Rapture Truth Part 1: When are we Caught Up?

One of the most controversial passages in the Bible is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Currently, the words of these two verses are being interpreted as describing a secret rapture at the beginning The not so Secret Rapture of a supposed seven-year period of Tribulation, which will then be followed by the visible Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I should first point out that the word “rapture” does not occur anywhere in the Bible and was an invention of certain theologians. The purpose of this short document is to demonstrate the real truth and to show clearly that 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is really a description of the Second Coming of our Lord, and that it is at that time that the truly faithful will be “caught up.”

Paul wrote in this well known passage and the following five consecutive verses, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write to you. For yourselves know that the day of the Lord so cometh like a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then cometh sudden destruction upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 - 5:4).

So here Paul gives the real rapture truth, Jesus comes down from heaven, true believers are caught up together, and sudden destruction comes upon the lost. All of this takes place on “that day,” which is “the day of the Lord.”

These words occur near the end of Paul’s first letter to the early Christian Thessalonians. Paul wrote a second letter to these very same Christians at Thessalonica which taught exactly the same thing.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Paul wrote to the same group about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him.” (A perfect parallel to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Right before this, in chapter one, Paul wrote about this same gathering. After describing the “persecutions and tribulations” which these early believers where enduring, Paul wrote: “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)

So we find that careful comparisons reveal that all three of these Bible passages; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 and 2:1 describe the very same day when Jesus Christ comes down from heaven, when His faithful people are gathered together, and when sudden destruction comes upon all the lost.

When all three sections are put together, it becomes clear that Jesus is coming with a shout, a voice, a trumpet, with mighty angels, and in flaming fire to catch up all the true believers and to destroy the lost. Again, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 and 2:1 all describe the same event - the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Clearly, it is at this time His church will be “caught up.” If you aren’t sure what the real rapture truth is, just read for yourself in your own Bible.

The hour is late. There is no time to be “caught up” in false theories!

Rapture Truth Part 2: Does Revelation 3:10 refer to the Rapture?

Jesus Christ said, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” (Revelation 3:10).

Many sincere prophecy teachers (and their followers) are now applying these words to the rapture and to the sudden removal of the Church from this earth prior to Earth’s final hour of temptation. On the surface, it may appear this way, but a closer look is needed.

Jesus spoke these words to “the church in Philadelphia” (3:7), which was number six out of seven churches receiving messages. It is obvious that Christ’s words do not apply only to the literal church of Philadelphia which existed almost 2000 years ago in Asia Minor, for if they did, then they have no relevance to any Christian today. Most scholars correctly realize that those “seven churches” (1:20) represent seven periods in the history of Christianity, yet each letter also contains practical lessons for Christians of all time.

With this in mind, we must realize again that Revelation 3:10 was given to Philadelphia, which is then followed by “lukewarm” Laodicea (3:14 -22). Even if Revelation 3:10 does depict a secret rapture, this would not mean the church would be gone during the Tribulation. Why? Because the Laodicean church comes after Philadelphia, and thus its Christians would still be left on earth. And lukewarm or not, Jesus still refers to them as “the Church.”

The real truth is, Revelation 3:10 does not speak of a rapture. It simply says the faithful in the church of Philadelphia, who have “kept the word,” will be kept from the hour of trial. once we understand that Philadelphia is followed by the church of Laodicea, which represents the final period of Christianity, then we can easily see that the reason why Jesus told the Philadelphians He would keep them from the hour of trial is not because they would be raptured, but because they simply would not be living on earth during the final time of trial.

We are now living during the time of Laodicea, when the majority of Christians are lukewarm and half-hearted. Soon the final “hour of temptation” will burst upon us. Only those who are truly faithful to Jesus Christ and to the Word of God will “stand in the evil day” (Ephesians 6:13). The Master said, “He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Through Christ’s love and the power of the cross, may we each be among those who “overcome” (Revelation 3:12, 21).

Rapture Truth Part 3: One Taken and One Left?

