Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

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.