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THE Judgments OF THE TRIBULATION
End-time
events are coming to pass everyday. We know the time is short, but we don't know
how short. It is very likely that each of us knows someone who will be involved
in the judgments of the tribulation period. The following is a summary of the
judgments that will occur during the tribulation, as described in Revelation.
Please be aware that there are many things that happen on the earth during the
tribulation that won't be discussed here simply because they are beyond the
scope of this article. For example, the two witnesses will come and be killed;
the 144,000 witnesses will be raised up, the antichrist will be killed and
brought back to life, gog and magog (Russia) will invade Israel. While these
events are important, I want to focus on God's wrath on the earth during this
horrible time. Revelation starts with the letters to the seven churches.
Although the letters are written to actual first century churches, they are also
directed to the seven churches throughout the Christian age. We would be living
in the Philadelphian/Laodicean era. (Philadelphia being the Loving Church, and
Laodicea being the apostate church.) Jesus promises to save the Philadelphian
church from the wrath to come, but says that the Laodiceans are poor, wretched,
and blind. They are the lukewarm church. After the letters to the seven
churches, John is given the call to "come up hither." This would signify the
rapture - the church being removed from the earth. Note that after this point
the church is not mentioned anymore in Revelation. (Please note that this is not
the only reason, or even the best reason, to believe in a pre-trib rapture, but
that topic is also beyond our scope here.) Although we don't know when the
rapture will be, Jesus did give us some pretty good indicators for the beginning
of the tribulation. We can see those indicators falling into place all around us
everyday. Since we know that the rapture must precede the tribulation, we know
that the rapture is very near. You see, the antichrist cannot be revealed until
the force holding him back is removed from the earth. (See 1 Thessalonians.)
After the church is removed from the earth, the antichrist will be able to begin
his reign of terror. One of the first things the antichrist will do is sign a
seven year peace treaty with Israel. This is the beginning of the judgments that
God will visit on the earth during the Tribulation. There are three sets of
judgments in Revelations: 7 seals, 7 trumpets, and 7 bowls. The unleashing of
the antichrist is the first seal judgment. The Bible says that when Jesus breaks
the first seal, a rider on a white horse will come forth wearing a crown and
holding a bow with no arrows. (Why white? He is Satan's counterfeit, and Jesus
will later come to earth riding on a white horse.) The crown indicates rulership,
and the bow with no arrows indicates that he will gain his position without any
warfare. (Are you looking for a vicious monster to be revealed as antichrist?
Nope. The antichrist at first will appear to be the smoothest, kindest, most
trustworthy individual you could imagine. Jesus said that the deception will be
so strong that if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived.) For the
first eighteen months, the antichrist's reign will at first seem peaceful and
utopian. He will accomplish what no world leader has been able to so far: a
seven year peace treaty with Israel, and this will be the official beginning of
the tribulation. Israel will hail him as their Messiah. (Remember, he is Satan's
counterfeit, so he will appear to fulfill the requirements for Messiah.)
However, it won't be long before some world leaders will likely begin to grow
weary of his ordering them about, and war will break out. This is the second
seal, the rider on the red horse: war. (The red, of course, signifies blood.)
The natural companion of war is famine, and the next rider (the third seal) is
the rider on the black horse, famine. He is told to cause the price of grain to
be equal to a day's wage, but not to raise the prices of the oil and the wine
(traditionally rich people's foods). This probably signifies rampant inflation.
After that, the fourth rider is released with the breaking of the fourth seal.
The fourth rider is the one on the pale horse (pale signifying death). When he
comes to the earth, twenty-five percent of the earth's population will die. But
hang on tight - this is still the easy part! With the opening of the fifth seal,
John sees the souls of the martyred tribulation saints under the altar. After
the antichrist has the world in his grip, Christians (and Jews) will be martyred
at an alarming rate. It is these martyred Christians who are crying out to God
to avenge their deaths. They are each given a white robe and told to wait a
little longer until their number is complete. After the sixth seal is opened,
there will be a great earthquake on the earth; the sun will turn black and the
moon will turn to blood. This will be a judgment brought on the earth by God
because of the persecution of His saints that was seen with the fifth seal. The
seventh seal ushers in the seven trumpet judgments. When the seventh seal is
broken, there will be complete silence in Heaven for about half an hour. The
silence will probably be brought on by a state of complete awe as the
inhabitants of Heaven grasp the reality of what is about to take place on earth.