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:40, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Countless Christians apply this verse to the “Great Disappearance” when believers will suddenly vanish - leaving their clothes, shoes, necklaces, and wedding rings on earth. Such an interpretation is professionally illustrated in Left Behind: The Movie. In many prophecy books on this subject, unbelieving spouses are described as waking up in the morning only to discover that their believing husbands or wives have been “taken” or raptured to heaven. All who are “left behind” must then endure the “seven years of Tribulation” and the rise of the Antichrist. But it is said they have a “second chance” to be saved.

Is such an interpretation, popular as though it may be, the real rapture truth? Is this really what Jesus meant in Matthew 24:40? Let’s look closely at the context to find out.

* Matthew 24:27 - Jesus said, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” This verse is clearly describing Christ’s visible and ultra-glorious Second Coming. Very few disagree here.

* Matthew 24:30, 31 - Jesus continued, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels, with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another.” Once again, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is clearly described. This coming will be literal, visible, loud and glorious. All the world will see and hear it.

* Matthew 24:36 - “But of that day [the day of the Second Coming] and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My father only.” Once again, the context is clearly the Second Coming.

* Matthew 24:37-39 - “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be, For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Jesus clearly compares His Second Coming with Noah’s flood. This flood came suddenly upon the lost “and took them all away.” In other words, they were lost - with no second chances. Christ said, “...so shall the coming of the Son of man be.”

* Matthew 24:40 - “THEN [capitols added] shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left.” The all-important question is: When is “then”? Does this verse describe the sudden disappearance of millions of Christians before a seven-year period of tribulation, as is taught in Left Behind? Or is it talking about the salvation of one and the destruction of another at the Second Coming of Jesus - at the end of the world? For those seeking truth and are willing to closely examine the context, the answer is clear. According to the preceding verses of Matthew 24:27, 30-31, 36, 37-39, the answer is - “one shall be taken” and “one shall be left” at the visible (vs. 27), audible (vs. 31), glorious (vs. 30) flood-like (verses 37-39) Second Coming of Jesus Christ! And just like in Noah’s day, when that time finally comes there will be no second chances. Sadly, those that are left perish!

Rapture Truth Part 4: In the Twinkling of an Eye?

Paul wrote about a certain event taking place - “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Numerous apply this to the sudden disappearance of Christians in the rapture. Supposedly, in less than the time it takes to blink, all true believers will vanish from the earth before the Tribulation and the rise of Antichrist. Is this really what Paul meant? Or could such an idea be one of the many “fables” (see 2 Timothy 4:4) taught as truth in these last days? To find out the answer, all one has to do is simply read the context of the verse.

Paul wrote in language too plain to be misunderstood, “Behold, I show 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 trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

Here are the facts:

  1. This event takes place “at the last trump,” not seven years before it.
  2. When this happens, “the trumpet shall sound.” It will be loud, not quiet.
  3. It is not the return of Jesus Christ that takes place in the twinkling of an eye.
  4. Rather, it is the changing of the bodies of believers from mortality to immortality.

Thus, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 does not teach the idea of vanishing Christians at all. Rather, it reveals a loud return of Jesus Christ during the final sounding of the last trumpet and the “instant” transformation of believers into immortality at the end of the world.

Rapture Truth Part 5: Seven Years of Tribulation? - Part A

The following two parts are taken from Chapter 5 of Steve Wohlberg's newest book, End Time Delusions: The Rapture, the Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World.

“A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.” - Confucius (551-479 B.C.) The concept of a seven year tribulation is the underlying foundation of the entire Left Behind scenario (and all other pro-rapture books and movies). The theory is: rapture first, then seven years of horror.

Book Two of the Left Behind novels declares, “The disappearances have ushered in the seven year period of Tribulation” (The Tribulation Force, inside cover). Book Three reveals, “…the seven year tribulation is nearing the end of its first quarter…” (Nicolae, inside cover). Book Six tells us, “It’s the midpoint of the seven year tribulation” (The Indwelling, inside cover). Book Eight begins with, “…the dawn of the second half of the seven year tribulation” (The Mark, inside cover). Book Eleven opens “six years into the Tribulation, two and one-half years into the Great Tribulation” (Armageddon, p. vii). Thus this New York Times, USA-Today, and Wall Street Journal best selling series of end times, prophecy books, endorsed by well-respected church leaders worldwide, is built entirely around this seven-year framework.

