one’s not praying, because it doesn’t appear the saints are escaping at this point. 

Last it says pray that you may escape and be able to stand before the Son of Man.  If we are raptured and escapes the tribulation, that’s where we’re going to be standing.

Tomorrow I want to expound a little further on this.

In Revelation 11 we read about two witnesses.  A couple of weeks ago we read on the 144,000 Jews also.  Both of these groups are significant because if the Church is still here, why are these Jews and two  witnesses needed?

Revelation 11:3-4 – ³And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

These two are the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth?

Wasn’t the Church signified by seven lampstands?  Also they appear to be in Heaven.  Here we have two witnesses that are from God and they are lampstands on the earth.  They are Prophesying and have protection from God to not only witness about the Lord, but have a real Old Testament style way of causing havoc on the earth to those who try and harm them.

Which brings up the other point, what separates the Old and New Testaments?  The coming of Jesus Christ.  With the rejection of Jesus as the Jews’ Messiah, we have a church age that appears to have stepped in separating Daniel’s 69^th to the 70^th week.  That’s a whole other study if you’re not familiar with it and is found in Daniel 9:20-27.  Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be cut off from the people after the 69^th week.  These weeks are symbolized by a period of 7 years.  Thus 70 weeks of years is 490 years. 

The symbolic nature of this is Jesus died 483 years after Daniels prophecy started ticking.  What is the 70^th week?  It’s the 7 year peace treaty with the antichrist.  So there is a gap and we know it as the church age.  In essence there was an Old Testament time freeze.  What starts it back up?  Not the rapture, but the signing of that peace treaty between Israel and the antichrist.

I say all this because, the judgments in Revelation along with those that the two witnesses are causing have Old Testament written all over them.  As we saw in verse three above they were clothed in sackcloth.  That is an Old Testament tradition.

Revelation 11:5-6 – ⁵If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

No rain?  Water to blood along with plagues?  This is why some believe these two witnesses to be Elijah and Moses.

So it appears the Church comes in after Daniel’s 69^th week and leaves before his 70^th week, which I believe points to more Pre-Trib rapture support information.

Once again, if the Church is hear doing its job, what’s the reason for the two witnesses?  Why are they referred to as the two lampstands on earth?  If the Church was still here wouldn’t they be considered the seven lampstands that stand for the Lord of the Earth?

The number one reason why there is a question to the timing of the rapture is because we read about the Tribulation Saints.

One thing I have to address right out of the gate is – What would you call someone who has accepted Christ during the Tribulation? 

A Tribulation Saint.

When the fifth seal is opened up we see a group that has been slain for the Word of God.  They are also asking for revenge.  They are told to wait a little longer until more of their brothers are to be killed.

Revelation 6:9-11 – ⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” ¹¹Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

So clearly this is either people that have accepted Christ after the rapture, or the Church.  One thing is clear is they are not referred to as the Church.  These are saints that have come out of the Tribulation.  In chapter 7 we revisit the group in verse 9.

Revelation 7:9-12 –   ⁹After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice:
   “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” ¹¹All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying:    “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.     Amen!”

Palm branches, slain for the Word of God, washed in the Blood of the Lamb.  These are definitely people that have accepted Christ.  Once again no mention of the word Church and we couldn’t get enough of the Church in the first three chapters of Revelation.

Revelation 7:13-17 –  ¹³Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”  ¹⁴I answered, “Sir, you know.”

First I want to address that Elders in a biblical sense are usually symbolic of an older wiser person in the Church.  John isn’t talking to an Angel, he’s talking to an Elder.  Without a rapture already, I’m not sure who the Elder would be?

¹⁴I answered, “Sir, you know.”   And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore, “they are before the throne of God
      and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  ¹⁶Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.   ¹⁷For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Also a very interesting note:  God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  Why?  Did they miss their first opportunity?  If you believe in a Pre-Trib rapture, you believe that those who died for Jesus during the Tribulation missed their first opportunity.  It says a multitude to numerous to count from every tribe tongue and nation was slain.  I believe missing the rapture will be a second chance to many of those not accepting God right now.  Millions of people disappearing may be written off by a lot of those left behind, but many will know immediately after it happened that they’re in trouble and know exactly what they’ve missed.  They will tell and reach others. 

I believe that’s why we all need to keep sharing.  Even if some of those you are witnessing to now still reject the Lord, they may accept Him after the rapture.

The next supporting scriptures for Pre-Tribulation rapture support are found in Revelation.

Revelation 7:3-8 –  ³“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
 ⁵From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
   from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
   from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
 ⁶from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
   from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
   from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
 ⁷from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
   from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
   from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
 ⁸from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
   from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
   from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

There is a thing known as replacement theology in the world.  I am NOT one of those people.  God made a promise to the Jewish people.  The Bible couldn’t be clearer that this promise is still going to be fulfilled.  The reason I bring that up is because the people sealed are Jews.  Not Jehovah Witnesses, not people taking the place of these 144,000, these are 12,000 Jewish people from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

So God is going to protect a remnant of Jewish people by putting a seal on their forehead.

What, none for the church?  Why would God protect these 144,000 Jews and not the Church?

Not that big of an issue to the Church if they’re gone already.

When God comes back at the end of the Tribulation, He will rule and reign as the Jewish Messiah and over all who are left on the Earth.  One thing that is very clear is replacement theology people don’t take the Bible literally.

Take the Bible literally.  It’s God’s Word and it’s literally happening before your very eyes.