Articles by Edward Thomas

The Rapture

Update, November 2024: I still believe in a pre-tribulational rapture of the church. The timing of the rapture has caused a lot of division in the church between those that believe the church will be raptured before the tribulation, at the mid-point of the tribulation, at the end of the tribulation or not at all. Many accusations are flying around accusing pretribulationists of escapism and teaching a dangerous theology that does not prepare the church for the rise of the anti-christ. That is unfortunate as the study of the end times and return of Jesus should unite the church instead of divide the church. So in the quest for harmony, most churches have decided not to talk about it at all. That is a great shame as over 1/4 of the Bible deals with prophecy. The accurate fulfillment of Bible prophecy distinguishes Christianity from any other religion and offers incredible hope to the believer that Jesus is coming back again. How can that be ignored? So study the scriptures carefully and make your own determination regarding the rapture of the church. Yet, in your effort, strive to unite the church and not divide the church as you share the wonderful news that Jesus is coming back again to bring the church home.

Here is a general discussion of the rapture followed by 32 reasons why I believe the church will be raptured before the wrath of the 7 year tribulation.

The Rapture

A mystery-not introduced until Pauline epistles. Those who say the rapture is not mentioned in the Bible have not read it.  It is pretty obvious in I Thess 4:13 and I Corinthians 15:5. The big problem with people who don’t see the rapture in scripture is that they allegorize it all away.  They cannot interpret it literally. They think it must mean something other than what is actually says.  What a stumbling block!

A great escape?  Of course it is!  Those Christians who are alive get to escape the wrath of God during the 7 year tribulation.  A primary purpose of the tribulation is to turn Israel back to the messiah so they will finally recognize Jesus as the One.  This does not mean the church escapes trouble.  Up until the time of the rapture, the church will experience martyrdom, severe persecution and trouble at all levels.  Some of it may be devastating!  However, the church will not be here for the wrath of the tribulation period.  The church escapes! 

Seems too fantastic, but God works that way (Red Sea, Noah, Cross, Jonah)-He is a God of miracles and the fantastic! Who would have ever believed He would part the Red Sea?  That sounds too ridiculous!  The same with the Rapture.  I think that is why many people have a hard time with the rapture, it is just too unreal, a fantasy, wishful thinking.  But that is how God works.  He is the God of the impossible and implausible.  And the fact that it is scriptural seals it for me.

The next few paragraphs may be the most important ones in my writings.  Most would say that I am in la la land by not only believing in a rapture but let alone one before a 7-year tribulation.  You would think that I am missing something.  It seems illogical to you.  It seems like a form of escapism and is not based in realism and the overall tenants of Christianity. You would say that if the rapture before the 7-year tribulation is true that it would be made more apparent.  The  scriptures would shout it out!  Why is it called a “mystery”?  Why the subtleness?  Besides, my  church doesn’t talk about it and the topic is just too controversial and divisive. We have more important things to study such as evangelism and discipleship.   So, in the light of all this hesitancy to study prophecy and embrace a pre-tribulational rapture, I challenge you to reconsider.

Contemplate the following points:

  • The rapture is called a mystery.  Jesus talked about it in John 14:1-3, but Paul gave us the details in I Thess. 4:13-18.  Why a mystery?  Because it had never been revealed before.  The rapture is specifically for the church and the church didn’t begin until Pentecost, so it would not have been understood if revealed earlier. 
  • Why didn’t God make it clearer as to the timing of the rapture and the exact time frame of the glorious second coming?  I actually think it is clear if you really dig into the scriptures and study for yourself.  Yet, many bible students and scholars have come to different conclusions.  Why would God allow so many people to have such different conclusions on such an important topic?  Is He trying to confuse His church?  I will suggest four main reasons:  1)  First, there is a battle raging between God and the forces of evil.  Satan is trying to bring as many with him to eternal punishment as possible.  So even though the war is won, there are still battles to fight.  Satan is not omniscient, so he has to figure things out on his own.  If the timing of the rapture was crystal clear, then satan would have an edge on when to act and muster his forces.  Just like when the Allied forces camouflaged the place and time of the Normandy invasion, God has done the same with many aspects of His 2nd coming, including the rapture of the church.  Hitler had to spread out his defenses along the entire coast of France which weakened him at the point of the invasion.  Likewise, satan has to always be prepared and guessing about God’s timing.    This gives God a tactical and spiritual advantage so that as many as possible, that are willing, will be saved.  2) Second, precise knowledge on the timing of the rapture undermines free will.  If we knew the exact timing, then our natural tendency is to rely on ourselves instead of God.  We would make plans and commitments accordingly.  Just like if we knew the exact moment of our death, we would no longer trust God for our future and rely on Him day by day.  Instead, we would only start getting serious with God as the deadline approached.  This is human nature.  Our free will would be compromised if we knew too much.  Our reliance on God would be more strategic than genuine.  3) And third, God ways are different from our ways.  He is the God of not only the impossible but puts an element of the “totally crazy” to accomplish His purposes.  Noah had to build a boat and gather all the animals to escape a world-wide flood.  Are you kidding me!  Crazy!  Trapped against the Red Sea, God parted the waters so that the Israelites could escape, and the waters came crashing down on the chariots of Pharoah?  Totally ridiculous!  A big fish swallowed Jonah and spit him out three days later to get Jonah to be obedient so that the inhabitants of Ninevah could escape destruction!  No way!  Yet, God himself came down to earth as a human to die on a cross to a rebellious humanity to save them?  Total foolishness!  The same goes for the rapture of the church.  It is so crazy that the world will not believe it.  They will come up with “out of the world” explanations.  They will believe the lie. 4) And Fourth, the angel told Daniel to “seal up” the prophecies (most of the book of Revelation just gives greater detail to the prophecies revealed in the book of Daniel) till the time of the end.  These prophecies are becoming clearer and clearer as the last days are approaching. They are becoming “unsealed”. The alignment of nations, the exponential advancement of technology, and the moral and spiritual condition of the world are slowly taking the mystery out of what these prophecies mean and how they could be fulfilled. This is all according to God’s timing and overall strategy. Ultimate success is sometimes driven by the phrase, “what I know and when I know it.”  Sometimes God only gives us information and grace as we need it. This builds our faith and trust in Him. Likewise, the church will be victorious and given insight into the times and seasons only as we need it.  Paul says in I Thessalonians 5:5 that we are not children of darkness that the day should overtake us like a thief.  We are children of the light and the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth and will give us more and more clarity as the last days quickly come upon us. 

The Rapture is mentioned in scripture:  I Thess. 4:16-18, I Cor. 15:51-53, John 14:3-5, Rev. 3:10, Phil 3:20-21)-It is obvious and scripturally conclusive that the rapture is going to happen, the only question is when?

  • The word harpazo in Greek means harpooning or snatched away! We are snatched away from what?  Why that terminology?  Because something is coming upon the earth that the church will be rescued from.  We are snatched out of the trial coming upon the world (Rev. 3:10)
  • The word in Latin is translated “ruptus” meaning rapture. So the word rapture is actually used in the bible!
  • There will be a generation of believers that cheat death (that is why Paul uses the phrase “we will not all die, but be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye (I Cor. 15:51-52).  To date, only two humans who have ever lived have escaped death and those two are Enoch and Elijah.  Yet, there is a generations of believers that will not taste of death.  Unless the Lord tarries, you might be part of that exclusive club. 
  • When is the rapture? (before the 7 year tribulation; it is a signless event that could occur at anytime. However, the phrase “no one knows the day or the hour” refers to Christ’s glorious 2nd coming and not the rapture of the church.  Never-the-less, though we don’t know exactly when the rapture will occur, we can know the season as we see all the signs converge.)

32 reasons why church will not go through the 7-year tribulation:

  1. The 7-year tribulation is the time of Jacob’s trouble, not for the church (Jeremiah 30:7 says “Alas that day is great so that there is none like it, it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it.”  The term “Jacob” is another name for “Israel”. This is the 7 year tribulation period that both Daniel and Jesus described as being so bad that it will not be equaled since the existence of the nations (Daniel 12:1 and Matthew 24:21).  It is meant for Israel and not the church.  The purpose of the 7-year tribulation is to turn Israel to repentance to recognize that Jesus is indeed their messiah. Zechariah 13:8 and Romans 11:26 show that Israel will be refined and saved out of it. Zechariah 12:10 says that Israel will finally look at the “one whom they have pierced” and they will mourn.  They will finally believe.  So the church will not be here during the 7 year tribulation because they already believe and do not need to be refined through the fire of the tribulation.  This is the time of “Jacob’s” trouble.