Where does this “seven-year” concept come from anyway? It may shock you, but if you look for “seven years of tribulation” in any concordance, you won’t find it. The truth is, from Genesis to Revelation, there is no exact passage that specifically mentions a seven-year period of tribulation at all. Amazingly, the entire theory is really based on a rather speculative interpretation of two little words in one single verse. The text is Daniel 9:27; and the two words are, “one week.” Let me explain.

The Book of Daniel was written while the Jews were in Babylon — in exile because of their sins. Daniel 9:24-27 contains a prophecy from the angel Gabriel to encourage the Jewish people that they would be given a “second chance” to return to Jerusalem, rebuild their temple, and ultimately, receive their Messiah (Jesus Christ). This highly controversial prophecy literally reads:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks [62 weeks]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out upon the desolate (Daniel 9:24-27 KJV).

Thus we have a prophecy about “seventy weeks.” Gabriel then subdivides the period into three smaller periods of seven weeks (verse 25), sixty-two weeks (verse 25), and one week (verse 27). 7+62+1=70.

Seventy weeks = 490 days. A day in prophecy represents a year (see Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6). Hence 490 days are really 490 years. Without going into all the chronological details here (I will get more specific in a later chapter), the prophecy starts with a direct “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (verse 25) after the Babylonian captivity and reaches down to the first coming of Jesus Christ. After 69 weeks (after 483 years), “shall Messiah be cut off” (verse 26). All Christian scholars apply this to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. After our Lord’s agonizing death, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (verse 26). While there are differences of opinion as to who “the people of the prince” refers to, the majority of scholars nevertheless apply the destruction of “the city and the sanctuary” to the second destruction of Jerusalem and its rebuilt sanctuary by Roman armies under Prince Titus in 70 A.D.

So far, we have seen 69 weeks fulfilled. That leaves “one week” left, otherwise known as the famous “70th week of Daniel.” Again, that highly controversial text literally says:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

Based on the day-year principle (which is valid), the “one week” remaining in this prophecy must refer to a period of seven years. Pro-rapture promoters claim this is the seven-year period of tribulation. Their idea is that while the first 69 weeks (or 483 years) did reach to the first coming of Jesus Christ, the prophetic clock has stopped because the Jewish people largely rejected Him. Then they slide the 70th week (the last seven years) all the way down to the end times, call it the tribulation, and say it applies to the Jewish people after we’re gone.

Rapture teachers interpret Daniel 9:27 as follows:

  1. “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” “He” is the antichrist who will make a covenant (or peace treaty) with the Jews during the seven years of tribulation.
  2. “In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” In the middle of the seven year tribulation, the antichrist will break his covenant, turn against Israel, and stop their animal sacrifices.
  3. The phrase, “he shall cause the sacrifice…to cease” is viewed as irrefutable proof that a Jewish temple (which includes sacrifices) must be rebuilt on the Temple Mount inside Jerusalem.

Best selling author Hal Lindsey in his The Late Great Planet Earth reflects this current view when he writes about “God’s last seven years of dealing with the Jewish people before the long awaited setting up of the kingdom of God (Daniel 9:27).” (The Late Great Planet Earth, p. 46) According to Mr. Lindsey, during those seven years “ ‘the Antichrist,’ breaks his covenant with the Jewish people and causes the Jewish temple worship, according to the Law of Moses, to cease (Daniel 9:27)…We must conclude that a third Temple will be rebuilt upon its ancient site in old Jerusalem.” (Ibid.)

Therefore, according to countless modern interpreters, Daniel 9:27 is applied to a future antichrist, a future peace treaty made with Israel, a future seven year tribulation, and a future rebuilt Jewish temple inside Jerusalem. And all of this will supposedly start with the rapture. Honestly, that’s a lot to interpret from that single verse, especially when Daniel 9:27 says absolutely nothing about any seven year tribulation, antichrist, or rebuilt Jewish temple!

Could there be something very wrong with this picture?