What will follow with the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments is so
horrific that we cannot comprehend such chaos. The end of the seal judgments
brings us to the end of the first twenty-one months of the tribulation. When the
first trumpet sounds, there will be hail and fire mixed with blood cast upon the
earth. This plague will burn up a third of all the trees and all of the grass.
(possibly a nuclear war)Can you fathom living in a world without trees and grass? We can only imagine
what this will do to the ecosystem. It is bound to have a huge effect on air
quality and also soil conditions as erosion eats away where grass once grew. The
second trumpet heralds "a great mountain burning with fire" (probably a
meteorite) that falls into the sea ("The sea" in Scripture usually alludes to
the Mediterranean Sea.) This meteorite will destroy a third of all the living
creatures in the sea and a third of all the boats on the sea. The third trumpet
introduces a "great star" falling from heaven, probably another meteorite. The
name of the meteorite is Wormwood, and it will destroy a third of the rivers,
making the water very bitter and killing many people. As for the fourth trumpet,
Revelation 8:12 says "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the
sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the
stars, so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a
third part of it, and the night likewise. So the first four trumpet judgments
saw a reduction by one third of everything that is vital to life on earth:
vegetation, salt water, fresh water, and sunlight. This is the end of the "easy
part." After the plague of the fourth trumpet, an angel will fly through the
midst of Heaven calling out "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" If
the first seven seals and the first four trumpets weren't enough to shake the
remaining humans from their apathy and disbelief, these next three should really
get some people's attention. With the trumpet blast sounded by the fifth angel,
an angel is given the key to the Abyss. The smoke rising from the Abyss will
darken the sun and the sky. Out of the smoke, locusts that have the power to
sting like scorpions will come down onto the earth. The Bible says the locusts
will look like horses prepared for battle, that on their heads they will wear
something akin to gold crowns, and that they will have faces that look human,
with hair like a woman's and teeth like a lion's, and breastplates like iron.
They will not be allowed to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree,
but only people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. But this
will be no ordinary scorpion sting! No one will die from the stings, but the
Bible says the locusts will be given power to torture man for five months. It
also says that men will long for death, but it will elude them. The sixth
trumpet finds a voice saying, "Loose the four angels who are bound in the great
river Euphrates." These angels (demons) will be given permission to kill one
third of mankind. Then, the seventh trumpet simply initiates the seven bowl
judgments (or vial judgments) and the beginning of the second half of the
tribulation, also known as the Great Tribulation. With these judgments, the
wrath of God will be completed. (Rev. 15:1) When the first angel pours out his
bowl, ugly and painful sores will break out on the people who have the mark of
the beast and worship his image. The pouring out of the second angel's bowl will
turn the sea into blood like that of a dead man, and everything in the sea will
die. Then the third angel will pour out his bowl, and all of the water in all of
the springs and rivers will turn to blood. When the fourth angel pours out his
bowl, the sun will be given power to scorch people with fire. At this point, the
people whom these plagues affect will curse God rather than repent and praise
Him. How hardened their hearts will be! When the fifth angel pours out his bowl,
the antichrist's throne and kingdom will be plunged into complete darkness.
Then, the sixth angel will pour his bowl out on the river Euphrates, and it will
be completely dried up, making way for the kings from the East (the Orient) to
come preparing to fight the battle of Armageddon. Then the last angel will pour
our his bowl on the earth, and a loud voice will come from the throne saying "It
is done!" Then there will be an earthquake so great, according to the Bible,
that no earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on the earth.