2. Is that any way to treat a bride? Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless”.  Jesus deals gently with His church.  And though the church is not exempt from persecution and martyrdom, He does not need to cleanse her by the wrath of the 7-year tribulation period.  That cleansing is accomplished by the washing with water through the word accomplished by the work of the cross.  He presents her to Himself as holy and blameless not by putting her through the fire of the 7-year tribulation but by regeneration and sanctification  through the Holy Spirit.  The wrath of God during the 7-year tribulation period is intended to put Israel through the fire so that they will finally turn to Him and recognize Him as the Messiah.  But the church is already redeemed and made righteous by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  And so He compares the church to a bride to be treated gently (as husbands should treat their wives) and with great love and tenderness.  Putting the church through the 7-year tribulation to be hunted down by the anti-christ and face the full onslaught of the wrath of God to an unbelieving world serves no purpose and is no way to treat a bride.

3. Why would Jesus turn his bride over to Satan’s authority? Concerning the beast and the rise of the anti-christ, Revelation 13:7 says, “It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them.  And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.”  Satan is given power and authority for 42 months (by indwelling the anti-christ) to conquer or overcome the saints.  Who are these “holy people”?  They are the peoples from the nation of Israel and those who become believers during the 7-year tribulation. They do not represent the church.  Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that “on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”  This applies specifically to the church

4. “You will escape the hour of testing coming upon the world” (Revelation 3:10). This is a special promise to the church of Philadelphia that they will escape this hour of testing.  The seven churches of Revelation 2-3 are representative of all the churches since Pentecost.  A promise to one church is the same as a promise to all seven churches.  There is only one hour of testing (which Jesus describes as future) coming upon the earth (described as “earth dwellers” or unbelievers) and that is the time of Jacob’s trouble, the 7-year tribulation.  The church is not associated with the term “earth dwellers”.  The church will escape this hour of testing. Jesus promised it.

5. Taken out or preserved through? There are some that say that the church will remain on the earth, but preserved “through” the 7-year tribulation.  The phrase “keep from the hour” in the Greek is translated as “taken out”.  The church is completely removed from this hour of testing coming upon the earth.  (see Andy Woods for a great discussion of this)

6. The Rapture is an imminent event (I Cor. 15:51, I Thess. 4:15)-the rapture can occur at any moment.  It is a sign-less event.  Nothing has to happen for it to occur.  That is why we wait for our blessed hope.  We are not looking for the anti-christ. We are not looking for a special prophecy to occur.  Our eyes are fixed on the savior and looking up as our redemption is drawing near.  If the rapture occurs in the middle or at the end of the tribulation, then we would be looking for specific events (like the abomination of desolation, war of Armageddon, arrival of the two witnesses, sealing of the 144,000, the seal, bowl and trumpet judgements).  They would all have to occur before the rapture could take place.   The rapture is an event that does not have any precursors.  It could happen at any time.

7. Business as usual (Luke 17:27-30)- Luke describes this time of judgement coming upon the earth will occur when things appear to be somewhat normal as people will be buying and selling, planting, marrying etc.  The rapture will occur at a time similar to the “days of Noah.” This is not the case at the glorious 2nd coming of Jesus where the world will be at war during the final battle of Armageddon.  Revelation 16:18 tells us that every city on the planet will be leveled during this time.  Conditions will not be normal as the population will be struggling to survive.  So the rapture cannot occur at the end of the tribulation as things will not be normal, but in total devastation.  Every city will be leveled by an earthquake.  All water is contaminated.  All the green grass in burned up.  The heavens are shaken.  Darkness envelopes the land.  People will not be buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage, building and planting.  Therefore the rapture must occur at the beginning of the tribulation when things are much more normal.

8. Isaiah 26:19-21-shows a beautiful Old Testament prophecy where God’s people will be raised (the church at the rapture) and spared from the indignation (7-year tribulation) that is coming upon the earth.