Rapture Truth Part 6: Seven Years of Tribulation? - Part B

Prophecy-minded Christians all over Planet Earth often engage in a fierce debate about whether Jesus Christ will return for His Church before the seven years of tribulation (the “pre-trib” view), in the midst of the seven years (the “mid-trib” view), or at the end of the seven years (the “post-trib” view). Yet by far the most explosive question few seem to be asking is: Is an end-time “seven-year period of tribulation” really taught in the Bible in the first place?

In 1945, after months of agonizing deliberation, U.S. President Harry Truman finally issued orders to drop two atomic bombs upon Japan in an attempt to end World War II. On August 6, the “Little Boy” fell on Hiroshima. Three days later, the “Fat Man” was released over Nagasaki. Approximately 130,000 people were instantly vaporized. Many heated discussions have occurred as to whether or not it was the right thing to drop those bombs. One thing’s for sure, in the minds of those who made that fearful decision, they believed it was for the ultimate good of America.

Dear friend, it is for the benefit of Christians everywhere that God’s bomb of truth should now be released over what I have come to call, “The 70th week of Daniel Delusion.”

As we have seen, the entire 7 year theory is based on Daniel 9:27, which says:

He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease… (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

This may shock you, but historically, the vast majority of well-respected Bible scholars have not applied Daniel 9:27 to a seven-year period of tribulation at all. Neither have they interpreted the “he” as referring to a future antichrist (as many do today). Instead, they applied it to Jesus Christ.

Notice what the world-famous Bible commentary written by Matthew Henry says about Daniel 9:27: “By offering himself a sacrifice once and for all he [Jesus] shall put an end to all the Levitical sacrifices.” [1] Thus Matthew Henry applied Daniel 9:27 to Christ, not antichrist. Another famous commentary written by British Methodist Adam Clarke says that during Daniel 9:27’s “term of seven years,” Jesus Himself would “confirm or ratify the new covenant with mankind.” [2] Another dusty Bible commentary reveals: “He shall confirm the covenant—Christ. The confirmation of the covenant is assigned to Him.” [3]

Here’s one more statement from a book called, Christ and Antichrist, published in 1846 by the Presbyterian Board of Publication in Philadelphia. On page 2, under Recommendations, are endorsements from many Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist ministers, including an official representative of the Southern Baptist Convention. [4] Commenting on the final week of Daniel 9:27, that ancient volume states:

…sometime during the remaining seven, he [the Messiah] was to die as a sacrifice for sin, and thus bring in “everlasting righteousness.” Here are allusions to events so palpable, that one would think, the people among whom they occurred, could not possibly have misapplied the prophecy. [5]

Okay, the following ten points provide logical and convincing evidence that Daniel’s famous 70th week has no application to any future seven year tribulation at all. Rather, this great prophetic period was definitely fulfilled nearly two thousand years ago.

1. The entire prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 covers a period of “seventy weeks,” or 490 years. Logic requires that “seventy weeks” refers to one consecutive block of time, in other words, to seventy straight sequential weeks. There is no example in Scripture (or anywhere else!) of a stated time period starting, stopping, and then starting again. All biblical references to time are consecutive: 40 days and 40 nights (see Genesis 7:4), 400 years in Egypt (see Genesis 15:13), 70 years of captivity (see Daniel 9:2), etc. In Daniel’s prophecy, the “seventy weeks” were to begin during the reign of Persia and continue to the time of the Messiah.

2. Logic also requires that the 70th week follow immediately after the 69th week. If it doesn’t, then it cannot properly be called the 70th week!

3. It is illogical to insert a 2,000-year gap between the 69th and 70th week. No hint of a gap is found in the prophecy itself. There is no gap between the first seven weeks and the following sixty-two weeks, so why insert one between the 69th and 70th week?

Note: If you told your child to be in bed in 70 minutes, you obviously would mean 70 consecutive minutes. What if five hours later your fully awake son said, “But dad, I know 69 minutes have passed, but the 70th minute hasn’t started yet!”? After receiving an appropriate punishment, he would be swiftly sent to bed.