Every island and mountain will pass away. Hailstones weighing over one hundred
pounds each will fall upon men, and again, they will curse God. After this
judgment, the destruction of the Harlot (the one world-religion) and of Babylon
follow, and then the battle of Armegeddon will take place. It is during this
battle that Jesus returns to the earth with His church to conquer the earth, and
He will reign here as King for a thousand years. The pouring out of the seventh
angel's bowl concludes the wrath of God on the earth. It is hard to believe that
there are probably people alive today who will live through this horrible,
unthinkable time in the earth's history. It truly is not unrealistic to think
that ten to fifteen years from now, the tribulation might be drawing to a close!
There is no prophetic event that needs to be fulfilled in order for Jesus to
return for His church, and the stage is being set everyday for fulfillment of
the events that will occur during the tribulation. The realization of the
carnage the earth will see during the tribulation caused me to put some things
in perspective. I'm no longer so worried about having enough for retirement as I
am doing my part to show God's love to a lost world. I'm no longer so concerned
about being embarrassed that I can't talk about my Savior to people who don't
know Him. Our time is so short! Briefly, let's look at some of the factors that
tell us the time is short:
Growing unrest in the Middle East
Movement of society toward an electronic banking system
Technology that would allow a chip to be implanted in the forehead or hand for
identification purposes
Growing desire of the Jewish people to rebuild the temple
Increased interest in a single world religion
Increased interest in a single world government
The raising-up of the old Roman empire in what is known today as the EU
(European Union) Read Revelation for yourself and become acquainted with the
judgments the inhabitants of the earth will suffer during the tribulation. Then,
next time you are visiting with a lost friend or relative, ask yourself if it
seems OK to risk waiting another day before you share the Lord's love with them.
Begin praying now that God will make their hearts receptive to His Word and that
He will open the door for you to share His story at just the right time.
50
Evidences for the Pre-Trib Rapture
Four views of End Time
Prophecy
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Why God's
Purpose for the Tribulation excludes the Church by Thomas Ice
"And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on
those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the Lord, and
observe all His commandments which I command you today."
-Deuteronomy 30:7-8
God's purpose for the tribulation (i.e., the seven-year, 70th week of Daniel)
revolves around His plan for Israel and does not include a earthly presence for
the church. Why? Because God's plan for Israel is unfinished at this point in
history. When the role of the church is completed she will be taken as a
completed body to heaven in an instant-at the rapture. This will clear the way
for a restoration and resumption of progress toward the completion of our
Sovereign Lord's plans for His elect nation-Israel.
The Tribulation Focuses on Israel
The Bible teaches that the tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's
restoration and conversion (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:3-11; Zech. 12:10).1 While
the church will experience tribulation in general during this present age (John
15:18-25; 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:10-13), she is never mentioned as participating in
Israel's time of trouble, which includes the Great Tribulation, the Day of the
Lord, and the Wrath of God. Gerald Stanton explains:
The Tribulation does not deal with the Church at all, but with the purification
of Israel. It is not the "time of the Church's trouble," but the "time of
Jacob's trouble." The emphasis of the Tribulation is primarily Jewish. This fact
is borne out by Old Testament Scriptures (Deut. 4: 30; Jer. 30: 7; Ezek. 20: 37;
Dan. 12:1; Zech. 13:8-9), by the Olivet Discourse of Christ (Matt. 24:9-26), and
by the book of Revelation itself (Rev. 7:4-8; 12:1-2; 17, etc.). It concerns
"Daniel's people," the coming of "false Messiah," the preaching of the "gospel
of the kingdom," flight on the "sabbath," the temple and the "holy place," the
land of Judea, the city of Jerusalem, the twelve "tribes of the children of
Israel," the "son of Moses," "signs" in the heavens, the "covenant" with the
Beast, the "sanctuary," the "sacrifice and
the oblation" of the temple ritual. These all speak of Israel and clearly
demonstrate that the Tribulation is largely a time when God deals with His
ancient people prior to their entrance into the promised kingdom. The many Old
Testament prophecies yet to be fulfilled for Israel further indicate a future
time when God will deal with this nation (Deut. 30:1-6; Jer. 30:8-10, etc.).2
The Church is Absent from the Tribulation
Not one Old Testament passage on the tribulation refers to the church (Deut.
