Short Conversations: Pre Trib Rapture is Fiction Only
Source: Israel My Glory
A quick dive into the heart of the issue.
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Note: I welcome and unite with all pre tribulationists, mid tribulationists, post tribulationists and no or pan tribulationists who believe in Jesus as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The church will be taken before a 7 year tribulation. There is no passage in Scripture which says this. Nowhere in Scripture is a tribulation 7 years. We only hear of a tribulation being 1260 days or 3.5 years in Revelation whether literal or symbolic (eg. Rev. 12:6). There is no resurrection or gathering of the elect before the 70th week of Daniel (Dan. 9:24–27) but only at the end of time when righteous and unrighteous rise together (Dan. 12:1–2) which Jesus says will occur at the same hour (John 5:27–29). There is no gathering of Christians to Christ before the abomination of desolation in Matt. 24:15 but only afterwards, immediately after the tribulation (Matt. 24:29). John considered himself a partner in the tribulation (Rev. 1:9) and died long ago. The hour of antichrist or last hour had already come when 1 John was written (1 John 2:18).
Show me where in Scripture it says the antichrist will be revealed and sit as God before the church is taken. 2 Thess. 2:1–3 addresses the timing of the harpazo outlined in 1 Thess 4:16–17 as some Thessalonians had stopped working (2 Thess. 3:10) expecting a rapture before the antichrist was revealed. Paul told them the gathering of Christians to Christ (2 Thess. 2:1) which contextually refers to 1 Thess 4:16–17 would not take place until the lawless one or son of perdition is revealed first making himself as God (2 Thess. 2:3–4). In 2 Thess. 1:6–10 a few verses earlier refers to the coming of Jesus being the same event which leads to both the punishment of the wicked (v.8–9) and the rescue of Christians (v.6–7) when Christ is revealed with his angels as in 1 Thess. 4:16–17. The restrainer in 2 Thess 2:8 cannot be the church due to this context in v.1–3 and also takes on a masculine tense when the church is commonly referred to as a female (eg. Eph 5:32).
1 Thess 4:16–17 is a secret event. 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 contains a parallel structure with Matt. 24:29–31 which according to Matt. 24:29 takes place “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” Both contain an angel, a loud call, a trumpet and elect being gathered. Hardly secret but as obvious as vultures gathering to a corpse (Matt. 24:28). 1 Thess 4:16–17 also mirrors 1 Cor 15:51–55 when believers are glorified which takes place at the last trumpet (v.52) and when death is defeated (v.54–55). If it’s the last trumpet and death is defeated how can there be another trumpet 7 years after with lots of new believers dying in the meantime during the tribulation?
Rev. 19:11–20 and 1 Thess 4:16–17 contradict so they must be separate events. These are apocalyptic passages with highly symbolic eschatological language similar to what is used in the OT prophets. Moreover, I see no reason why the elect can’t be gathered to Christ in heaven and escort him to earth as part of one broader event. Besides 1 Thess 4:16–17 parallels Matt. 24:29–31 after the tribulation of those days, takes place after the antichrist is revealed (2. Thess. 2:1–3) and at the last trumpet (1 Cor. 15:51–55).
Christ comes as a thief so this can’t occur after the tribulation. Christ comes as a thief for the unprepared but not for children of the light (1 Thess. 5:3–5). This coming as a thief reference from Matt. 24:43–44 contextually occurs after the tribulation (Matt. 24:29–31) and is synonymous with the time Christ separates the sheep from the goats or the final judgement (Matt. 25:31–46, note v. 31). Christ is revealed and rescues believers at the “last time” (1 Peter 1:5–7) not beforehand and the coming of the new heavens and the new earth is also as a thief (2 Peter 3:10) yet no pre tribulationists believe this will be a secret event!
John is taken to heaven before the tribulation (Rev. 4:1) and the word church isn’t mentioned in Revelation after this point. John, a partner in the tribulation (Rev. 1:9) is taken to heaven to have a visionary experience of what will happen in the future (Rev. 4:1) and died long ago on earth. Chapter 4–22 is highly symbolic hence no explicit mention of “church” yet lampstands are symbols of the church (Rev. 1:20) and are mentioned in Revelation 11:4.
The Jewish feasts support a pre tribulation rapture. Nowhere do the New Testament authors interpret the feasts this way. Further, the tribulation is 3.5 years (some argue is symbolic of a time of trial) not 7 so this doesn’t tie into the 7 year feast systems.
Jesus said he will keep us from the hour of trial (Rev. 3:10). Every eye will see Jesus when he comes (Rev. 1:7). This was contextually relevant to the church of Philadelphia not the 21st century and could easily mean spiritual preservation not physical removal or physical protection from a specific event in the past. Paul was rescued from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10) yet was intensely persecuted and died a martyr. Christ seals and preserves his own in Revelation yet many die as martyrs (Rev. 6:9–11, 7:1–2, 13:16–18, 20:4–6).
Will you be ready? Will you lean into the light of Christ to protect you on the day of darkness?
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