Biblical principles that establish the Biblical position of a pre-tribulational Rapture of the Church.
Part 2
Robert McLaughlin
Part 2 - Biblical principles that establish the Biblical position of a pre-tribulational Rapture of the Church.
The great Tribulation is punishment for a Christ-rejecting world, and the nation of Israel, who rejected her Messiah, REV 6:12-17, “And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?’”
The nature of the Church, and the promises of Christ forbid the Church from going through the great Tribulation. For example, the nature of the Church, COL 1:22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. The promise of Christ, HEB 13:5 for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
There must be an interval of time between the Rapture and the Second Coming. This is when the Judgment Seat of Christ takes place and believers either receive rewards or lose rewards (1CO 3:11-15, 2CO 5:10).
The scripture’s which deal with the great Tribulation have particular reference to the Jew. MAT 24:1-2, And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” He’s talking about a Jewish temple not a Christian church.
MAT 24:3-9, And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what {will be} the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for {those things} must take place, but {that} is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are {merely} the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.” This is a reference to the Jewish nation. In MAT 24:15 we read, “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),”
The abomination of desolation has to do with Jerusalem and the Temple, DAN 11:31 And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
Look at MAT 24:20 “But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath;” Why does it say the Sabbath? Because we are talking to the Jews not to Christians! The Sabbath is for the Jews only (EXO 31:16).
MAT 24:21-22, “for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.”
In MAT 24:29-32, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the Heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. Now learn the parable from the fig tree [Israel]: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near;
Who is the fig tree?
In LUK 13:6 the fig tree represents the nation of Israel, And He {began} telling this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any.”
So in MAT 24:33-34, “even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, {right} at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
In MAT 24:37-42, “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women {will be} grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Notice that the Sabbath is used (MAT 24:20).
Jerusalem is trodden under (LUK 21:24).
Kingdom of God is near and at hand (MAT 24:14).
The Church is never mentioned; the Temple is implied; and the abomination of desolation is denoted.The Tribulation is mentioned as a gross time of darkness, evil, and sin, where none have faith (ISA 60:2; JER 13:16; LUK 18:8).
Satan persecutes the women (Israel) in the Tribulation. The Church is not to come under condemnation (REV 12:1-4; ROM 5:9; ROM 8:1; 1TH 1:10; 1TH 5:9; 1CO 15:55-57; 1TH 4:13-18).
The Church is not of the world (JOH 17:14; PHI 3:20; 2TI 2:3-4). The Church is a spiritual extension of the Lord Jesus Christ, with promises that are Heavenly related (EPH 1:3; EPH 2:6).
Christ is preparing a home for His body the Church, and has promised to return and to take His bride back with Him, JOH 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, {there} you may be also.”
The Church has been promised deliverance from the wrath to come (ROM 5:9; 1TH 1:10; 1TH 5:9; REV 3:10). 1TH 1:10 and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. In 1TH 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The believer is told to watch, or have an attitude of anticipation for the Lord’s coming. If believers are to go through the great Tribulation, they would be advised to watch for the signs of the prophecies of the coming of Jacob’s trouble (ROM 8:23; 1CO 1:7; GAL 5:5; TIT 2:11-13). Why would we, in ROM 8:23, groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body? Or in 1CO 1:7 await eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or in TIT 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;
God has always protected His people in unique fashion in the face of judgment like Enoch before the flood (2PE 2:6-8). Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah.
The instructions by the apostle Paul never include any preparation or warning that the Church will encounter the great Tribulation.
If the Church goes through the Tribulation then the Jews as well as the Gentiles of the Tribulation period would become part of the Church. After the Tribulation the Jew¬ish remnant would go into the promised earthly Millennial reign; but the Gentiles of the Church would be caught up to be with Christ in glory. The body of Christ would become dismembered.
The church at Thessalonica would not be concerned of any disadvantage of the dead in Christ if those who were alive had to go through the great Tribulation (1TH 1:4).
The message of the Church is the message of the Gospel of grace and peace which was secured at the Cross by Jesus the Christ (EPH 2:8-10). The message of the great Tribulation is one of God’s judgment (REV 7:4-8; REV 12:17; REV 19:10; MAT 24:14).
The iniquity of the anti-Christ cannot be released until the Holy Spirit, the restrainer is removed with the Church in 2TH 2:3-10 (mystery of lawlessness). 2TH 2:3-10, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”
The Church is called to pray for those in authority (1TI 2:2); if the Church was on earth in the great Tribulation why would those who come through the great Tribulation pray for the destruction of those in authority? (REV 6:10).
Christ’s return for His church is unconditional, and He returns to Heaven (JOH 14:1-3). The great Tribulation is conditional, and based upon the abomination of desolation (MAT 24:15-16).
Christ returns for His bride in the air and does not touch down upon the earth at the Rapture. He then returns to Heaven (JOH 14:1-3); and at the Second Coming He comes down to the earth.
The Bema Seat Judgment takes place after the Rapture. All believers will be judged according to their works, whether wood hay or straw, or gold, silver, and precious stones. This represents the Divine production in the Spirit or in the flesh (1CO 3:12-15).
Time is needed for the Bema Seat, and the marriage of the Lamb, and His pure bride dressed in white, the Church. The seven years of the great tribulation provides for this time.
The Rapture is a mystery and secret, the Second Coming is a world display of power. 1CO 15:51-58, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
The Rapture comes at a time of false peace and safety through the promise of the anti-Christ. 1TH 5:2-3, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
After the Rapture (Rev 4) the day of the Lord begins with the opening of the first seal (Rev 5).
The Church is never mentioned after Revelation 4.
The 144,00 Jews from Twelve Tribes; the two prophet’s probably Elijah and Moses and the angel witness the Gospel (REV 11:3). The Church is never mentioned as fulfilling its great commission during the great Tribulation.
So the hope of the Church is the return of Christ at the Rapture, who will deliver them from the greatest outpouring of judgment in history (TIT 2:11-13; 1TH 1:10; 1TH 4:18; 1TH 5:11). The true Church will not, and cannot, go through the Tribulation period which is coming upon this earth and therefore the Church must be taken out from the earth which is what we call the rapture. In fact REV 3:10 also describes this principle, REV 3:10 “Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from [or take you out from] the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.”
If the Church is in the Seventieth Week or the Tribulational Period, she is subjected to the wrath, judgment, and indignation which characterizes the period, and because of her oneness with Christ, He, likewise would be subjected to the same. Rev 13 makes it clear that all who are in the 70th week or the Tribulation period are brought into subjection to the beast, and through him to Satan who gives the beast power. If the Church were in this period it would be subjected to Satan and Christ would either lose His place as head or because of His union with the Church, He would be also subjected to Satan’s authority. Such a thing is unthinkable and blasphemous!
(to be continued)
PS: This article is very long and is divided into 5 parts.