4:29-30; Jer. 30:4-11; Dan. 8:24-27; 12:1-2), nor does the New Testament ever
speak of the church in relation to the tribulation (Matt. 13:30, 39-42, 48-50;
24:15-31; 1 Thess. 1:9-10, 5:4-9; 2 Thess. 2:1-11; Rev. 4-18), except as present
in heaven. Such silence speaks loudly and supports the pre-trib position,
especially when combined with clear, explicit statements that promise her
exemption from that time (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10). Note the
clear promise to the church of Revelation 3:10:
Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you 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 pretribulationism is indeed the teaching of Scripture, then we would expect
that passages dealing with the tribulation would consistently make no mention of
the church. This is exactly what we find. However, Israel is mentioned often
throughout these texts. Dr. Robert Gromacki has studied the New Testament book
of Revelation, chapters 4-19, which gives the most detailed overview of the
seven-year tribulation in all the Bible. He has shown the following:
However, there is a strange silence of the term in chapters 4-19. That fact is
especially noteworthy when you contrast that absence with its frequent presence
in the first three chapters. One good reason for this phenomenon is the absence
of the true church and true evangelical churches in the seven years preceding
the Second Coming. The true believers of the church have gone into the presence
of Christ in heaven before the onset of the events of the se
ven year period. The church is not mentioned during the seal, trumpet, and bowl
judgments because the church is not here during the outpouring of these
judgments.3
Tribulation on a Christ-Rejecting World
Another purpose for the tribulation is that it is a time of God's wrath upon a
Christ-rejecting world and a time of revenge for Gentile treatment of Israel.
Moreover, it is evident that the Tribulation also concerns God's judgment upon
Christ-rejecting Gentile nations. Babylon, which "made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication" (Rev. 14:8), shall herself "be utterly
burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her" (Rev. 18:8). The
"cities of the nations" shall fall, after which Satan shall be bound "that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled"
(Rev. 20:3). God's judgment falls likewise upon the individual wicked, the kings
of the earth, the great, the rich, and the mighty, every bond man and every free
man (Rev. 6:15-17). It falls upon all who blaspheme the name of God and repent
not to give Him glory (Rev. 16:9). Wicked men, godless nations, suffering
Israel--these may all be found in Revelation 6-18; but one looks in vain for the
Church of Christ, which is His body, until he reaches the nineteenth chapter.
There she is seen as the heavenly bride of Christ, and when He returns to earth
to make His enemies His footstool, she is seen returning with Him (I Thess. 3:
13).4
Such a time of judgment does not require the church, who has not rejected
Christ, to be present. With the church in heaven during the tribulation, it
enables God's focus to be on Israel as His Divine instrument through which He
acts. This program was predicted by the Lord before Joshua and Israel ever
entered the Promised Land. Notice the predicted pattern:
1) then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion
on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God
has scattered you. (Deut. 30:3)
2) And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers
possessed, and you shall posses
s it . . . (Deut. 30:5a)
3) And the LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on
those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the LORD, and
observe all His commandments which I command you today. (Deut. 30:7-8)
Zechariah speaks of the Lord's retribution upon the nations as a time when "the
LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem . . . in that day that I will set
about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." (Zech. 12:8-9)
Once again the focus is upon Israel, in this case Jerusalem, not the church.
The book of Revelation provides a graphic depiction of God's judgment upon an
unbelieving world, often called "earth dwellers." As God prosecutes His judgment
upon the "earth dwellers," John records periodic pauses by our Lord as He
evaluates the response of mankind to His judgment before going onto the next
phase. It is as if the Lord inflicts a series of judgments and then surveys the
landscape to see if, like Ninevah in the days of Jonah, there is repentance so
that He can suspend prosecution of the war. Un like Ninevah in the days of
Jonah, the "earth dwellers" do not relent in the wake of "the wrath of the Lamb"
(Rev. 6:16), so our Lord proceeds to the next phase of His battle. Every step of
the way, the "earth dwellers" would "not repent of the works of their hands"
(Rev. 9:20) Instead of worshipping Christ, "the earth and those who dwell in it
. . worship the first beast" (Rev. 13:12). Instead of repentance they
"blasphemed God" (Rev. 16:21). Finally, "all the nations were deceived" (Rev.