9. What is the purpose of the 144,000, the angel and the two witnesses? The church for the last 2000 years has been the ambassador for Christ to proclaim the gospel to the world.  If the church were present during the 7-year tribulation, then there would be no need for the sealing of the 144,000 and the two witnesses and the angel of Revelation 14:6. The Lord always has a representative on earth (Moses, the prophets, the church) to proclaim the way of salvation.  The church is removed during the 7-year tribulation, so God raises up other voices to proclaim the gospel.

10. The Rapture is a comfort (I Thess 4:18)-We are to encourage one another with the words of Paul about meeting the Lord in the air at the rapture of the church.  If this were to occur at the end of the tribulation, then that encouragement would be disingenuous.  For the church would have to face the anti-christ, the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth and all would most likely have to die for their faith.  What kind of encouragement is that?

11. Come up Here! (Revelation 4:1)-Voice like a trumpet (John is suddenly translated from earth to heaven and appears before the throne where Jesus is.  This is a beautiful picture of the rapture of the church as we will be translated from earth to heaven at the voice of the archangel and the last trump)

12. Church not mentioned in Revelation 6-19 (the church is no longer mentioned in these chapters because they represent the time period of the tribulation, and the church is not present during this time.  Chapters 2 and 3 are the letters to the churches which represent the church age (“the things that are”).  Chapters 6-19 represent the 7-year tribulation (“the things which are to come” Revelation 1:19, 4:1)

13. Position of the seven golden lamp stands (notice that the seven golden lampstands (which represent the church as indicated in Revelation 1:20) are located on the earth as indicated in Revelation 1:12, but in chapter 4 of Revelation, the seven golden lampstands (fiery torches) are located in heaven before the throne (Revelation 4:5).  The “come up here” phrase in Revelation 4:1 is associated with the rapture of the church.

14. 24 Elders of Revelation 4:4 (they seem to be redeemed and washed by the blood of Jesus. They have crowns on their heads (represent the rewards given to the church) and are clothed in white which represents forgiveness of sins given to the bride of Christ. In Revelation 5:9 these 24 elders sing a song to the Lord and proclaim, “you were slain and have redeemed us by your blood”.  Only the church saints have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.   If so, what are they doing around the throne at this time?  They represent the church which has been raptured!) (Again, Andy Woods has a tremendous sermon on YouTube explaining this in great detail)

15. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:1-4) These are Jesus words to the disciples at the last supper telling them that He has to go away, but that He will come again to get them and take them to His Father’s house where He has prepared many rooms.  This is a beautiful illustration of the rapture of the church.  If this event that Jesus describes occurs at the end of the 7-year tribulation period, then Jesus stays on the earth and sets up His 1000-year reign from Jerusalem.  Yet, He has just said that He will come get the church and bring them back to His Father’s house.  Therefore, this must occur before the 7-year tribulation to make any sense.  After 7 years in the Father’s house with Jesus, we come back with Him on white horses as the glorified Bride of Christ.  (Revelation 19:11) Eventually, these rooms or dwelling places will come back down to earth as the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21) which will be our main residence for eternity.

16. Who will inhabit the millennium? If all believers are raptured at the glorious 2nd coming at the end of tribulation, then there will be no mortal bodies to enter the 1000 year reign of Christ. Yet we know that the population of the earth explodes during this millennial reign of Christ.  In fact, the population gets so large that at the end of the 1000 years, satan is let loose and deceives a number of people so large that it is considered like the grains of sand from the sea. (Revelation 20:8)  The only way mortal bodies are present to enter into this kingdom is if the rapture occurs before the 7-year tribulation.

17. Meet the Lord “in the air” (when Jesus comes back at the end of the tribulation, His foot touches the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4, Acts 1:11).  The Rapture is a different event where we meet the Lord in the air (not on the earth) to go to the place that He has prepared for us (John 14: 3). If the rapture were at the end of the tribulation, it makes no logical sense that we would raptured to meet the Lord “in the air” only to reverse direction and come right back down to the earth. Instead, the Lord promised to take us to the place He has prepared for us in His Father’s house.

18. Not destined for wrath (Jesus took our judgement at the Cross)-I Thess 1:9-10, 5:9-10, Rev. 6:17, Romans 5:9, Romans 8:1)- ”For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”   The church is not appointed for this time of wrath coming upon the earth dwellers.  We are exempt from it because Jesus already paid the price for our redemption.  You may object and say “what about those who become believers during  this time of wrath, Jesus paid the price for them too.”  That is true, but those who become believers after the rapture are not part of the church.  The church is a “mystery”, a special dispensation that is the bride of Christ.  It is not subject to the wrath of the 7-year tribulation as it is washed and presented blameless and holy and there is no need for an additional time of testing.