4. Daniel 9:27 says nothing about a seven year period of “tribulation,” a “rebuilt” Jewish temple, or any “antichrist.”

5. The stated focus of this prophecy is the Messiah, not the antichrist. After the Messiah is “cut off” (referring to Christ’s death), the text says, “And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” In the past, this has been consistently applied to the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple by Roman armies led by Prince Titus in A.D. 70. 11

6. “He shall confirm the covenant.” Paul said “the covenant” was “confirmed before by God in Christ” (Galatians 3:17). Jesus Christ came “to confirm the promises made to the fathers” (Romans 15:8, emphasis added). In the King James Version, Daniel 9:27 doesn’t say “a covenant” or peace treaty, but “the covenant,” which applies to the New Covenant. Nowhere in the Bible does the antichrist make, confirm, or break a covenant with anyone. The word “covenant” is Messianic, and always applies to the Messiah, not the antichrist.

7. “He shall confirm the covenant with many.” Jesus Christ said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many…” (Matthew 26:28). Behold a perfect fit! Jesus was quoting Daniel 9:27 specifically.

8. “In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” After exactly three and a half years of holy ministry, Jesus Christ died on the cross, “in the midst of the week [in the middle of the seven years].” At the exact moment of His death, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” (Matthew 27:51). This act of God signified that all animal sacrifices at that moment ceased to be of value. Why? Because the Perfect Sacrifice had been offered!

9. “For the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate.” “The abomination of desolation” (see Matthew 24:15) is not a simple subject, yet we know that Jesus clearly applied this event to the time when His followers were to flee from Jerusalem before the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70. In a parallel text to Matthew 24:15, Jesus told His disciples, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies [Roman armies led by Prince Titus], then know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20, emphasis added). The disciples did “see” those very events. Because of the “abominations” of the Pharisees, Jesus told them, “See! Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:38). Thus Gabriel’s statement in Daniel 9:27 about Jerusalem becoming “desolate” was perfectly fulfilled in A.D. 70.

10. Gabriel said that the 70 week prophecy specifically applied to the Jewish people (see Daniel 9:24). During the period of Christ’s public ministry of 3 1/2 years, the Master’s focus was largely upon “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). After His resurrection and then for another 3 1/2 years, His disciples preached mostly to Jews (see Acts 1-6). After that second 3 1/2 year period, in 34 A.D., the bold Stephen was stoned by the Jewish Sanhedrin (see Acts 7). This infamous deed marked the then-ruling Jewish leaders’ final, official rejection of the gospel of our Saviour. Then the gospel went to the Gentiles. In Acts 9, Saul became Paul, the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). In Acts 10, God gave Peter a vision revealing it was now time to preach to the Gentiles (see Acts 10:1-28). Read also Acts 13:46. Thus approximately 3 1/2 years after the crucifixion — and at the end of the 70 week prophecy given for the Jewish people — the gospel shifted to the Gentiles exactly as predicted in Bible prophecy.

The explosive evidence is absolutely overwhelming! Point by point the events of Daniel's 70th week have been fulfilled in the past. These eight words found in Daniel 9:27: “confirm… covenant… many… midst… sacrifice… cease… abominations… desolate” all find perfect fulfilment in Jesus Christ and early Christian history.

In the words of that 1846 Presbyterian publication,

The seventy weeks of Daniel therefore, have certainly ended many centuries ago. We are not to look to the future for the fulfilment of these predictions. We must look to the past. And if to the past; where is there one who can have any adequate claims to being the subject of these prophecies, but Jesus? He, and he only can claim them; and to him they most certainly refer. [7]

…one would think, the people [the Jews] among whom [these events] occurred, could not possibly have misapplied the prophecy. [8]

But they did. In fact, one major reason why the Jewish nation as a whole failed to receive its Messiah was because its scholars misinterpreted Daniel 9:27. They failed to see Jesus Christ as the predicted One who would die in the midst of the 70th week! Amazingly, the exact same thing is happening today. Sincere Christian scholars are now misapplying the very same prophecy.