18:23) resulting in the satanic notion that the armies of the world must march
against Jerusalem-God's city-and Israel-His people. This results in the basis
for the second coming of Christ, which is to resue Israel from the world's
armies who are striking out at God by invading His people. Such a scenario does
not demand or require the church and so she will not be there. We can see that
the purpose of the tribulation revovles around God's plan for Israel, not the
church.
Conclusion
Only pretribulationism is able to give full import to tribulation terms like
"the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7), as a passage specifically stating
that the tribulation is for Jacob (i.e., Israel). John Walvoord concludes,
Never are tribulation saints given the special and perculiar promises given to
the church in the present age. The nature of the church in contrast to Israel
therefore becomes an argument supporting the pretribulation viewpoint.5
Since God's purpose for the tribulation is to restore Israel (Jer. 30:3, 10) and
judge the Gentiles (Jer. 30:11), it is clear that this purpose does not include
the church. This is one of the reasons why she will be taken to heaven before
this time. The church's hope is a heavenly one, not participation in the
culmination and restoration of God's plan for His earthly people-Israel.
Maranatha! W
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"Through a Glass, Darkly" - Jack
Kinsella -
www.omegaletter.com
One of the questions most often posed to me in emails is generally put in the
form of a somewhat sneering challenge; usually filled with page after page of
Scripture 'proving' my teaching concerning the Rapture is false (sometimes
saying it is deliberate deception on my part) and demanding, faced with the
weight of their 'evidence', that I immediately accept whatever alternative they
hold to.
I could just as easily send them the Scriptures that support a pre-Tribulational
Rapture of the Church (interestingly, some are the same verses), but it would
have no more effect on changing their viewpoint than it does on mine.
The timing of the Rapture is easily one of the most divisive issues within the
Body of the Christ, something I find extremely interesting. It would seem to me
that the issue of when He is coming is important only in understanding the signs
of the times, but not terribly important in terms of salvation or issues of
eternity, or even in terms of living a Spirit-filled life.
Taken separately from following Bible prophecy, believing in Who is coming, and
the certainty of His return, are all that is truly necessary to be a Christian.
The timing of that event itself, is largely one of academics.
That being said, we ARE students of Bible prophecy; watchmen on the wall, as I
like to express it, and the timing of the Rapture is extremely important to
understanding the signs of the times.
We see evidence all around us, and we use that evidence to warn of His soon
return. To us, understanding the Rapture is understanding how to rightly divide
the Word of Truth. The key to this is understanding Dispensationalism and the
division between the Age of the Law, the Age of Grace (Church Age) and the
Tribulation (Daniel's 70th Week).
Dispensationalism teaches that the Dispensation of Grace (Church Age) concludes
with the secret Rapture of the Church, followed by the the final 7 years of the
Age of the Law. During the Tribulation, the Temple is rebuilt, Temple sacrifice
reinstituted, and the price of salvation is martyrdom at the hands of the
antichrist. (Tribulation Saints)
There are three basic interpretations of the Rapture; pre-Tribulatonal, mid-tribulational
and post-tribulational.
Pre-Trib holds to the view the Lord returns BEFORE the Tribulation. Mid-Trib
teaches that the Rapture of the Church will occur in the middle of the 7 year
tribulation period. It will occur sometime around the abomination of desolation
when the anti-Christ goes into the rebuilt Jewish temple and there claim to be
God.
The Post-Trib view teaches that as the Lord Jesus is returning back to earth,
God's people will be 'caught up' or raptured at that point in time. They will
return to earth with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Each of these views can be supported, to some degree, by Scripture, but only one
is correct. I believe it is the one with the fewest problems, which is a Pre-Trib
Rapture of the Church.