19. Restrainer taken out of the way (2 Thess 2 3-8)-The Holy Spirit must be removed as the one restraining the full onslaught of evil from the anti-christ.  This will be accomplished by the removal of the church which is the salt and light of the world. The church is what is holding evil back–The Restrainer is the church-if the church is here during the tribulation, then Satan would not have full control since the church is the light and salt of the earth.  Only with the church removed can evil totally prevail and the anti-christ revealed. If this were to happen at the end of the 7-year tribulation, there would be no time for the anti-christ to rise to power before Jesus comes back in great power and glory and throws him into the lake of fire.

20. Luke 21:36 (Pray that you may escape)– ”Be 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”.  Escaping this kind of wrath is a good thing, not some fantasy to avoid reality. This verse is an obvious reference to the rapture and Jesus removing us from the earth to escape the coming wrath. 

21. Why the need for the sheep/goat judgement? If all believers are raptured at the end of the tribulation, then there would not be any sheep remaining on the earth for the sheep/goat judgement of Matthew 25. There must be a remnant that survive the 7-year tribulation or there would be no mortal bodies to enter into the kingdom that begins the 1000 year reign of Christ.  It is the surviving sheep that enter into the millennial kingdom. 

22. The Mark of the Beast (though salvation is still by grace thru faith during the tribulation period, the way God deals with Israel and the nations becomes a mixture of law and grace.  The special dispensation of the church age is over.    During this 7-year period it is one’s deeds that shows his/her salvation is real.  This is not works based salvation but works that prove your salvation is genuine.  As James 2:26 says, “Faith without works is dead”.  For example, Revelation 14:13 says that “Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on….they will rest from their labors and their deeds will follow them.”  Why is the phrase “from now on” used? And why are you blessed when you die only after this point?  That is because once we are in the 7-year tribulation period those who get the mark of the beast are doomed forever.  Even followers of Christ are doomed if they get the mark (perhaps their faith was never genuine).   But from now on (from the tribulation period onward) you are blessed if you die in the Lord because you are no longer susceptible to getting the mark.  You can rest from your labors because it is your deeds that have proved the genuineness of your salvation. Therefore, the church cannot be present during the tribulation period as their salvation is guaranteed by the seal of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). It is not possible for a church age believer to face the mark of the beast as it would violate that guarantee if they took the mark.

23. Power given to satan to “overcome the saints (Revelation 13:7)” (Jesus said the gates of hell would never prevail against the church-Matthew 16:17-19.  Yet, during the tribulation, Satan is given power over the saints.  Therefore, this could not refer to the church, but instead to believers that come to Christ during the tribulation)

24. “Encourage/comfort one another with these words” (these are the words written by Paul after describing the rapture of the church.  If the church was supposed to go through the hell and utter devastation of the tribulation, Paul would not have used this phrase of encouragement.   Instead, he would have instructed them to gird up their loins and prepare for the worst time ever to come upon planet earth).

25. Most underestimate the severity of the tribulation period. (Jesus described in in Matthew 24:20-24 that this will be the worst time ever in human history and if He did not come again no one would survive it.  Yes the church will encounter terrible times of martyrdom and persecution, but never God’s wrath. It will not be part of the 7 year tribulation.

26. In fact, it will be so bad during the 7 year tribulation that Revelation 14:13 says that “Blessed are those that die in the Lord from now on”.  Those who become believers during the tribulation are not part of the church and therefore their eternal security is not sealed by the Holy Spirit.  If they receive the mark of the beast, they are doomed.  Therefore, it is better to die and inherit salvation and to have to endure the anti-christ who has the power to overcome them.

27. Pre-tribulational rapture is not a recent theory, it was adopted by the early church. Read some articles by Andy Wood and Thomas Ice that show that early church believers (100 to 300 AD) believed in the rapture before the 7-year tribulation.