The entire “seven-year period of tribulation” theory is an end time delusion, a massive mega-myth. It may even go down in history as the greatest evangelical misinterpretation of all time. The whole concept is like a gigantic bubble. Once Daniel 9:27 is correctly understood and the sharply-pointed pin of truth is inserted, “Pop goes the seven years!” It’s a fact: There is no text in the Bible which teaches a “seven year tribulation.” If you hunt for it, you will end up like Ponce de Leon searching for the mystical Fountain of Youth, but never finding it.

The current debate and tremendous confusion over pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib is really a smoke screen of the enemy to hide the real issue. What is the real issue? We will find out when we study what the Book of Revelation truly teaches about Israel, Babylon the Great, and Armageddon. These last two parts are taken from Chapter 5 of Steve Wohlberg's newest book, End Time Delusions: The Rapture, the Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World. If you would like to read more from this excellent book, select the “About” page where you can view some readers testimonies and find out where to purchase this eye opening book.

Rapture Truth Part 7: Will the Church go through the Great Tribulation?

Many Christian prophecy teachers are now saying that “the Church” will NOT go through Earth’s final “tribulation,” but will instead be “raptured” (taken to heaven) before the final crisis hits. Is this the real rapture truth? On the surface, such an idea sounds good - for who wants to suffer? The fact is, Christians have suffered “tribulation” throughout history and there will be no complete relief until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the very end of the world.

If you look up the word “tribulation” in the New Testament, almost every reference applies to what true Christians go through, rather than what they escape from.

Matthew 24:21-22 - Jesus said there would be “great tribulation” which His followers (the “elect”) must endure. Yet for “the elects sake, those days shall be shortened.”

John 16:33 - Jesus Christ said to His followers, “In the world YOU shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Acts 14:22 - Paul told Christians, “WE through much tribulation must enter the kingdom of God.”

Romans 5:3 - True Christians are to “glory in tribulations” because “tribulation works patience” and develops Christian character.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 - Paul wrote of the many “persecutions and tribulations” which “the churches of God” were enduring in the first century (Christians were thrown to the lions in the coliseum, eaten by wild dogs, burned at the stake and lit up as torches in Nero’s garden).

Revelation 1:9 - John was our “companion in tribulation.”

Revelation 2:9 - To His church, Jesus said, “I know your works and tribulation…”

Revelation 2:10 - Again to His church, Jesus said, “YOU shall have tribulation…”

Revelation 7:14 - God’s final people “came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” They did not escape it, but endured through it, being purified.

Thus the clear biblical evidence on the rapture reveals that Christians have always gone through “tribulation” and will endure tribulations until the end. But we need not fear what man, governments, Satan or demons can do. Jesus Christ has promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20

Find out the truth about what happens next in the Millennium.

Watch excellent Bible Prophecy Seminars online

If you have a reasonably fast internet connection and would like to watch an Second coming of Jesusonline Prophecy Seminar that reveals who the little horn of Daniel 7 and the Beast of Revelation 13 is that changed the Sabbath to Sunday, you will find Revelation Reveals the Antichrist very enlightening. You may want to start about 17.5 minutes in to bypass singing items etc. You can also watch Revelation’s Rapture for more truth about the rapture. To watch more from this and other Prophecy Seminars you can find the Prophecy Code menus here. Be prepared to discover many lost Bible truths.

Endnotes:

  1. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. IV—Isaiah to Malachi, Complete Edition, (New York, NY : Fleming H. Revell Co., 1712) 1094-1095, notes on Daniel 9:27.
  2. The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes by Adam Clarke, Vol. IV—Isaiah to Malachi, (New York, NY: Abingdon-Cokesbury, written about 1825) 602, notes on Daniel 9:27.
  3. Rev. Robert Jamieson, Rev. A.R. Fausset, and Rev. David Brown, A Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Complete Edition, (Hartford, CT: S.S. Scranton Company: 1871) 641, notes on Daniel 9:27.
  4. Rev. Samuel J. Cassels, Christ and Antichrist, (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1846; Reprinted by Hartland Publications, Rapidan, VA) 2.
  5. Ibid., 47.
  6. See notes on Daniel 9:26 in commentaries by Matthew Henry (p.1095), Adam Clarke (p.603), and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown (p.641).
  7. Cassels, Christ and Antichrist, 49.
  8. Ibid., 47.