One of the problems with a mid-Trib view is glaring; it denies the doctrine of
imminency. Although the Scriptures teach a SECRET coming, (no man knoweth the
day or hour) once the Tribulation begins, one just has to sit down with a
calendar. It will be no surprise and it will come at a known time.
Another problem with the mid-Trib Rapture view is that its followers aren't
looking for Christ, they are watching for the anti-Christ, from whom they derive
their timetable.
By contrast, I am awaiting Jesus Christ. I never expect to know who the
antichrist will be, and frankly, I don't really care. My purpose, to the degree
I even discuss the antichrist in your Omega Letter, is to demonstrate how the
world is preparing for his coming -- and to remind people that Jesus is coming
FIRST!
The mid-Tribulation view is not widely followed for these reasons, among others.
The post-Tribulation view shares the same glaring problem as the mid-Tribbers;
the denial of imminency. It will be even easier to pinpoint the return of
Christ, given the Bible gives the exact number of days between the 'abomination
of desolation' (Matthew 24:15; 2nd Thessalonians 2:4) and the return of the
Messiah.
"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred
and ninety days." (Daniel 12:11)
Compare that to Jesus' Words; "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only. " (Matthew 24:36) If the post-Trib
view is correct, that secret is hidden only until the revelation of antichrist.
So it shares the same second flaw with the mid-Trib view; both of these
interpretations make the coming of antichrist the seminal event in prophecy,
with the secret coming of Christ for His Church a secondary Plan.
The post-Tribulation view also doesn't pass the logic test. The post-Trib
interpretation is that Jesus Raptures the Church, who then return with Him at
the Battle of Armageddon. "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." (Revelation 19:14) The
'fine linen, white and clean' are the garments of those Washed in the Blood of
the Lamb.
So, Jesus leaves heaven with 'ten thousands' of empty white horses. As He
descends, God's people are Raptured, presumably translated from this earth to
the back of a white horse on its way back!
Scripture tells us that, as the return of the Lord for His Church draws near, it
will be as in the days of Lot and Noah. Noah warned of impending judgement for
120 years without a single convert. Life went on as normal, until the floods
came, and 'took them all away'. (Matthew 24:39)
Similarly, Lot lived in a big city, surrounded by immorality so repugnant to God
that He decided to judge the wicked city with Divine judgement. Lot was secretly
removed from the unsuspecting city before judgment was executed. But to the
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, life went on as usual until the moment of
judgment fell.
Consider the consequences of the Tribulation Period. Widespread death and
destruction, the annihilation of 3/4's of the human race, miraculous judgments
like the sea turned to blood and a ruined ecology, disease, famine and
catastrophe . . . hardly fits with the days of Lot OR Noah.
"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed
them all." (Luke 17:28-30)
The next problem with this view is what happens next. According to Scripture,
the earth is repopulated during the Millennial Kingdom period.
If all God's people are raptured as the Lord Jesus returns that will leave only
the wicked on earth when He returns. The wicked will be destroyed as they will
NEVER inherit the kingdom of God.
So if the wicked are destroyed and God's people are all raptured then who will
be left to enter into the 1000 year Kingdom?
When people go into the 1000 year kingdom they will not have their eternal
bodies but will be just like we are today.
They will marry and have children. After the rapture all God's people will have
their eternal bodies leaving no mortals left on earth to go into the 1000 year
kingdom.
The post-Trib view is widely received, despite its problems. It's adherents
generally also believe that Israel plays no important role in the last days,
since the promises of God to Israel were passed on to the Church after the Jews
rejected their Messiah.
That is also one of the reasons that post-Tribulationists are so hostile to
Dispensationalists and pre-Tribulationists; our 'wrong-headed' support for
Israel based on our belief that God has a Plan for Israel that doesn't include
the Church. It explains the blatantly anti-Semitic nature of many mainstream
churches. It is at the root of the 'Christian anti-semitism' that was
responsible for centuries of persecution of the Jews by the Church.