28. Wedding and Marriage Supper of the Lamb-portrayed in heaven before Jesus returns in glory. If the church is raptured at the end of the tribulation, then how could it already be in heaven as the bride of Christ celebrating the marriage supper of the lamb (Revelation 19:7-9) right before He comes back in glory as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

29. No one knows the day or hour (Matthew 24:36) -this is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.  It does not refer to the rapture or even the glorious second coming .  If you read the context carefully it refers to the second half the tribulation. The final 3.5 years of the tribulation is the same as “the coming of the son of man”.  It is a period of time, not a specific day.  Jesus likens it  to the “days of Noah” in its scope of evil and trouble and sudden calamity.  Jesus refers to this time as so bad that it has never happened before on the earth nor will ever happen again.  It is this period of time that no one knows the day or the hour it will begin.  Jesus said it will come when no one is expecting it.  It will come upon the world suddenly, like a trap (Luke 21:35).  Regarding Jesus’s glorious 2nd coming, everyone will know it is coming as there is even a sign in the sky announcing it.  This will not be unexpected to take the world by surprise.  Regarding the rapture, it is a sign-less event that can occur at any time.  It is not a trap to come upon the world, but instead deliverance for the believer. The rapture is not the focus of Jesus comments about the “day or the hour” in Matthew 24. In fact the rapture is not in focus during any part of the Olivet discourse.  (See Andy Woods commentary on Matthew 24 to get a detailed discussion on this).

30. God will not send judgement if there is just one righteous person remaining (Genesis 18:16-33)-throughout history, God has not sent catastrophic judgement upon a nation or a city unless the righteous are removed.   Genesis 18 explains this in perfect detail. The key word here is “catastrophic”.  There are less severe judgements that God will send upon a nation that have rebelled against Him and that judgement starts with God’s people. But the judgement during the 7-year tribulation is different. It is the overwhelming wrath of God coming upon the world during the 7-year tribulation for those that refuse to believe.  Half the population on the planet will die.   God will remove His church, who are deemed the righteous in Christ, beforehand. 

31. The examples of Lot, Noah, Daniel and Enoch –they were all miraculously saved from impending wrath.  That is how God works.  He does not submit the righteous to judgement.  This goes for the church who is righteous in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).  He will not send judgement on the earth while His bride is still here. Even Daniel is a “type” representing the church.  Where was Daniel when Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace?  He was not present. How odd as he was the main instigator of rebellion against worshipping Nebuchadnezzar.  Yet, he was mysteriously absent.

32. Similarities between the Jewish marriage ceremony and the Rapture of the Church. (see the film “Before the Wrath”)

  • Just as a Jewish groom would leave his home, travel to his bride’s home, and pay a bride-price (also known as a dowry), Jesus left His heavenly home, came to earth, and paid our bride-price on the Cross.
  • Just as the covenant was legally ratified by sharing wine, Jesus shared the Last Supper with us.
  • Just as the groom returned home to prepare a place for his bride, Jesus returned to His heavenly home “to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3).
  • Just as the groom returned for his bride at an unexpected time, Jesus tells His bride, the Church, to be ready for an unexpected return (Matthew 24:44).
  • Just as the groom eventually did return to bring the wife home and consummate the marriage—a consummation that lasted for seven days—Jesus will return to consummate His marriage to the Church during the seven years of tribulation.
  • Arguments against other views (mid, pre-wrath, post, partial)-check “Footprints of the Messiah” by Arnold Fruchtembaum for this information

Answering objections from post-tribulationists

Some believe that the scripture that says “he who endures to the end will be saved” in Matthew 24:13 is referring to physical survival during the 7 year tribulation.  They believe that the rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation period and only those believers that survive it will be raptured to meet the Lord in the air. But I do not believe Jesus is talking in this passage about a rapture but instead the physical survival of those remaining on the planet. They will be saved physically. It will be quite an accomplishment to survive it. Jesus even says that if he doesn’t come back and cut those days short that no one would survive it. Those that do survive the 7 years will face the sheep/goat judgment of Matthew 25 to determine who gets to enter into the Kingdom or 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem.

Some say the Rapture is a recent invention of the past 150 years. This has been proved false over and over again. Lee Brainard has written an excellent book showing that the early church fathers did believe in a pre-tribulational rapture. It is called “Recent Pre-trib Findings”. Thomas Ice and Andy Woods are others who have written about the early church evidence. Check out these resources if you want to dig deeper to this topic.

