RAPTURE of the CHURCH

I open this study with one very important encouragement. Different doctrinal positions on the end-time events do not have any effect on our salvation. They also should not have any effect on our Christian walk. I plead with you to not separate yourself from Christians who hold to a different rapture timing position. The church must be united as the day draws near. It is important for us to keep in mind that it will no longer matter when the rapture will have happened once we are together in Heaven. Our focus will be on our LORD and Savior not on when or how we ended up in Heaven!

You may be surprised with what I am about to say. I am sincere in stating that my primary purpose is not to convert people to the Pre-Wrath rapture position. Instead, the purpose of this book is much more elementary—that Christians may become familiar with the sequence of events after the peace treaty so that if they do see these end-time events happening, they will remain strong and faithful. I expect that many of those who read this book will at least lean towards the Pretrib rapture position. Please do not read this book as if it is written to change your mind. Merely read it as a book that presents events which will happen within Daniel's Seventieth Week. God has never promised that we will escape tribulation; He has promised we will escape His end-time judgments. Knowing what it will be like before the LORD raptures us will keep us from being caught off guard if we end up seeing events which we thought are only for those left on Earth after the rapture.

Do I want everyone to agree with me about the Pre-Wrath rapture? Of course! Am I convinced that the sequence of events presented in this book is correct? Absolutely! However, in my being conciliatory to you, the reader of this book, you may be willing to compare my evidence to your position. That will contribute to your ability to serve the LORD even if you end up seeing events you concluded Christians would never see.

Acts 17:11 encourages us to examine the Scriptures daily to see whether what we are taught is true. I began a study of the Pretrib rapture more than fifteen years ago in preparation for teaching the position. As you might expect, I started with the book of Revelation. It was in the midst of studying Revelation that I realized the Pretrib rapture position fails the test of Scripture. Thus began my quest to compare the Pretrib rapture to the very Scriptures claimed to prove the position. This book is the consummation of that effort. A few years after I began this pursuit, I discovered that my own conclusions were consistent with what is called the Pre-Wrath rapture.

This book draws a clear line between the Pretrib and the Pre-Wrath rapture positions. Nothing exemplifies this division more than the Pretribulationist’s teaching that God’s end-time judgments cover the full seven-year Tribulation Period. The Pre-Wrath rapture teaches that significantly more than half of Daniel’s seventieth week passes before God begins His judgments against the Antichrist and his followers. It is critical to remember throughout this book that, although we place the rapture after the great tribulation is cut short for the sake of the elect, we agree with the Pretribulationist that Christians will be raptured by the LORD before His judgments begin.

The defining question that separates the Pretrib and Pre-Wrath rapture is, “Are all of the seals of Revelation 5–8 the judgments of God?” The answer is found in the fifth seal of Revelation:

9 And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;

10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also. (Revelation 6:9–11)

Verse 9 claims that these martyrs were slain, “because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained.” It is this testimony about the fifth seal martyrs that caused me to question, “Does this sound like a transgression that would cause God to judge them? Would it even remotely be consistent with how God operates to judge those who maintain a faithful testimony of Him?” In verse 10, the martyrs are asking God how long before He judges the people who had killed them. When I read this, I wondered how the martyrs could even consider asking the LORD to judge their killers if, as the Pretribulationist claims, they were “killed by God in His fifth seal judgment.” There is nothing in Revelation 6:9–11 that would cause the fifth seal martyrs to be the recipients of God’s end-time judgments!

I certainly wish that the Pretrib rapture could be true, since I seek neither persecution nor martyrdom. However, the more I studied the Scriptures, the more shocked I was that I could not prove the very position I was preparing to teach! That surprise caused me to be deeply concerned for the church. For those who have been guaranteed that we would be raptured before the beginning of Daniel's seventieth week, the discouragement that would result from seeing many end-time events unfold could monumentally affect their usefulness in the last days! That discouragement would become even deeper if Christians were to see the Antichrist claim that he is God at the abomination of desolation and then see the beginning of the great tribulation (a time of unprecedented persecution of Jews and Christians). Would Christians question their salvation? Would they question the majority of what else has been taught them from the Bible? This concern should give everyone a strong reason to carefully examine the Scriptures and be prepared for what is coming!

Instead of fearing these events, if God should choose to lead any of us into Daniel’s seventieth week, we should rejoice! This shocking statement comes from a heavenly perspective; we would have the wonderful privilege of being used by the LORD in His calling of the last ones to be written in the Book of Life. Although the fifth seal was the turning point for me, what settled my mind conclusively on what is called the Pre-Wrath rapture position was the compilation of the events surrounding the darkening of the sun and moon. This darkening event will become a centering pillar which defines where all of the end-time events fit into the chronology. The result will provide an almost shocking proof that the Pretrib rapture is impossible. In chapter 2 we will look at the darkening of the sun and moon in Matthew 24, Acts 2, and Revelation 6–7. In the Appendix, we will add Isaiah, Joel, Mark and Luke. Near the end of both chapters, the events will be charted chronologically.

Our calling is to worship and glorify God, encourage one another in Christ, proclaim Jesus to the world and care for those in need. We are to do this even if we see signs that we are in Daniel’s seventieth week and even if we will be persecuted for being faithful. Our minds and hearts must be set on being His servants regardless of world events.