It explains the 'Christ-killer' label that is used to incite anti-Semitic
actions and to justify anti-Semitism as a worldview. To some Christians, the
crowd's demands, "Then answered all the people, and said, His Blood be on us,
and on our children," (Matthew 27:25) carries more weight than Jesus Himself,
when He said, " Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," (Luke
23:34)
That is not intended to characterize all people who hold to a post-Tribulation
worldview, but explain the teachings of post-Tribulationalism and some of the
reasons for their hostility to the pre-Tribulationist view.
Assessment:
The Dispensationalist, pre-Tribulationist view of the Rapture is the only one
consistent with the teachings of the Scriptures. It allows for a secret,
signless, Rapture of the Church, as taught by Our Lord.
It teaches that the Restrainer of evil is removed (the indwelt, Spirit-filled
Church) which allows for the unrestrained evil of the antichrist. While the Holy
Spirit will remain on the earth during the Tribulation, the Church does not.
The pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church is not awaiting the antichrist, it is
awaiting the Christ, which is wholly consistent with Scriptures that promise a
special crown for those who await His coming. Everything harmonizes with the
Scriptures without the necessity to allegorize or spiritualize a literal
teaching in order to make it work.
Now to the point. Every day we attempt to document some current event relevant
to Bible prophecy. In point of fact, we haven't documented a single FULFILLMENT
of a Bible prophecy since the restoration of Israel in 1948 -- and that is a
prophecy in the process of fulfillment. Israel has been restored, the Jews
regathered to their ancient homeland, but their national redemption is yet
future.
What we are witnessing are more like shadows in the sense that one can see a
shadow of a man, but not his features. From the shadow, you can identify with
certainty that it is of a man, but that is about all you can say for sure.
Paul describes it as 'seeing through a glass darkly';
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)
There are things we KNOW, and there are things unknown. We know, for example,
that the government of the antichrist during the Tribulation will control the
global economy, global government and global religious system. While we don't
know who he is, the development, in this generation, of these three distinct
systems, casts the shadow of the antichrist. We see, but darkly, how it all
plays out.
We know that the world will be divided into four distinct spheres of world
power; Gog-Magog, the Kings of the East, the Kings of the South and the revived
Roman Empire. The Bible makes no mention of a fifth, overarching superpower.
We see the development of those four Biblical spheres of global power, while the
future of America is tenuous, to say the least. We are at war from without, at
war from within, and blissfully ignorant of the perils posed by both. We see, in
part, and we know in part, but darkly.
But all we see are shadows of the coming Tribulation. The Bible says that these
events are NOT fulfilled until the Tribulation Period begins. These events were
given, not as a warning to the Church, but as the 'signs of His coming' to
enoourage the Church, particularly the Church of the last days.
The signs of His coming, and the unfolding of Bible prophecy, were given as a
sign to a 'wicked and adulterous generation' which 'seeketh after a sign'.
We see through a glass, darkly. We know things in part, and we see shadows in
the signs of what is to come.
We KNOW that the Lord is coming for His Church before the antichrist is
revealed.
It is the shadows that frighten us.
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Where is "the Church" in
Revelation 4-19? (Part 1) - Dr. Robert Gromacki
OVERVIEW
Where is the church during the seven-year Tribulation, as outlined in Revelation
4-19? If posttribulationism were correct, you would expect to see the church
mentioned as being on earth during this time. However, that is not the picture
one sees in Revelation 4-19. This writer demon-strates through investigating
many of the details of Revelation 4-19 that the church is pictured in heaven
with Christ, having been raptured before the Tribulation began. You can become
informed of the overwhelming support for the pretribulational understanding of
this issue through this essay.
The Roman emperor Domitian banished the apostle John to the island of Patmos in
the Aegean Sea (Rev. 1:9). It was there that John heard the command of Jesus
Christ: "What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which
are in Asia" (Rev. 1:11 NKJV). John recorded what he saw and heard, and then he
sent the volume to seven local churches located in key cities within the Roman
province of Asia; namely Ephesus, Smyrna, Perganios, Thyatira, Sardis,
Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Rev. 1:11).
The content of the book of Revelation can be divided into three sections, based
upon Christ's command: "Write the things which you have seen, and the things
which are, and the things which will take place after this" (Rev. 1:19 NKJV).