Ten Reasons why the Rapture may not be for another 25-50 years (I believe the Rapture of the church will occur much sooner, but God only knows.  And who knows the mind of God? Here are some reasons given that it could be much further down the road than we think. I personally disagree with many of them, especially #1 and #10, but wanted to be somewhat open minded to the fact that the Lord may tarry to bring as many to salvation as possible).

  1. Life goes on as normal-why expect anything different? Who are we to expect Jesus to come back in our generation.  It is fantasy and wishful thinking to expect some miraculous escape any time soon. In fact, it is delusional. (this will be the motto of the mockers and scoffers)
  2. God is patient and desires that no one should perish-He will pick a time that is the tipping point which is the exact point in time where more people will have eternal life than if He comes a second later.  Today it is estimated that 5000 people get saved every day.  Why would God cut that short?  Would not He wait until no one was being saved? Will something happen on this earth (perhaps a great apostasy) that greatly diminishes those who believe each day? Or maybe there will be few people being born as a result of a global sterility epidemic.  Only God knows this time and I believe it refers to the phrase “fullness of the gentiles”.
  3. It will get a lot worse before the 2nd coming of Jesus.  He said it would be like the “Days of Noah” when the thoughts and actions of mankind were continually evil.  Are we there yet?  Some say we need more time for humanity to descend to such a state.  Others say we are already there and that the rapture will act like a catalyst to accelerate the downward trend of mankind.
  4. There will be a great set back that will cause God to pause to exponential rise of technology and the downward spiral of mankind.  This could come in the form of world war, nuclear war, economic dishevel,  asteroids, earthquake, volcanic eruption, EMP, sun flares, pestilence and global weather disasters.  If conditions on earth reverted back to the 1800’s when technology, communication and travel were greatly limited then it could take decades for the planet to get back to present levels.
  5. Another reason which is somewhat the opposite of reason #4 is that the technology described to pull off the events described by the prophets in the Old and New testaments is still beyond what we have today.  We need more time for technology to advance especially in the areas of DNA manipulation, human hybridization, global control, AI and the quest for the fountain of youth which many believe will be in the anti-christs arsenal as he promotes his “mark” to deceive mankind.
  6. Those who believe in the “6000 year theory” say that as God created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th, and that 7000 years are likewise alloted to human history since Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 proclaim that 1000 years is like a day to the Lord.  They propose that there are 4000 years from creation to Jesus.  There are another 2000 years from Jesus death and resurrection to His 2nd coming.  And finally there are 1000 years of the millennial reign of Jesus on the earth after He comes back to earth. The Essenne calendar (which has proved to be very accurate and predicted the death of the Messiah at 32 AD)  discovered with the “Dead Sea Scrolls” puts the year of creation around the year 3925 BC.  If we project 6000 years forward, then that puts the 2nd coming of Jesus to set up His millennial reign in the year 2075.
  7. Every generation thinks they are the generation when Christ will return.  Even Paul thought the Lord would come back in his generation.  This is just the natural instinct of the church and is in fact the way we should live the Christian life looking for the blessed Hope (Titus 2:13) and expecting the Lord to return at any moment. What makes this generation any different? (of course I believe the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and the convergence of all the signs is what makes this generation different)
  8. The apostasy of the church in the last days as described in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Thess. 2, verse 3 will be dramatic and needs to get a lot worse.  It will take many more decades to get to the level of a world wide apostasy. It will get to the point where the Lord has to remove His church because no more are coming to believe.  He will have to intervene to rescue them and preserve His bride.  
  9. It will take longer for the world to accept a one world government, a one world economic system and one world religion described in Revelation which describes this coming anti-christ system.  We need more time to condition humanity to accept this and eventually demand it.  Some say the world-wide COVID pandemic was a precursor to just how we will accept some kind of global authority over our lives and national sovereignty. (note: all of this could develop quickly after the rapture of the church. We do not know how much time elapses between the rapture and the rise of the anti-christ.
  10. And then there are those who say the rapture of the church is just symbolic.  The scriptural references are allegorical and just describe that one day God will wrap things up and usher in eternity.  And so we should get on with more important things and proclaim the gospel and promote discipleship.  (note: I totally reject this last reason.  While the gospel and discipleship are foundational to the faith, the study of prophecy as literal is an integral part of scripture and vital to a healthy walk with Jesus.)

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