These three sections reveal a time sequence: past, present, and future.
What had John just seen? He had just seen a symbolic vision of Jesus Christ
standing in the midst of seven lampstands that represented the seven local
churches (Rev. 1:12-18,20). This content forms the past section of the book
("the things which you have seen"). The present section ("the things which are")
can be seen in the seven individual letters to the churches (Rev. 2-3). The
future section thus forms the major part of the book (Rev. 4-22). The
prepositional phrase "after this" (meta tauta) literally means "after these
things." It is found three times (1:19; 4:1 [twice]). The third section begins
with these words: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open
in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with
me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after
this" (4:1 NKJv).
The future section (Rev. 4-22) contains an introduction, revealing the throne of
God the Father in heaven and the taking of the seven-sealed scroll by Jesus
Christ (4-5). The seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments are then described (5-16).
The judgment of Babylon is then set forth (17-18). The second coming of Jesus
Christ to the earth is finally presented (19:11-21). The millennial kingdom, the
great white throne judgment, and the eternal state close out the prophetic
revelation (20-22).
The typical futurist interpretation of the book contends that chapters 4-19
describe what will take place in the seven years preceding the second coming of
Christ to the earth (19:11-21). Consistent advocates of premillennialism hold
this position regardless of their particular view on the rapture of the church.
However, only those who embrace the pretribulational rapture (or the
pre-seventieth-week-of-Daniel rapture) will argue for the absence of the genuine
church on the earth during these entire seven years. What evidence can be found
within Revelation 4-19 to show that the true church is in heaven when the events
of these chapters are taking place? The following looks at nine indications.
The Mention of the Church
The words "church" or "churches," so prominent in chapters 1-3, do not appear
again in the book until the last chapter (22:16). The singular "church" and the
plural "churches" together occur 19 times in the first three chapters (1:4,11,20
[twice]; 2:1,7,8,11, 12,17,18,12,19; 3:1,6,7,13,14,22).
The term "church" (ekklesia) literally means "a called out group." It has two
main usages in the New Testament. It can be used of the body of Christ, which He
is building in this age (Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:1-6). It is
composed of believing Jews and believing Gentiles made one in Christ (Eph.
2:15-16). The term can also be used of a local congregation of believers (Acts
14:27; Gal. 1:2). It is so used in this second sense in the book of Revelation.
However, there is a strange silence of the term in chapters 4-19. That fact is
especially noteworthy when you contrast that absence with its frequent presence
in the first three chapters. One good reason for this phenomenon is the absence
of the true church and true evangelical churches in the seven years preceding
the second coming. The true believers of the church have gone into the presence
of Jesus Christ in heaven before the onset of the events of the seven-year
period. The church is not mentioned during the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments
because the church is not here during the outpouring of these judgments.
The Admonition
The recurring phrase "unto the churches" (2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22) is
conspicuously absent in a similar admonition (13:9). All seven letters to the
churches end with this admonition by Christ: "He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches" (NKJv). Each individual person in each
individual local church was to hear and to apply the truth that Christ gave to
all of the local churches. For example, a believer in the church at Ephesus
could profit spiritually from what the Savior said to the churches at Pergamos
or at Philadelphia.
Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are the three main enemies of God and
His people during the seven-year period (13:1-18; 19:20-20:3). The beast,
symbolic of the military-political dictator of the end times, will rule for 42
months, the second half of the seven-year period. John recorded this truth about
him: "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been
written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"
(13:8).
At this point, John records the warning: "if anyone has an ear, let him hear"
(13:9). Period! There is no mention of "saying to the churches," a phrase which
is repeated seven times in the seven letters. If the previously mentioned
churches (Rev. 1-3) could possibly be in the seven-year period to face the wrath
of the beast, then why wasn't the admonition addressed to them? The obvious
answer is that they won't be on earth at that time.
There is the mention of "saints" in the context (13:7,10). These saints,
however, are those who get saved during the seven years after the true church
has been taken into heaven.
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